….for the rain, it raineth every day…. or it seems to every time we have a plant sale. It was no different this year as we prepared our stand at the Lion’s Show. Yet, thanks to our two gazebos we weathered the storm. Coffee and donuts kept us cheerful throughout the morning, despite the rain, as we set out our many bedding plants (kindly donated by Bordon Hill Nurseries, thanks to Andrea) alongside some fine examples of Carole N’s wooden craftwork and a display of typical, non-perishable foodstuffs that will be used by the Kenilworth Foodbank to make up one of their food parcels.  Then, just as the Carnival Queen, escorted by a cavalcade of classic cars, entered Abbey Fields and this year’s Mayor, Cllr. George Illingworth, declared the Show open, the rain stopped and the townsfolk descended on us. We had a successful afternoon,

[new_royalslider id=”3″] President Andrea, Anita, Sharon and Bronwen took part in a sponsored white water rafting event organised by our friendship link club SI Cardiff. The event to mark World Water Day was sponsored and all funds raised will be used for water projects in The Gambia. We were pleased the sun shone and we were dressed in Soroptimist Blue and Yellow. Thanks to our team mates Kay from SI Cardiff and her son Ceri and our able guide Elliot who made the whole experience far more fun than we ever imagained. We can’t wait for the next time! From L to R Bronwen (SI Kenilworth), President Cathy (SI Cardiff), President Andrea (SI Kenilworth), Sharon and Anita (SI Kenilworth) and Cherry (SI Cardiff), recovering in the beautiful Cardiff sunshine

President Andrea was proud to present Mary Robbins of the NSPCC with a cheque for £3165.57. The NSPCC is one of President Andrea’s chosen charities for this year. The money was raised over the year at several events including the Plant Sale, Christmas Fair, Casino Night, Mulled Wine Event and Summer Garden Party.

We wished Jo our press and publicity officer, newsletter editor and web site manager a fond farewell on Saturday 3rd March. We will miss you Jo and wish you all the best for your move, and new adventures on the other side of the world. Thank you for all your hard work, especially teaching all of you successors how to grapple with their new challenges!

  Eileen and Sandra organised a lunch in aid of the Trussell Trust on Saturday 3rd March. The lunch was well attended by SI Kenilworth and friends involved in the founding of a Kenilworth Foodbank. The lunch rasied £326 which will help with the costs in setting up the foodbank. Well done and Thank you to Eileen and Sandra.

Kenilworth SI hosted a casino evening in aid of the NSPCC on February 18th 2012 and raised £780!  A great night was had by all and many millions (of play dollars) were won and lost.  Champagne was awarded to the guest with the most winnings at the end of the evening – double bonus!

The Club is proud to announce that we were nominated for a ‘Best Practice’ award for our recent study day which focused on violence against women.  Professor Rebecca Probert (above, left), who organised the day at Warwick University, accepted the second prize at the recent SIGBI (Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland) conference in Brighton earlier this year.

  Our Christmas Fayre this year was held again at St Francis’s Church Hall on Saturday 26th November.  Stalls included those selling poinsettias and cyclamens, gifts, crafts, homemade cakes, preserves, new-to-you, books, DVD’s and CD’s. Our efforts raised in the region of £1,800 which will be split between the NSPCC and Relate. Many thanks to everybody who helped before and on the day, and most of all a big thank you to everyone who came to the Fayre and did some Christmas shopping!

The exhausted team rest on their laurels after an amazing effort at the SI Leamington and Warwick Swimathon in October 2011.  This year the team beat their own record and managed 45 laps (each lap is two lengths of a 25 metre pool).  They also raised in the region of £600 in sponsorship for Myton Hospices and the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance.