Our annual Midland Arden Public Speaking Competition took place in the prestigious Council Chambers of Dudley. Principle guests included the  Mayor and Mayoress of  Dudley along with Mr J K  Sharma Consulate General of India. Also in attendance was Immediate Past International President Ann Garvie, Immediate Past Federation President Jenny Vince and Midland Arden  Regional President Susan Roxburgh. Parents, teachers, friends, and Soroptimists gave their support to  7 candidates who spoke exceptionally well on a variety of subjects. The winner of The 1st prize Trophy plus £150 was Lydia Robinson whose chosen subject “No Great Genius has been without some Madness” Lydia was sponsored by SI Stourbridge. The winner of the 2nd Prize Trophy plus £75 was Oliver Webb whose chosen subject was “Social Media – Master or Servant (friend or Foe)”. Oliver was sponsored by SI Leamington & Warwick. The 3rd Prize Trophy plus £25 went to

Recently, members decorated a Christmas tree in the St Nicholas Church, Kenilworth, display. The theme was purple and white to recognise the club’s support for the Purple Teardrop campaign. Purple Teardrop is a Soroptimist International initiative against human trafficking and the exploitation of women and girls. Purple is the colour of the campaign.  

Here is a good way of using up oddments from your wool stash. Tiny hats for premature babies and bigger hats for babies in the malnutrition wards can be any colour, the brighter the better are always needed, as are knitted socks. Follow the link for patterns: Knitting for babies

    Here are the links to some video clips shown at the 2015 conference that you may find of interest: Caught in the traffick – about the grooming of young women The locust effect – about everyday violence Millenium goals 2030 – young people’s opinion of them    

The 20th Soroptimist International Convention in Istanbul certainly lived up all the expectations of a great Convention, but for me the highlights came on  Sunday July 12th 2015 with an all inspiring “Public Speaking  Showcase” Fresh ideas and Empowering Women was a theme effortlessly demonstrated by five highly capable young  women, aged 18yrs to 22 yrs, setting out on their own paths from different countries across the world. Our own Flora Garner representing England, Ciara Maguire from the Republic of Ireland, Alana Hughes from Northern Ireland, Rose Lakoro Pitoj from Papua New Guinea and Ton Yan Ru from Singapore were the chosen speakers. They each inspired Soroptimists from around the world with their ambitions, conviction, knowledge and vision for their own lives and those of women and girls.   At the end of this session the whole, packed auditorium, arose and gave these five extremely