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It’s a Full House at Easter Bingo!

It’s a Full House at Easter Bingo!

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  Our Caller for the evening Dave Golding, ably assisted by our very own Deena Irving   What fun we had!  We had a full house, lots of fun and lots of money raised for two local charities – The Hive and Get The Boys a Lift. President Julia may be coming toward the end of her term in office but she’s certainly not coming to the end of her commitment to raise funds and offer support to local charities.  One again she led the Club to a fantastic result of raising over £900 at our recent Easter Bingo night. Well done Julia and members! Not only was the evening well supported by members but also by many non-members who were delighted to be supporting local charities whilst winning a few Easter Eggs and learning lots about what we do in Soroptimists.

16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AS WE HELP TO ORANGE THE WORLD

16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AS WE HELP TO ORANGE THE WORLD

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Yet again this year we have been doing our bit to turn the town orange.  Don’t worry – we haven’t been over-enthusiastic with the fake tan! We’ve just been taking the opportunity to highlight the UN’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. This year we have not stopped at lighting up the County Council Offices in orange (Thank you PCC for doing this for us).  We have also asked local businesses to display in their window (or elsewhere) an orange shoe and a poster highlighting the campaign and inviting anyone interested to contact us for more information – about the campaign and about Soroptimists in general.  At least 25 local businesses have participated and we are very grateful to them all.  It goes without saying that any initiative is improved with a cuppa so we arranged an informal coffee morning too – it’s amazing

Christmas Gifts for local Children

Christmas Gifts for local Children

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Like so many other parts of the Country, Pembrokeshire is blessed with a number of extremely hardworking charities.  One such charity is PATCH  (Pembrokeshire Action To Combat Hardship).  We are delighted to provide ongoing support to PATCH in the form of Christmas gifts for children (our members provide a suitable gift rather than partaking in a Secret Santa amongst members).  This year we have also given a cheque of £1700.00 to support this year’s Christmas Toy Appeal.  Each 0 – 17 old referred receives 4-5 new gifts, together with chocolates and art materials.  The gifts are supplied with wrapping paper to ensure that friends and family are part of the preparation and delivery of the gifts.       Pictured presenting a cheque for £1700.00 to PATCH                             L to R  President Julia

Our popular Coffee and Chats continue

Our popular Coffee and Chats continue

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We continue to hold regular Coffee and Chat events and they really do serve a very important purpose. They provide an opportunity for members and others to meet informally for a catch up and to promote the valuable and varied work we undertake in Soroptimists.  Lots of ladies may not be tempted to come along to a meeting but are quite happy to stop for a chat when they see some friendly faces enjoying a cup of coffee.  We have definitely raised awareness and interest locally – some ladies may join as members, others may support our fundraising activities, others may just want to know when is the next Coffee and Chat – whatever the outcome, it’s a positive one for all involved. We are also using the get togethers to raise awareness of our ongoing support for the campaign against gender based violence and

ANOTHER YEAR ANOTHER BEACH CLEAN

ANOTHER YEAR ANOTHER BEACH CLEAN

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Living as we do in the beautiful county of Pembrokeshire we are extremely proud of our amazing coastline.  As well as enjoying the stunning beaches we like to play our part in helping the keep the beaches clean and as welcoming as possible.  We take part in one or more beach cleans every year and this year we returned to the small but delightful beach at Pwllgwaelod in the north of the County. Following a lovely lunch at the beachside public house, our members donned their Hi-viz waistcoats and headed to the beach armed with rubbish bags and grabbers.  The sunshine helped the task along nicely and a total of 2.2 kg of rubbish was collected and categorised* with the results submitted to the Marine Conservation Society.  (*Not quite sure how the men’s pants one member found were categorised??). Sadly on this occasion we were

Pembrokeshire College Bursary

Pembrokeshire College Bursary

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We are delighted to share that Amy Wilson received a bursary in the sum of £450 from Soroptimist International Haverfordwest! The money will be put towards purchasing a high-spec laptop for her university programme Amy is in her second year of the level 3 Construction Design & Management Programme. The course covers the key principles of design and management of a construction project and many learners go on to study architecture, project management, quantity surveying, surveying and even civil engineering. Amy’s goal is to become an architect and has been offered a place at the Welsh School of Architecture at Cardiff University, which is quite an achievement – well done Amy! We wish Amy all the best in her future career.

President Julia supports Paul Sartori as one of her chosen charities for the year

President Julia supports Paul Sartori as one of her chosen charities for the year

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What a lovely first Dinner Meeting with President Julia Brady, and her guest speaker, Sandra Dade, Charity Manager with Paul Sartori Foundation. Sandra talked about the history of how the Foundation started, supporting people and families affected by Cancer, and where it is today, supporting several other long term illnesses – Motor neurone disease, strokes, and the range of help and care on offer. Anyone wanting more information on how you can be supported in Pembrokeshire, please contact Tŷ Paul Sartori, Winch Lane, Hwlffordd, Sir Benfro SA61 1RP Paul Sartori House, Winch Lane, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, SA61 1RP 01437 763223 01437 765755 www.paulsartori.org Keep an eye out for fundraising events throughout the year.

Not In My Name

Not In My Name

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Once again in 2022 we were delighted to support the Not in My Name campaign by providing Stewards for the Candlelight Vigil organised in the streets of Haverfordwest by Joyce Watson MS.  The evening concluded with presentations from a range of interesting speakers all working hard to bring an end to violence against women. Despite atrocious weather the event was well supported – the weather in fact being a timely reminder for us all that we were “battling the storm” for just one evening – many women have no choice other than to “battle for their safety” on a daily basis.  We are proud to support them!

You shall go to the Ball!

You shall go to the Ball!

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Following a donation of beautiful dresses from Pembrokeshire Care, Share and Give, and with other private donations and  additions using club funds, we wanted to enable every girl to ‘Go to the Ball’.  In partnership with Haverfordwest High School, a pop-up shop in 2022 allowed us to offer dresses on loan, free of charge, to all students to attend their school prom. For some students, this alleviated the financial pressure on family resources, while other students embraced the sustainability and ecological ideal of wearing a pre-loved dress. We are working towards extending the project in 2023 and will also be offering Pembrokeshire College students the chance to borrow a dress and make a difference. We were pleased to win a Regional Award for this project and were asked to present at Federation Conference in Belfast in October 2022 – we are delighted that the idea

Willow Planting and Sculptures

Willow Planting and Sculptures

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Some of our members recently attended a willow sculpture workshop organised by Haverfordwest Town Council.  This is all part of a willow planting and sculpture initiative at The Saltings in Haverfordwest.  The afternoon was great fun and was a taster session to encourage us to make our own sculpture at The Saltings in due course.  Although not yet at a standard ready for display at the Saltings we managed to make some recognisable – if not all practical – sculptures!  Not bad for beginners we thought! Members have also been involved in the planting of 300 Willows on The Saltings which will be used in the future to make the scultpures. We are delighted to be involved in this exciting an worthwhile initiative. Photos will follow