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So what can we tell you about being Women of Action in July?

So what can we tell you about being Women of Action in July?

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Despite the restrictions due to Covid 19 we’re most definitely carrying on as women of action! We’ve taken part in a host of activities to educate, enable and empower ourselves and support our local community and generally wave the flag to ‘Stand Up for Women’.   We marked the SIGBI Day of Action by posting on our Social Media to great local effect.    We’ve achieved another first for our Club in the world of culture.   And reflected on how Lockdown has affected ourselves and our actions. A spot of virtual theatre in action to educate ourselves We enjoyed a first by watching a two handed performance live over Zoom.   It had been devised, rehearsed and produced in lockdown again all by the wonders of Zoom. The production was titled “The Betrayal” and ran for about 20 minutes.   It was inspired by Pinter’s great play

Kenilworth Town Mayor with Joan, two Soroptimists and a Kenilworth Lion around new planters
What do you do when your wooden planter decides to play Jenga?

What do you do when your wooden planter decides to play Jenga?

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Call your friends in Soroptimists of course! Back in June we got a call from our friend Joan, who lives locally in sheltered accommodation.   The planks of her wooden planter looked more like a Jenga® tower with bits sticking out.   Was this alright?    Probably not!   A Club member rushed round to survey the damage.   To her dismay Joan’s raised bed in her planter was in grave danger of collapsing.    She strongly advised Joan not to venture out until we could sort it. But in those immortal words ‘Houston we have a problem’ 🙁 We had very little in the kitty to buy Joan a new planter and very little opportunity to do any fundraising.   Our treasurer gave us enough money to buy a medium sized one.   And Garden Sleepers, the company ,we bought it from kindly gave us a special price as it

Screen shot of Soroptimists enjoying a quiz night via Zoom
How do you educate Soroptimists in a fun way?

How do you educate Soroptimists in a fun way?

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By running a quiz on Zoom! The quiz was certainly a  fun way to test of our knowledge.   We had the advantage of being sent the two quiz picture rounds in advance so had time to think about them.   And educate ourselves on rabbits and App icons before tackling the questions. So how many cartoon Rabbits can you name? There are more cartoon rabbits than you think!   In fact there were 20 rabbits (although some were hares) on the first picture round of our Club quiz this month.   It helped if you had read to younger people, or had a long memory for adverts from the 80’s.   Do you remember the ‘Caramel Bunny’  at Easter or the Duracell adverts at Christmas?   There were of course such classic favourites as Peter Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, Dillon and Thumper The second picture round on App icons which also

#PlantTrees for World Environment Day
World Environment Day

World Environment Day

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Remember Plant a Tree in 73?  Well I can’t think of a clever rhyme for to go with 2021!     And although Club may not be able to take action right now, that doesn’t stop us planning for our Centenary. Has there ever been more important to help our environment? We want to do our bit for the environment  and our links to the United Nations SI Madurai have already had a positive impact on nature by planting a ‘tiny forest’ ready for their SI Centennial celebration. See their story of ‘Planting Trees for a Brilliant Future”. If you’re interested to see what we’re planning for 2021, do contact us via our website, Facebook or Twitter

Blue text on white background for Zoom meeting
Boom! We’ve Zoomed!

Boom! We’ve Zoomed!

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Is Zoom the new word for Club meetings? Definitely!  Like many Clubs, we’ve embraced the new technology to hold virtual meetings using Zoom.   Thanks to President Gill, we achieved a first for Club and many members.   Despite the restrictions of Lockdown, Gill, in true Soroptimist style, enabled to many of Club to take part. We had a fabulous meeting with 34 of Club.  We greeted members who can’t always attend.  Said hello to a new member who transferred just as Lockdown arrived.   And enjoyed questions from a prospective new member – who wants to attend our next meeting – yay!   It was very gratifying to see so many of our older members join us as ‘Silver Surfers’! And did it stop us having a speaker? Of course not!   Angela Sadler from SI Solihull spoke to us about her work as a JP in Birmingham. Many

Two nurses in Malawi dressed in PPE for Covid 19 protection
Front line care workers in Malawi & Covid 19

Front line care workers in Malawi & Covid 19

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So what’s happening in Malawi? Well they’re preparing for the Covid 19 pandemic in Malawi too.   The front line healthcare workers need just as much support as our NHS. So what have we done to help? If you compare it to the resources we have in the UK it perhaps doesn’t seem much.   But thankfully with our link with Friends of Sick Children in Malawi we’ve been able to help.   Relatively small sums of money make a huge difference there. And it’s very humbling to be sent this thank you video.

Blue house icon on white background, red cross though and sad face icon to show Domestic Violence increase in Lockdown
When being at home is NOT the safest place to be in lockdown

When being at home is NOT the safest place to be in lockdown

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The Domestic Violence Bill has never been more important.   The average number of deaths used to be a shocking  two a week.   In the weeks since Covid 19 lockdown this has increased to FIVE per week As a Club and as individuals we’ve sent letters and emails to our MPs regarding this bill that has just gone through its second reading.   Most importantly it has gone through without a division and now goes to committee stage.

crystal ball
New style AGM and future meetings?

New style AGM and future meetings?

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Well the best laid plans and all that! Despite our excellent Development Group changing the date of our AGM so as not to clash with Maundy Thursday, unfortunately no one foresaw Coronavirus scuppering everything.    A new style of AGM was called for. Thanks to our SUPER secretary, we were all prepared before Covid 19 forced lockdown on us.   Our key posts are filled.  The AGM was managed via email and a few phone calls. And as we Zoom into the future, Meetings via the wonders of Zoom will be happening soon.   Some of our less techy Club members will have their hands held (via phonecall obviously!) to help them join in.   We have great plans! A WhatsApp group now is up and running with many jokes to keep us cheered up and messages of support And although we can’t meet at the

Kangaroo Knitting Club for Premature babies in hospital in Malawi
Kangaroo Knitting Club is thriving!

Kangaroo Knitting Club is thriving!

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Fabulous news – about the Kangaroo Knitting Club in the Spring newsletter from Friends Of Sick Children in Malawi.   SI Blantyre, one of our friendship links, continue to enable women in the Kangaroo Unit at Queen Elisabeth Central Hospital.   These ladies can earn money knitting for premature babies while waiting for their own prem babies to grow!   As a result of start up money from our Club for this project, SI Blantyre have been able to help oversee it