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What’s the Best Run for Our Money?

What’s the Best Run for Our Money?

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When it comes to Fundraising – we found two of the best runs in Warwickshire! Run Number 1  Race For Life, Stoneleigh, May 18th When Co-President Elaine asked for support in raising funds for Cancer Research UK, there was no shortage of members stepping up to help.   Elaine’s reflections that we have all lost someone we love to cancer and the importance of funding research to combat this dreadful disease were met with complete agreement. Six readily offered to be part of Elaine’s ‘Team SI Kenilworth & District’ in the ‘Race for Life’ whilst others pledged sponsorship. Of course the Team kit had to be finalised. Given our tutus, hats and Elton John shades, Elaine observed that Team SI K&D might not have been the fastest in the race – but they were certainly one of the best dressed!                

What’s better than having an inspirational president?

What’s better than having an inspirational president?

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Having two of them!     Our Joint Presidents for 2024/25 Elaine Clarke and Amanda Jones were elected at our AGM in April.   The start of a new Soroptimist year is always a chance to look back on what we’ve achieved.   And looking back over our posts for the past year, you’ll see exactly how inspired we’ve been! Here are just a few of the reasons we’re so proud of our Club. We kick started our year with news of an amazing achievement for our Club. Thanks to President Elect Elaine’s inspiring lead, together we made Kenilworth a Toilet Twinned Town. The impact on communities lacking proper toilet and hygiene facilities always falls most heavily on women and girls. We were very grateful to our own community for helping us make our toilet twinned communities healthier and safer for all. Here’s a reminder

On our 55th anniversary, which women inspire us?

On our 55th anniversary, which women inspire us?

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First have to be the ones whose vision brought us here! Kenilworth folk are familiar with ‘The Old Bakery’ on High Street in the Old Town (incidentally Warwickshire’s ‘Pub of the Year’). Until 1979, this was the long-established ‘Fancott’s Bakery’. Joan Fancott was, in 1969, the founder President of Soroptimist International Kenilworth & District. Here’s Joan wearing the Presidential insignia our current President Amanda wears today.                             Next must be the countless women throughout history who paved the way for us. Women like Mary Wollstonecraft(1759-1797), the British writer and philosopher who is arguably one of the first women to advocate a feminist view of gender equality: one of the cornerstones of our own work and advocacy.  And Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), the English writer and mathematician whose work pioneered computer science: a role model to encourage more girls to take

How did you celebrate International Women’s Day?

How did you celebrate International Women’s Day?

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We certainly celebrated in style!  We Purpled the Park benches in Abbey Fields with inspirational quotes.   And in the evening we carried on the celebrations with friends and Kenilworth Town Councillors at Milk and Mocha. Councillor Mark Stevens shared these as his favourite quotes - Jane got the evening to a great start by reading this poem by Becky Hemsley She drives just like a girl you know And throws just like one too She fights just like a girl as well She’s just no match for you She also runs just like a girl And that’s the way she plays But when they say “just like a girl” Jane reading her poem I think they mean to say Worse And somehow less Somehow slower, somehow weaker They think that if she’s ‘like a girl’ They’ll easily defeat her But girls will go to battle
Poster for International Women's Day with outline of to hands making a heart outline
What’s Purple and Inspiring? International Women’s Day of course!

What’s Purple and Inspiring? International Women’s Day of course!

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We might not be able to light Kenilworth up in purple as per the London Eye this year for International Women’s Day.   But we’ll do our best to follow this year’s theme of #InspireInclusion with our decorations on the benches in Abbey Fields. So why purple for International Women’s Day? Bit of history here, it all started with the Suffragette movement who chose Purple to represent the colour of Royal blood flowing through their veins – surely very dramatic!   These days it is associated with dignity and justice. So why the theme #InspireInclusion ? The emphasis this year is for us to inspire women and support them to feel more included in what ever part of the world they live in.   The more groups that stand up for this, the sooner women can reach their full potential.   You can read more about this by clicking

How Did We Finish Our 16 Days of Activism?

How Did We Finish Our 16 Days of Activism?

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With coffee and cake, of course! Our culmination event was an ‘Orange Cafe’ where we celebrated and reflected on the activities of the 16 Days. And we kept our orange theme with the cakes baked by members; chocolate orange cake, orange drizzle cake and orange cupcakes – to name but a few! Donations for the cakes made a delicious £250 for our local women’s refuge.   Members were on hand to explain more about each display showing an activity from the 16 Days of Activism. There were six pairs of shoes from the display of 108 pairs – each pair representing one woman killed by a man in 2021/22. There were three filled handbags from our ‘Love Grace’ appeal. A smaller scale Christmas Tree showed some of our orange decorations and lights which began our campaign. And of course, examples of the yarn bombing; crocheted

How Many Handbags? 54!

How Many Handbags? 54!

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We Honoured the Life of Grace Millane in One of Our Events for the 16 Days. Grace Millane was tragically murdered whilst travelling in New Zealand in December 2018. Her mother was determined to make Grace’s life more impactful than her death. In Grace’s name, her mother, Gillian launched the “Love Grace” appeal – collecting and filling handbags with essentials for women in need.                                              And that’s exactly what we did! In just over an hour, we filled 54 good quality, smart handbags with toiletries, cosmetics, purses, scarves and jewellery. We’d already raised money to buy brand new items by taking part in a car boot sale a month earlier and members donated small luxuries to add to the handbags.   Once the bags

In Their Shoes

In Their Shoes

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During our 16 Days of Activism, the preparation of one event has shocked and moved us more than any other. It is at the heart of our campaign to end violence against women and girls and it’s a display of shoes. Each pair of shoes, tied with orange ribbon, represents one woman killed by a man in the year 2021/22. There are 108 pairs.                             Here are six of the women represented.            Zara, Clair and Lauren, Yasmin, Ashley and Ramona are just six of the 108 women killed by men in 2021/22. You can read their stories here: https://sigbi.org/kenilworth-and-district/un-16-days-of-activism-25th-november-10th-december/their-stories/ We hope, that by raising awareness of this shocking and tragic waste of women’s lives – so common that it rarely makes news – we can all unite to end

Would you, could you – step in to stop harassment?

Would you, could you – step in to stop harassment?

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80% of women in the UK report experiencing harassment in public places (Suzy Lamplugh Trust) If we want to end violence against women and girls, we have to stop behaviours that underlie it –  harassment is one of those behaviours. But is that easier said than done? As part of our 16 Days of Activism to end Gender Based Violence, lots of us have been taking part in a free, one hour, on-line training session provided by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. We’ve found out how to intervene to stop harassment without putting ourselves at risk or escalating the situation.                We’ve learned how we could step in to help a woman being harassed on public transport     And what we could do to stop a lone woman being harassed in a bar We’ve learned that any one of