SI Kenilworth & District held a Christmas Coffee Morning on 26th November to raise funds for the charity Friends of Sick Children in Malawi.    Members and their friends and neighbours were in a festive mood as they browsed the stalls, whilst enjoying a cup of coffee or tea and a biscuit.  There was a chance to try your luck at the Tombola, Treasure Hunt, Guess the Sweets in a Jar and Guess the Name of the Teddy stalls. Talented members had been busy making and baking and there was plenty of opportunity for Christmas shopping, with handicrafts, baked goods, greetings cards, jams & chutneys, wooden Christmas tree decorations and poinsettias & cyclamen on offer. The final amount raised during the morning is yet to be confirmed but will be in excess of £950.   This will be used to fund a third nurse to

Kenilworth Soroptimists have been busy decorating a Christmas tree for a competition in St Nicholas’s church (Kenilworth). All the trees can be seen from Thursday 1st December, Friday 10 – 8 pm, Saturday 10 – 4.30 and Sunday 11- 3.30. You can vote for your favourite (from 4.30 today – Thursday). Of course, we would like you to vote for our tree!

At our dinner on the 24th November, Soroptimists of SI Kenilworth and District celebrated Soroptimist International Day with a Dutch themed dinner. A short ceremony beforehand saw members lighting candles to celebrate our friendship links with other clubs, both in the UK and further afield. Afterwards we were entertained with brief talks about Holland and a “Dutch song” (see below!)

To mark Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October and to raise awareness of Human Trafficking, Kenilworth and District Soroptimists have extended the visibility of the organisations ‘Purple Teardrop Campaign’ by placing their distinctive black, purple and white posters in public conveniences. The UK Wide campaign aims to raise awareness of the plight of people particularly women and girls, who are trafficked into prostitution. The posters which have now been placed in Warwick District Council’s toilets and leisure centres provide information on spotting the signs of trafficking and have telephone helpline numbers for victims or concerned members of the public to contact Warwick District Councillor and Soroptimist Felicity Bunker commented: “Warwick District Council is very pleased to be able to support this campaign in a very practical way. I would like to thank the Kenilworth Soroptimists for the work they are doing to help our community understand

Kenilworth Soroptimists, along with wonderful support from other clubs in Midland Arden Region and in particular SI Stourbridge and District, are raising money to help improve Malawian children’s medical services through the charity ‘Friends of sick Children in Malawi’. Local artist and Soroptimist Jane Powell has created an art work to depict and promote the involvement of Kenilworth club in this important works. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. Reducing child mortality is a United Nations priority for this country. Soroptimist’s Clubs have raised funds to support a second nurse through paediatric training. The nurse selected for this specialist training has been described as simply outstanding by the Head of Emergency Paediatric Care in Malawi. Patricia Weinbren from the Kenilworth Club said ‘as Soroptimists we are committed to help women throughout the world achieve their full potential. Supporting specialist nurse training

Region held a competition recently to design a Programme Action Poster on the theme of Education. Our club entry was by Soroptimist Jane Powell, an artist.