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This November, where did we go to meet up with Soroptimists from Great Britain, Ireland, Asia, the Caribbean and Malta?

This November, where did we go to meet up with Soroptimists from Great Britain, Ireland, Asia, the Caribbean and Malta?

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                This was the 89th Conference for Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) and was an opportunity to meet old friends…                    …and make new ones. Delegates heard an impressive array of speakers talk passionately about subjects of vital interest not only to Soroptimists but to all who work towards gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls – and an end to the exploitation of people and the natural world. They spoke, we listened and will bring back to our Clubs fresh energies and resources to further our work.                                                                                 

An August Occasion for SI Kenilworth

An August Occasion for SI Kenilworth

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Picnic at the Castle?  If it was good enough for Gloriana… We don’t usually meet in August but for those avoiding traffic jams, trying to reduce carbon footprints or staycationing in Kenilworth, President Amanda arranged some holiday downtime together. Our VIP treatment included a special presentation of the talk President Amanda gives to visitors in her role as volunteer at the Castle. Amanda entertained, amused and fascinated us with her description of the fourth and final visit of Elizabeth 1st to Kenilworth Castle in 1575.  Apparently this was Robert Dudley’s last ditch attempt to win the hand of Gloriana in marriage and he certainly pulled out all the stops! He even went to the trouble of having a special garden created for her, full of flowers and plants that conveyed messages of love and regard.  Then he topped that with a fountain featuring statues of

What’s Kurdish for “Thank you”?

What’s Kurdish for “Thank you”?

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Would we like to be invited to Kenilworth’s fabulous, community-friendly cafe, Milk and Mocha for their 2nd Charity Evening?  All proceeds to go towards empowering women who are seeking  refuge in the UK? Yes please! Delighted to be sitting alongside friends from Kenilworth Lions and Compassionate Kenilworth, we were treated to a wonderful three course meal prepared by an amazing group of Kurdish ladies.                                                  Nom! We learned something about the geography of Kurdistan from the maps at our tables and quite astonishing facts about refugees from an online quiz.  We enjoyed experiencing some of the culture of Kurdistan not only through the fabulous food, but through poetry and music.                        

What would Jane Austen say?

What would Jane Austen say?

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Our Charity Performance night of Andrew Davies’ adaptation for the Talisman Theatre was an absolute sell-out! This world premiere of an adapted-for-stage version of Pride and Prejudice was a huge success and our full capacity audience raised the roof with applause.  They also helped us raise an astonishing £1180! Not only did President Amanda negotiate with the theatre to secure our charity performance, she also organised the raffle of sumptuous, themed hampers named after characters from the book.                   Elizabeth Bennet has an oft quoted line in Pride & Prejudice “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others.  My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” The local charity ‘You Can Flourish’, seeks to empower girls aged 11-18 with some of Elizabeth Bennet’s attitude by improving

How can a plant stall help women and girls to grow?

How can a plant stall help women and girls to grow?

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By raising money to support some of the charities making a difference to the lives of girls and women. Each year we have a stall for our plants at the Lions Grand Show in June. Last year we raised almost £1000 from our plant stall. We passed this on to charities like these:- You Can Flourish.  A local charity supporting girls aged 11 – 18, improving self-esteem, building emotional resilience and strengthening mental well being. Read more about them here  www.youcanflourish.co.uk Refuge.  We make regular donations to the well-being fund of our local Women’s Refuge, providing both small and greater comforts and help to enable women survivors of domestic abuse regain self-esteem, confidence and self determination.    www.refuge.org.uk Our plant stall helps women and girls grow in self-esteem, self confidence and self determination.        Now that’s something worth celebrating!      

How do we make our town feel flushed with success?

How do we make our town feel flushed with success?

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By congratulating every local business, service group, club or charity who helped make Kenilworth a Toilet Twinned Town! As a global volunteer women’s organisation we work to transform the lives and status of women and girls through education, empowerment and enabling opportunities. Not having a safe place to go to the loo particularly impacts on women and girls. For girls denying them access to school and putting them at risk of attack when going to the toilet outdoor in fields. With the support of our Town Mayor, Sam, we launched in September at the Kenilworth Centre. We explained that to achieve the status of “Toilet Twinned Town” we needed 20 new organisations within Kenilworth, from different sectors, to twin their toilet and by doing so we would be helping some of the poorest communities in the world. And just six months later… Thank you Kenilworth! Our

How did we take tea with strong women?

How did we take tea with strong women?

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We pride ourselves on being a group of strong women, as varied as the poems we choose to celebrate International Women’s Day. This year, we take tea together to celebrate International Women’s Day in true Soroptimist style- with strong tea, strong words and strong appetites for cake. We read poems that celebrate the stoicism, inner beauty and heroism of women – with a strong sprinkling of humour! Our choice of poets range from Stevie Smith to Joyce Grenfell and all agree this one by Nikita Gill speaks up for many women we seek to empower. Fire Remember what you must do when they undervalue you, when they think your softness is your weakness, when they treat your kindness like it is their advantage.   You awaken every dragon, every wolf, every monster that sleeps inside you and you remind them what hell looks like when

Are you ready to embrace equity?

Are you ready to embrace equity?

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Purple reigns! For one day only, purple will be the colour for the park benches in Abbey Fields!   Because it’s International Women’s Day!   March 8th every year is International Women’s Day and purple is the colour we use to celebrate it. We’ll be decorating the benches in our local park, Abbey fields with purple garlands, pom poms, pennants and flowers. Each bench will feature the picture and words of a strong woman to inspire, interest and encourage passers by to think about International Women’s Day. Our benches will be reigning purple! So what is International Women’s Day all about? The theme this year is ‘Embracing Equity‘ For International Women’s Day and beyond, let’s all fully #EmbraceEquity. Equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. A focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society’s DNA. And it’s critical to understand the difference between equity and equality. IWD 2023’s campaign

Orange badge say no to violence
Please show you care –

Please show you care –

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Whether you are a Soroptimist, or simply a person who cares about women and children, please read this statement from our President. STATEMENT FROM SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND In the 21st century, how can a police officer continually abuse his power and simply go unchecked? David Carrick admitted 49 charges including 24 counts of rape. Any police officers who have been reported for domestic abuse or sexual misconduct must be suspended from duty as part of the investigative process, prosecuted and removed from office if found guilty. We support the stance and actions called for by Refuge and suggest all Soroptimists sign their open letter to the Home secretary https://campaign.refuge.org.uk/page/120554/petition/1?ea.tracking.id=POLMIS_2301_E_OL We also endorse the statemhttps://campaign.refuge.org.uk/page/120554/petition/1?ea.tracking.id=POLMIS_2301_E_OLent from the Centre for Women’s Justice’s https://www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk/news/2023/1/17/cwj-statement-on-angiolini-inquiry-and-former-home-secretary-u-turn. WE STAND WITH OTHER WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS AS WE SAY “ENOUGH” WOMENS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS. OUR THOUGHTS GO OUT TO HIS VICTIMS, ALL VICTIMS AND

What’s important to you about Christmas?

What’s important to you about Christmas?

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Christmas time for Soroptimists is when we like to celebrate with friends and family.   But also to remember what our organisation is about.   #westandupforwomenand girls By celebrating our friendship - with an evening of mirth, mulled wine and mince pies. We did have an entry requirement of course!   Admittance could only be by wearing something sparkly -  including partners.   A few bubbles of Prosecco, plenty of delicious cake kindly donated by Jean and a hilarious poem written by our very own Carole J ensured that we had a wonderful sociable time.   By celebrating our International links.   Because we buy second hand books at Club meetings, we're continuing to raise money for Friends of Sick Children in Malawi.   This year we bought a wheelchair and four corner chairs.   Club members have also bought these too. Made by the elves in Blantyre, Malawi, these are specifically