We had another successful Rosie May Foundation fund raising tombola at The Big One in Chaddesden this weekend. Thankfully, the organisers helped us to move pitch ( a bit of a challenge seeing as we had already set up!) so that we could maximise the footfall and still have space for Rosie the Tuk Tuk to offer rides to anyone interested. Mind you – we were not expecting that Rosie would become a temporary Batmobile or that we would be seeing both Batman and Mickie  Mouse riding in Rosie! We are now £264.40p closer to purchasing a Pink Tuk Tuk for the charity to help them with their quest to improve the lives of women and girls in Sri Lanka. We welcome new members to help us advocate for women and girls and to support us with assisting the refuge in Derby. We have more

Our last business meeting coincided with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on 2nd June. After some of us enjoyed a meal together prior to the meeting, we raised a glass of (non-alcoholic) fizz – (driving!) and partook of  some Jubilee themed cakes made by members. We had planned to hold a Royal Quiz and even had a Royal Bingo game ready, but we had so much business to conduct that we ran out of time! If you want to find out more about our club and the projects we are involved in, please contact us via our email soropsderby@gmail.com. New members are always welcome.

                  We are pleased to announce that we will be joined by the founder of the Rosie-May Foundation, Mary Storrie, plus one of their Trustee’s Daksha, who will be able to update us on the Foundations projects. We are supporting the Foundation and raising funds with the aim to buy a Pink Tuk Tuk for them to use in Sri-Lanka. More information about this can be found here: https://www.rosie-may.com/the-future-is-pink/ Please come and join us for a meal at the Kings Highway at 6pm if you would like to know more about the projects we are involved in and if you are interested in joining us – just email us  soropsderby@gmail.com to let us know to expect you.  

For several years we have been supporting a local women’s refuge by providing welcome packs twice a year, and by maintaining their garden. We continue to do this, including throughout Covid. The welcome packs consist of essentials that the women and their children need when they flee domestic violence , often leaving everything behind and therefore arriving without even the basic essentials such as soap or a hairbrush. Thanks to linking up with a local Co-Op Member Pioneer who we met at a summer fete last year, we will be able to provide some additional items to the refuge that will help the women and children while they are living there or even provide them with some items that will help them when they are able to leave and set up a new home. Thanks to the very kind donations from people shopping at the

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Break the Bias”. As Soroptimists we work to end gender equality. Here in Derby we also support “Women’s Day Derby” who have put on a range of activities to celebrate International Women’s Day. They have created some huge puppets of inspirational women and will be parading through Derby with them. We will have a table where we can meet potential new members and tell everyone about our club. If you’re local, pop in and see us in Derby Museum on the Wardwick, between 12.30 and 16.30 Saturday 5th March – we’d love to see you!

Our President, Jill, decided to join in with a national fundraiser in support of the charity Refuge. Information about this charity can be found on their website; www.refuge.org.uk How will walking 56 miles and raising money impact Refuge? More than 1 in 4 women (27.6%) in England and Wales aged 16-74 have experienced domestic abuse at some point of their lives. In 2020-21, Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline calls and contacts were up by 64%. This has not decreased. Every £185 raised could help fund the running of the Helpline for an hour, providing lifesaving information for women who wish to flee. Jill is thrilled to announce that she was able to raise £195 and even walked a few extra miles – totalling 60 in all! Supporting this charity fits in well with the ethos of Soroptimism and with the work we do on a

Extra proud to be a Soroptimist today ! Some of our club attended a special training session so that we can continue the fantastic work started by Soroptimists from Northern England in 2017. Club members assisted the then Police and Crimes Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird, who also just happens to be a Soroptimist, by observing court sessions for domestic abuse cases in order to see if the new measures introduced by the Government were providing adequate assistance to the victims of domestic abuse who attended court. The report from these findings, “Special Domestic Violence Courts – How Special Are They” can be found by following the link below: https://sigbi.org/newcastle-upon-tyne/files/2020/04/OPCC_037_Specialist-domestic-violence-courts-Court-Observers-Panel-A4-booklet-2018-V2209555.pdf Soroptimists in the West Midlands have also now completed further observations and plan to be publishing their report on 8th March 2022, International Women’s Day. Our training today will enable clubs in the Midlands East region, of

W We joined over 120 women marching in Derby on November 27th, protesting about violence against women and promoting safer streets, the first time there has been such a march in the city. It was a bitterly cold night but everyone was very enthusiastic as we gathered to sing and chant, chalked some messages and marched on to the Council House for some speeches. Wonderful to be with so many like minded women working to make a different future for the women in the world! Many thanks To Women’s Day Derby for organising the event so well. #Orange The World! If you want to find out more about us, or to join our club, please contact us at soropsderby@gmail.com. See us on our Facebook page – Soroptimist International of Derby and on our Twitter page @DerbySorops

We have returned to using Twitter to promote our activities and charities – please visit @DerbySorops to keep up to date with us!

We aim to raise enough to purchase a pink Tuk Tuk for the Rosie May Foundation and will be enjoying the company of one of the founders, Mary Storrie, and a new Trustee on November 25th at 7pm. If anyone would like to join us to learn about the charity and why we are supporting it, please contact us at soropsderby@gmail.com. or visit us on Twitter – @DerbySorops or Facebook – Soroptimist International of Derby We will be meeting at The White Hart in Aston-on-Trent.