Kenilworth Soroptimists, together with sister clubs in Coventry and Leamington & Warwick, enjoyed warm sunshine while welcoming the crowds to their eye-catching stall at the Peace Festival last weekend.  Purple balloons and bunting drew visitors to the stand to find out more about the work of Soroptimists’ Purple Teardrop campaign; ‘Stop Human Trafficking’. The Soroptimists drew petitioners’ attention to signs of trafficking such as several women living in run-down, usually rented accommodation, never alone when seen outdoors, and premises frequently visited by different men. Kenilworth Soroptimists were delighted by festivalgoers’ support of Purple Teardrop’s work in helping vulnerable victims of human trafficking into the UK.   ‘By the close of the festival we had collected over 1000 signatures for our petition to outlaw sex for sale advertising’ said Patricia Weinbren, President of SI Kenilworth.  ‘We want to say a big thank you to the public for

Kenilworth Soroptimists completed the Race for Life 2016 at Stoneleigh in 1 hour 1 minute, and thereby with the support of club members (and others) raised money for cancer research

Some intrepid Soroptimists from our club were out and about for the recent Two Castles Run. Well done to our two runners. We also provided seven Marshalls (who made £350 for our charities)

Thanks to the generosity of a local grower, we are able to sell good quality bedding plants at the Lions Grand Charity Show each year and raise funds for our charities.  This year we are supporting Friends of Sick Children in Malawi (FOSCIM) where funds that we raise help to support the local training of nurses in specialist paediatric care.   It is always a team effort, with members and their Soroptimisters helping in any way they can to get our stand up and running.  This year’s late start to the season meant we had fewer plants to sell but that didn’t stop customers coming to buy. Our grateful thanks to Kenilworth Lions for giving us a stand at their Grand Charity Show each year so that we can raise funds for our charities.  

Our Guest Speaker at our June Business Meeting was Santosh Kundi from  S.I. Leamington who  gave us a flavour of life in Kenya today.  We looked at a film showing us the different lives of two schoolgirls, one living in Nairobi, and one living in the countryside near Meru. She brought along various artefacts from Kenya: decorated gourds used for milk and other liquids, a child’s vehicle made from wire, musical instruments, khangas and more. The khanga is a piece of cloth, highly decorated and coloured, that the women wear. Santosh demonstrated one of the many way of wearing it using one of our members as a model.   The contrast between these lives and those of the women and children described in the SIGBI article:  https://sigbi.org/our-charities/meru-womens-garden-project-2016-2019/ showed clearly the level to which the Meru project aims to raise the women of that area.

A well attended coffee morning recently raised the magnificent total of £241.35 for the Ovarian Cancer Charity. With an additional donation of £14.00 and an agreed rounding up, the Charity will receive £250.00. While enjoying a variety of home-made cakes and coffee, we were given a talk by member Marion who is a brilliant photographer. She shared with us a selection of her beautiful photographs of flowers taken in National Trust gardens, RHS Wisley and from Europe (swathes of tulips under the trees …).  

Tea Party 14th May The sun shone pleasantly as club members and friends enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of entertainment and food at our 1940s tea party to celebrate HM The Queens 90th birthday! The afternoon was held at St Francis’ church hall in Kenilworth and featured the fine singing talents of Maggie Bartmanis and accompanist Adrian Moore.  We were taken through renditions of the Great American Songbook, including songs such as My Funny Valentine and The Lady is a Tramp. Following this we were treated to a high tea with such delights as mini tartlets with caramelised onions and goats’ cheese, mini eclairs and fresh fruit tartlets as well as a fine selection of sandwiches. All proceeds of the event are going to Myton Hospice.         Soroptimists enjoying the tea party after listening to singer Maggie     Bartmanis and accompanist Adrian Moore. (Left, Adrian

At the April dinner meeting, SI Kenilworth welcomed several guests who joined us for a membership event. The highlight of the evening was a talk by Professor Shaheen Ali, from the Law department of Warwick University, who gave us a fascinating talk on Women’s Rights. She reminded us that we in the West take much for granted compared to many women in other parts of the world.