Members of Lichfield & District Soroptimists who were out in force on Bower Day to help count the proceeds from the collection were delighted to receive a cheque for £300.00 presented by Savannah Bennett, Bower Queen 2013. Savannah was accompanied by Lesley Warfield, Bower Secretary and Kath Marks, Bower Queen Organiser, both of whom are members of SI Lichfield & District. Savannah presented the cheque to President Donna Cope.  Some of the money will go towards the Clubs Skirting Science Day on October 16th 2013 at Stafford University Lichfield Campus.  The event is being organised by SI Lichfield, Staffordshire STEM Centre,Staffordshire University and South Staffs College and is aimed at encouraging year 9,10 and 11 girls to consider the opportunities open to them if they choose to study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects.  

A group of Lichfield Soroptimists were among many women stung by the Great British Sewing Bee broadcast in April this year but when one of them saw a poster for “Dress a Girl Around the World” they decided to “dust off” their sewing machines and sew.  Members of the club donated materials, clothes and bed linen for conversion into simple dresses. Meeting once a month the “Lichfield Sewing Bee” had an initial target of 100 dresses but this has already been increased! To date, they have made 95 dresses, 30 of which have already been taken to an orphanage in Kenya with a further 100 destined for Burkina Faso in February 2014.    Apart from recycling unwanted linens into practical dresses for girls around the world the sewing group is also proving to be quite therapeutic with members chatting along to the hum (or buzz)

SI Lichfield (UK) and Kaarst (Germany) joined forces for a fundraising weekend at the Kaarst-Total Festival 31st August – 1st September.  As the clubs had already exchanged social visits with each other, this trip also had a practical side: to raise money for a girls’ school in Kabul, Afghanistan.  The funds raised contribute to the running of a homework club at the school to enable and assist the girls to complete their schoolwork. One of the Soroptimists from Kaarst has worked at the school and travels there each year to review progress. 10 Lichfield Soroptimists travelled to Kaarst in Germany and were met by their hosts at Dusseldorf Airport. After refreshments, they attended a civic reception by the Mayor of Kaarst, Franz-Josef Moorman who welcomed them and gave a potted history of Kaarst past and present. Included in their fundraising activities was Ping Pong Tombola, a

  The 20th July 2013 was designated SIGBI Day of Action in support of the BIG Project (Birthing in the Gambia).  SI Lichfield organized a raffle with first prize being a water colour original of Lichfield Cathedral painted and donated by John May of Talking Newspapers. The raffle raised £193.00 for this project, a three year fundraising challenge which will save the lives of countless critically ill women, babies and children in theGambia.  

Lichfield Soroptimists will hold their next Fashow Show on 1st October, 2013 at Beacon Park Village, Lower Sandford Street, Lichfield, WS13 6JN.  Doors will open at 7pm for 7.30 start.   The show, provided by S.D. Fashions will have High Street Names at bargain prices.  Size range from 8 to 24 and an opportunity to try on before you buy.  Entrance by ticket  costing £5.00 and available from Carol Wedgbury 01283 792178 and Donna Cope 07515 596656,  All profits will go to local charities.

During August Lichfield Soroptimists forego their usual business meeting in favour of a summer social event and on August 14 this year  members and guests of the club enjoyed a private tour of Catton Hall.  Catton Hall is owned by the Neilson family, descendants of the Anson-Horton family, who themselves were descendants of the Fifth Baronet, Rev St George Wilmot-Horton.  The current house was built in 1745 but a Hall has stood in the grounds since the 15th Century.  Members and guests of the club were met on arrival by Katie Neilson who gave them a guided tour of the grounds which extend to the River Trent.  The tour included the formal gardens and the Chapel in the grounds of Catton Hall which, although rebuilt in the 1800’s still houses the original Norman Font.   On entering the house guests enjoyed a glass of wine

  Lichfield Soroptimists could not have had a better venue for their afternoon tea, than the Yews Farm at Haunton.  Tracy & Kevin kindly let us hold this event, in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, in the beautiful orchard at their farm. Guests were treated to a glass of Pimms on arrival, an array of sandwiches followed by homemade scones and cakes, all served by members of SI Lichfield.   Visitors were shown how an Apple Press works by Soroptimist Julia’s husband John and were invited to have a go at making their own apple juice.  Julia’s grandson Sam kept guests entertained with an array of magic tricks and everyone had a very pleasant afternoon in beautiful surroundings matched by summer sunshine. The ‘icing on the cake’ was the news that the afternoon had raised £523.35 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.  President Donna thanks everyone who had

  When the Dowager Countess of Harrowby arranged for Sandon Hall to be opened on the 14th August for Carers to enjoy a day of fun, SI Lichfield were there to lend a helping hand.  The Dowager Countess is Patron of CASS – Carers Association of South Staffordshire and holds regular events at the Hall for the young carers.  The formal gardens were transformed by a range of bouncy castles and assault courses and young carers could also join take part in creating music with ‘Make a Noise’. Various manicure and therapy treatments were also available as well as burgers and hot dogs prepared by Stafford Lions Club.    Lichfield Soroptimists were in charge of liquid refreshments, namely orange of blackcurrant squash however as they could not find any jugs to carry the drinking water, Regional President Dishi improvised by providing Lichfield member Bev with a

  Lichfield SI has supported Staffordshire young carers (CASS – Carers Association of South Staffordshire) for many years and this funded two cookery days at Beaudesert Scout Camp.  Representatives from SI Lichfield went along on the 5th and 7th August to help the staff of CASS teach the young carers how to make, beef burgers, jacket potatoes and a lemon cheesecake.   The Beef burgers and Jacket Potatoes were eaten at lunchtime but the young carers all had a homemade cheesecake to take back to their families.  At the end of the session Lichfield SI presented each young carer with a Cookery Kit with utensils which would enable them to use the skills they had learned when they returned home. The day was rounded off by with staff of CASS making hot chocolate and toasting marshmallows over a camp fire.

Following on from the Skirting Science Day last November, SI Lichfield paid for two girls from JohnTaylor School in Barton-under-Needwood to attend a three day residential course on Marine Technology run by the Smallpeice Trust at the University of Southampton. The girls had the opportunity to: take part in Design and Build projects in hands-on workshops run by experienced marine professionals; visit a local business to discover the role of cutting-edge marine technology in the modern workplace; meet and work with engineers from industry and academia; take part in a harbour cruise to demonstrate the importance of marine transportation; improve skills in team building, communication, time management, problem solving, planning and presentations. The girls had a great time, summed up by one of them as follows: “I found this trip very inspirational and it helped me understand different sides in the subject of marine technology