Epsom Soroptimists are continuing to raise funds for Lviv in Ukraine. The latest amount sent this month was £2,068 with funds being raised through social events and individual contributions from family and friends. One member involved her local church in raising funds. This money will go via  Soroptimist International Switzerland to buy food, school equipment and medical supplies in Poland which will be transported to Lviv.  You can read more about our support for Lviv here: Ukraine – Supporting Lviv If you would like to donate money, please contact: enquiriessiepsom@gmail.com  

  We came together to Embrace Equity at this year’s International Women’s Day Club meeting and demonstrated our support for Gender Equality ( UN Sustainable Development Goal 5)  Members in the above photo demonstrated the Embrace Equity pose.    The following words were spoken:  “Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all Embrace Equity.” To demonstrate the difference between Equality and Equity, members were shown an image with people riding bikes. You can view the image on this link:  https://betterbikeshare.org/2019/10/24/equity-vs-equality/ As a Club, we Embrace Equity through making our meetings accessible to all.  Geographically, our Club catchment area is quite widespread and includes members from Epsom, Dorking, Worcester Park, Wallington and Chessington. Members may not

Today’s Programme Action meeting was another opportunity to get together and come up with ideas as to how we can take our projects forward. We are currently working on a project that we are entering into our Region competition.  Each club will enter their project by July 2023 and they have to meet criteria which focuses on supporting women and girls, involving the majority of club members and attracting new members. The following prizes will be awarded: £1000 to the winner and £500 to the runner up club project, to be used within the club’s general project fund or as a donation to a charity of the club’s choice. The charity has to benefit women and girls.  At this stage, we are not going to give the game away and tell you what the project is about but the title is: Who’s Seeing Red?  Our

Club members are committed to supporting our local foodbanks, particularly in the current cost of living crisis. Over the last 3 months we have been donating items of food, toiletries,  nappies etc. Since October, the total cost of donations has been approximately £400 and this includes donations of money as well as items. Recently, we were visited by a speaker, Jonathon Lees, (CEO)  from the Good Company who run the local foodbank in Epsom and Ewell. You can read about Jonathon’s talk here Tackling poverty – Jonathon Lees In the photo above,  Veronica and Jenny made a quick trolley dash to ALDI one evening and then delivered their shopping to Epsom and Ewell Foodbank the next day. They provided items which were in short supply. A weekly list is often produced by foodbanks so that people can provide exactly what is needed. If you would

To mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, we invited a speaker, Sue, an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA), who supports clients at the I Choose Freedom refuges. Sue gave some background details to begin with about the charity saying that it supports victims fleeing severe domestic abuse. If these families were to remain in their own homes, they would be at risk of being murdered. The charity provides a comprehensive support package for 30 women and up to 60 children at one time.  Each family stays with them for up to 6 months while they re-build their lives free from abuse.  I Choose Freedom are currently focused on extending their property portfolio for single people who cannot access mainstream refuges.  Who can be affected by domestic abuse?    Sue explained that domestic abuse can affect women, men, LGBTQ+ and other communities. There

               It was quite the star-studded occasion at the Pearl Project Awards on Saturday night. Nine women (the ‘pearls’!) were chosen for a special award, demonstrating how they had all survived abusive relationships. The evening was filled with documentaries, poetry, music and dance, highlighting the stories of these courageous women. Soroptimists and the charity, True Honour, attended this event, hosted by Voices of Hope in Kingston. True Honour was formed by Sarbjit Athwal as a result of her sister-in- law’s disappearance and death in an honour killing. We are proud to have her as an honorary member of Soroptimist International Epsom and District. Congratulations to Sarbjit for winning one of the Pearl Project Awards and for making a difference to the lives of women and girls in our local community. You can read more about Sarbjit here: #WhoIsShe ?

Reducing food waste has been a topic for our Club discussions on several occasions. We were asked to deliver a presentation on how we did this through a celebratory meal for Ben Johnson Day. You can read about this here: Celebrating Black History Month. The presentation was one of a handful selected for the Federation Programme Action Committee meeting in Belfast October 2022. The theme was Climate for Change FPAC Meeting - Climate Change - Belfast Conference 2022 (sigbi.org)   

This week, our guest speaker was Jonathon Lees from The Good Food Company.  Epsom & Ewell Foodbank is one of several projects overseen by this company. Jonathon is the founder and managing director. Jonathon spoke about the different aspects of the company. The foodbank is a starting point and a first port of call for people to seek supplies of food and other essential items such as nappies and toiletries. By November 2022, over 10 years, the foodbank will have fed over 50,000 people. Most people only visit the food bank 2-3 times but there has been an increase recently with 44 new clients visiting over the past month.    The Good Company are working with Citizen's Advice and Chris Grayling, Epsom MP, to deliver the Epsom and Ewell Energy Support Scheme. They offer advice and support to enable people to pay their energy bills. 

              These trauma teddies were knitted by a Soroptimist's friend, Cheryl, and her sister, Deborah. They were knitted in York and they travelled down to Ashtead where they were met by two Soroptimists, Veronica and Jenny.  They were then delivered to organisations where children were often placed in traumatic situations. 30 teddies were delivered to an I Choose Freedom refuge in Surrey.  These will be included in their Welcome Packs for new families arriving at the refuge who have been involved in domestic abuse. 24 teddies were delivered to Surrey Police via Maria Edwards, Force Advisor Child Vulnerability. Maria said that the teddies will be taken in police patrol cars and be given to children who have been involved in an incident that has led to police involvement. Some teddies will be available for children in the video suites for

Past International President, Ann Garvie, attended our club meeting yesterday along with members from our club, Southern Region clubs and a Southeast Region club.  Ann began by talking about her early years as a child and young woman before she became a Soroptimist. Ann recounted her meeting with the Camilla at a time just before she became engaged to Prince Charles as his title was then. They met at the House of Lords and she took Camilla onto the balcony.  Ann became Federation President in 2004 and International President in 2013. She spoke about her International President’s Appeal, See Solar Cook Solar and the effect it had on women and their families' lives.  She spent time visiting the main UN centres and advocating for women's rights, including medical issues.  Ann said that Gender Equality was a main issue globally, not just for Soroptimists but for all