Region News Archives | SI London Chilterns

Wonderful Celebration of SI Hertford’s 70th Anniversary

6 days ago in

Hertford

Soroptimist International Hertford & District organised a wonderful celebration of their 70th Anniversary on Saturday 25 April. It was a lovely sunny day and the Three Horseshoes at Hooks Cross was the perfect venue for a lunch. When looking at the photo albums from previous celebrations you can see how these events have changed with the times, and become more informal and friendlier as a result. There were guests at the event from many other Clubs in the Region including Bedford, Greater London, Milton Keynes, St Albans and Thames Valley, as well as partners, friends and supporters of the Club and one “Soropti-mum” too! There was time for greetings and chats before everyone sat down for lunch. Conversations over lunch were lively, friendly and varied at all of the tables, something that happens at all Soroptimist events! Pam Robertson (pictured here) welcomed everyone and kept

Rights, Justice and Action at the International Women’s Day Event London

2 months ago in

#IWD26

On Saturday 14th March more than 30 Members and friends of Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Celebrated International Women’s Day at the Lancaster Hall Hotel. The theme for International Women’s Day 2026 is ‘Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls’ – click here to read more on the UN Women’s website: https://tinyurl.com/426ykexa SI London Chilterns President Rita Beaumont’s theme for the Region 2025-2027 is “Good Health and Wellbeing – the Right of Everyone” . The day really hit the spot for both themes! Pictured here left to right are Kate Belinis SIGBI President-Elect and Member of SI Hertford Club, Barbara Jeremiah, Rita Beaumont, Lidia Put, Pam Robertson and Kay Linnell. Our keynote speakers for the morning were – Barbara Jeremiah and Kay Linnell: “A Hobby That Got Out of Hand : our part in getting justice for the Sub Postmasters in the scandal of

Moving Human Rights Day Celebration 2025

5 months ago in

#16daysof activism

Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Human Rights Day celebration on Sat 13 Dec was very moving. It was the first event for President Rita Beaumont’s theme for the Region of “Good Health and Wellbeing – the Right of Everyone”. The United Nations Human Rights Day Theme for 2025 is: “Human Rights, Our Everyday Essentials” https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day Members were encouraged to wear something orange because Human Rights Day marks the end of the “Orange The World” campaign – 16 Days of Action to End Violence Against Women. As a bright and optimistic colour, orange represents a future free from the scourge that is violence against women and girls. www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/unite/orange-the-world. In the photograph Members are holding a hand out as a symbol to stop the violence. Our Keynote Speaker was Major Kathy Betteridge, Director of Anti Trafficking and Modern Slavery for the Salvation Army https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/modern-slavery who gave an update of the Salvation

London Chilterns Soroptimists at SIGBI Conference Birmingham

Brilliant Soroptimist Conference in Birmingham

6 months ago in

#SoroptimistBirmingham2025

The 91st Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Federation Conference was brilliant! It was held in Birmingham Friday 31 Oct to Sunday 2 Nov 2025. About 30 Members of the SI London Chilterns (SILC) Region were among more than 400 Soroptimists who came together for the event. This blog is about the Conference from the perspective of the SILC Region, and you can read reports from the Conference on the Conference website https://sigbi.org/birmingham2025/ Thursday was the Opening ceremony with the wonderful flag presentation of the 18 member nations of our Federation. There were big cheers for the Jamaican flag in support of sisters affected by the devastating hurricane (funds have been sent to Jamaica from the SIGBI Emergency Relief Fund) and for the newest member nation St Lucia. You can click here for more https://sigbi.org/birmingham2025/friday-31-october-2025-session-blogs/opening-ceremony/ Friday gave us three great speakers tackling the theme of

Kate Belinis hands over to Rita Beaumont at SILC AGM 2025

Women’s Health and Impactful Women – AGM and Conference

7 months ago in

Alzheimers Research

On Saturday 18 October 2025, Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region held the Annual General Meeting and Conference at the Lancaster Hall Hotel in London. The AGM business was focused, with reports circulated ahead of the meeting to allow time to hear from the excellent speakers. As always at the AGM there was a poignant moment when we remembered Members who sadly had died in the last year. It was wonderful to present long service certificates to seven Members of the Region – including the incoming President Rita Beaumont – pictured here with her 25 year certificate. President Kate was reflective in her final report to the Region: “I’ve had the most wonderful two years as your President and my one regret is that I didn’t manage to visit all the clubs and those I’ve managed to visit, I thank you for your kind hospitality, listening

Susan Parham Soroptimist London Chilterns Jun 2025

Impactful Women and World Environment Day – Soroptimist Summer Conference June 2025

11 months ago in

Ayushi Kundu

Soroptimists and guests had a thought provoking and enjoyable day at the Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Summer Conference on Saturday 7 June 2025 at the Redbourn Parish Centre. The event was hosted by the Soroptimist International St Albans and District Club. Regional President Kate Belinis’ Theme for 2024/25 is: “Impactful Women”. The event marked World Environment Day with the 2025 theme of #Beatplasticpollution. Our first impactful speaker was Gill Arukpe MBE – she titled her talk “Leading With Purpose”, which she has done throughout her life in spades! Scroll down to read a summary of Gill’s biography. Please click here to download and view the slides that Gill talked us through Gill Arukpe Presentation SILC June 2025. Her life’s journey (so far!) is motivational and fascinating, from a difficult start at home and in education to making a difference to the lives of thousands of

Soroptimists Sponsor Teenage Swimmer Mia Garner

1 year ago in

English Schools Swimming Association

Catharine Garner made contact with Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region in January 2025. She was looking for sponsorship for her 13 year old daughter, who had been selected by the English Schools Swimming Association (ESSA) to represent England in the World School Games in Serbia in April. This is an enormously prestigious event, effectively the World Championships for schools, and there are usually around 35 countries taking part. A contribution of £1,750 per athlete was required! The Region’s Executive decided to donate £100 to help Mia get closer to her fundraising goal. We received the letter below at the end of April – clearly the experience had been of massive benefit to Mia’s personal development. It sounds as if she has a great future ahead of her. You will also be able to see from the photo that we gained some publicity for Soroptimists from

International Women’s Day Event at University of Hertfordshire

1 year ago in

#IWD25

The Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Celebration of International Women’s Day at the University of Hertfordshire, School of Law was a resounding success! https://www.herts.ac.uk/study/schools-of-study/law The United Nations International Women’s Day Theme for 2025 was “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”. The Region’s Theme for 2024-25 is “Impactful Women”. This event really hit the spot for both the UN theme and the Region’s theme! We were very grateful to the University of Hertfordshire for hosting the event. The afternoon programme provided us with a unique opportunity to visit the Law School and hear first-hand from students how they are able to develop practical skills and experience linked to academic knowledge to enable them to be world class practitioners in the future. We began with a Courtroom Tour – ahead of the main event. The courtroom facility in the Law School provides a fitting forum

Human Rights Day Celebration with Impactful Women

1 year ago in

#16daysof activism

Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Human Rights Day celebration on Sat 7 Dec hit the spot for President Kate Belinis’ theme of “Impactful Women” for the Region year. The United Nations Human Rights Day Theme for 2024 is: “Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now” https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day Members were encouraged to wear something orange because Human Rights Day marks the end of the “Orange The World” campaign – 16 Days of Action to End Violence Against Women. As a bright and optimistic colour, orange represents a future free from the scourge that is violence against women and girls. www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/unite/orange-the-world Our first impactful woman and keynote speaker for Human Rights Day was: Kathleen Tripp: the title of Kathleen’s talk was: “Current issues for Neurodivergent Women and Girls in the UK.” Kathleen is a Senior Lecturer in SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and Inclusion at the University of

Edinburgh Conference – Educational, Empowering and Enabling!

1 year ago in

#SoroptimistEdinburgh2024

It was wonderful that so many Members of London Chilterns Region were able to join together at the SIGBI Conference in Edinburgh 1-3 Nov 2024 held in the magnificent Assembly Rooms. There were more than 20 of us there, and almost all Clubs were represented. If after reading this you feel like you missed out, then please put next year’s conference in your diary now! It will be in Birmingham Fri 31 Oct to Sun 2 Nov 2025. To view the Programme for Edinburgh 2024 click here: https://sigbi.org/edinburgh2024/programme/ The theme was the Soroptimist mantra “Educate, Empower, Enable”. This conference is in the Federation’s 90th year and there were lots of photos of “90 for 90” shown on the big screen, it was lovely so see that so many has been submitted by our Region. Our Region’s poster (see photo with l to r Joanna Swift,

SILC AGM -SI GL Members with Ruth Healey100 Oct 24

Great Day for Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region

2 years ago in

Wow! What a great day for Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region. On Sat 12 Oct it was the AGM, with inspiring speakers PLUS we celebrated SI Greater London’s Centenary – what a wonderful achievement! President Kate Belinis, Deputy Lieutenant for Hertfordshire presided over the occasion and the AGM business was run through efficiently with the support of our new secretary Joanna Swift. Papers had been sent to attendees ahead of the meeting. If you need copies please email silondonchilterns@hotmail.com The Soroptimist Vision and Mission was read by Yemisi Opanaye, co-President of SI Greater London (see photo above). She also thanked everyone for coming to help celebrate the centenary of the Club and thanked the Region for hosting the event. Sadly, we heard that Jean Maunder from SI Aylesbury, Lois Webb from SI Bedford, Valerie Cole from SI Hertford and Phyllis Sigsworth from SI Slough Windsor

Inspirational Clubs and their Projects – SILC Brochure and Poster for Conference 2024

2 years ago in

Brochure

Many thanks to all Clubs for their contributions to the Region’s special brochure “Inspirational Clubs and their Projects”. Two printed copies will be available for each Club at the Region Conference on Sat 12 Oct and the electronic version has been emailed to Clubs. Download the brochure here: SILCR Brochure 2024 Please share the brochure widely – it is just a taste of the work that goes on in Clubs around this Region and across the organisation. Background: We had asked Clubs in SI London Chilterns Region to submit content so that we could produce a publication/souvenir of a year of SI London Chilterns Region for the SIGBI Conference in Edinburgh, November 20 24, with Region President Kate’s theme for the year “celebrating inspirational women”. Then SIGBI asked Regions if they wanted to display a poster showcasing their project work at the Conference. We then had an idea

Soroptimist International London Chilterns Conference Milton Keynes - Kate Belinis, Sue Key, High Sheriff Kurshida Murza

Celebrating Inspirational Women at the Soroptimist Region Conference Milton Keynes

2 years ago in

Diamond Education Grant

The Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region on Saturday 15 June was a great success! SI Milton Keynes, hosted the event on behalf of SILC President Kate Belinis continuing Kate’s theme of “Celebrating Inspirational Women”. The venue was perfect, with 33 people attending in person and with great technology enabling 14 Members of the Region to join us on Zoom. We were really lucky to be able to use the building and facilities of MK SNAP (Milton Keynes Special Needs Advancement Project), because Angie Novell, a Member of SI Milton Keynes, is the Chief Executive of the charity. President Kate Belinis (pictured here on the left) started the event by saying how proud we should all be with all the Soroptimist celebrations this year – our Federation SIGBI is 90, SI Greater London Club is 100 and SI High Wycombe is 60! Our headline speaker, Kurshida

Congratulations Soroptimist International Greater London – a Century of History!

2 years ago in

centenary

VALENTINE’S DAY 2024 SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL GREATER LONDON SISTERS TURNED 100 BLESS BESS! On 17th February 2024, members of Soroptimist International Greater London (SIGL) Club, https://sigbi.org/london-greater the first Soroptimist club chartered outside America, seventh in the world [i], were kindly invited by Soroptimist Hotel Number 63 manager Victoria to visit the hotel with Miss Amelia Hawes, great, great-niece of SIGL member Miss Elizabeth Hawes MBE (1888-1966) – pictured here in her garden. Amelia wished to photograph centenary year SIGL Sisters visiting Number 63, for a book she is compiling based on the World War II exertions of her relative Elizabeth Hawes (Bess to her family). The Bless Bess Book is to be Amelia’s final university submission. It has to be good. Here are two photos taken by Amelia, kicking off the SIGL centenary celebrations. The first photo of SIGL Members was taken at Number 63, and the

A Tale of Two Soroptimist Clubs in the News

2 years ago in

Bucks Free Press

Congratulations to Sue Granshaw from SI High Wycombe and District and Peggy Simson from SI Thames Valley who got a two page spread in the Bucks Free Press covering the history and latest projects from these two wonderful Clubs in our Region.

Special International Women’s Day Event 16 March Knebworth House

2 years ago in

#InspireInclusion

Kate Belinis, SI London Chilterns Region President, arranged this special Soroptimist London Chilterns Region Event at Knebworth House on Sat 16th March to celebrate International Women’s Day. Kate’s theme for the year is “Celebrating Inspirational Women”. We also celebrated the 100th Anniversary of SI Greater London‘s Charter on 14 February 1924 – CONGRATULATIONS! A great achievement and milestone for the oldest Club in our Federation. The photo here is of 7 Members of the SI Greater London with Regional President Kate Belinis third from the right. What a wonderful way to celebrate International Women’s Day. There were 60 people attending, mostly Soroptimists, including Members from Clubs far away – Jill Ogley from SI Brixham, Ayushi Kundu from SI Calcutta and Pepsie Ogechi Adiukwu from SI Nigeria! We had guests who were friends of Soroptimists, including 2 ladies from Dorking Museum who are women’s suffrage historians.

Orange Cafes to End Violence Against Women

2 years ago in

London Chilterns

Soroptimist Clubs across the country and across our Region are holding Orange Cafe events on or near the 25th of each month. The 25th of the month is “Orange Day” – a day when the United Nations and Soroptimists call upon activists, to mobilise people and highlight issues relevant to preventing and ending violence against women and girls, not only once a year on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, but every month. “Orange Day” is a day to raise awareness and take action to end violence against women and girls. As a bright and optimistic colour, orange represents a future free from violence against women and girls. https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/unite/orange-the-world SI Thames Valley marked the occasion on 25 Feb 2024 and the Ark Café turned Orange. Congratulations to the Club – the fabulous photo of Club Members with the Club

Inspirational Women Celebrate 75 Years of Human Rights

2 years ago in

#16daysof activism

President Kate Belinis welcomed almost 30 Members of London Chilterns Region to the Human Rights Day event on Zoom Sat 9 Dec plus Lindsay Green, Director of Programme and member of SI Selby. Kate’s theme for the year is “Celebrating Inspirational Women” and we were indeed inspired by two amazing speakers to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Human Rights Day. See below for more detail. Human Rights Day is the last day of the global Orange the World Campaign – 16 days of activism to end gender based violence from 25 Nov, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women – so everyone was encouraged to wear something orange. Please see the photo above where everyone raised their hand to signify an end to violence against women and girls. For more #OrangeTheWorld activities from around the Region click here: https://sigbi.org/london-chilterns/2023/12/09/otw23/ The 2023 Theme for

Soroptimists Orange The World 25 Nov for 16 Days of Action to End Violence Against Women

2 years ago in

#16daysof activism

Soroptimists support the global Orange the World Campaign – 16 days of activism to end gender based violence from 25 Nov, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day. Hertfordshire County Hall lit up orange on 30 Nov. See the photo. The event was organised by SI Hertford and District. Cllr Terry Douris, Chair of Herts County Council welcomed everyone to the Orange the World Event with tea in the ballroom. There were speeches by Hertford Soroptimist Kate Belinis and St Albans Soroptimist Denise Powell. Members of both Clubs attended to support the event. Members of the Herts White Ribbon Steering Group were also active participants in the event because the goals are the same as for Orange The World – ending violence against women. There were Mayors in attendance from across Hertfordshire plus High Sheriff-Elect Annie

Helen Byrne and Kate Belinis SILC Change of insignia 2023

Moving and animated SILC Region AGM/Conference

3 years ago in

London Chilterns

On Sat 7 Oct we welcomed more than 30 Members from across our Region to the Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region AGM/Conference Our inspirational speaker was Roxie Chambers from Survivors Against Domestic Abuse (SADA) Roxie is a survivor herself and her life story (so far) is both moving and inspiring in equal measures. Pam Robertson, the Region’s Programme Action Officer, invited Roxie to speak to us after meeting her at an International Women’s Day event in March this year organised by SI Hertford Club Member Kate Belinis. Roxie told us that she was only 17 when she found herself in an abusive relationship – at that age she knows that she was easily coerced and controlled, although back then she didn’t have the terminology to understand what was happening to her. Her abuser took her away from Stevenage creating a distance between Roxie and her family

New Members Meet Up on Zoom 24 Aug

3 years ago in

London Chilterns

On Thu 24 August SI London Chilterns Region held its first “New Members” meet up on Zoom. There were 18 people on the call – including 6 of the Region’s Officers. Helen Byrne, the Region’s Membership Officer led the meeting. Many more people would have liked to attend so the session was recorded – please click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcxWB-JooQw Please click on the links below to download the PDF versions of the Power Point presentations – if you would like the Power Point versions please click here to contact us The first part of the meeting included a presentation by Helen Byrne SILC Membership Officer and a past-President, and Kate Belinis SILC President-Elect. SILC PPT New Members Aug 2023 – Welcome & Region The second part of the meeting included a presentation by Rita Beaumont SILC Secretary and Pam Robertson SILC Programme Action Officer

SILC at the Soroptimist International Convention Dublin 2023

3 years ago in

Dublin2023

Almost 20 Soroptimists from London Chilterns Region were blown away by the Soroptimist International Convention Dublin July 27 – 29. We had delegates from SI Aylesbury & District, SI Bedford, SI Central & South West London, SI Greater London, SI Hertford & District, SI St Albans & District, SI Slough Windsor & Maidenhead and SI Thames Valley, plus an Associate Member too. Although almost everyone had been to a Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland Conference before, most were new to the experience of attending an International Convention and found to their delight that it engages and inspires on another level altogether. Please carry on reading to find out more, but it is difficult to get the immersive experience across on a web page. There is also a 2 minute post-event video to watch https://www.soroptimistinternational.org/soroptimist-international-2023-dublin-convention-after-movie/ An international SI convention allows Members to experience the highest

Region Meeting of Western Clubs in London Chilterns – a hit in the heat!

3 years ago in

London Chilterns

We had a great turnout with 41 people attending the Region meeting of Western Clubs in London Chilterns Region on Saturday 17th June in Bourne End. The event was a great hit in spite of the heat! Members came from these 5 “Western” Clubs – High Wycombe and District, Newbury and District, Oxford and District, Slough Windsor & Maidenhead, and Thames Valley plus Region Officers from SI Hertford and SI St Albans. Our hosts, SI Thames Valley, had 12 Members there and their warm hospitality helped to make the event run smoothly. We had guests from other Soroptimist Clubs including as far afield as Madurai in India. Latha Abiruben was visiting family in London and joined us so that she could spend time with Members of the Oxford Club which has a Friendship Link with SI Madurai. Judith Williams from SI Bridgend was a guest

Thumbs Up for the Region Meeting of Northern Clubs in London Chilterns

3 years ago in

Kate Belinis

It was a thumbs up from the nineteen Soroptimists who participated in the Soroptimist International London Chilterns, Northern Group of Clubs Regional Meeting in Redbourn on Sat 3 June. The five Clubs invited were: Aylesbury and District, Bedford, Hertford and District, Milton Keynes, St Albans and District – it was only Members of SI Bedford who sadly were unable to attend because we had changed the date. It was lovely that Associate Member and former SI London Chilterns President, Alison Sutherland, was able to join us. The aim of holding these meetings with smaller clusters of Clubs more locally is to enable more Members to attend and find ways to work more closely together, and to gain encouragement and inspiration around Programme Action. This is a trial and the Western group of Clubs is met on 17 June https://sigbi.org/london-chilterns/2023/06/08/westjun23/. The two London Clubs in our

SILC IWD Jane Slatter, Ruth Healey, Helen Byrne EmbraceEquity

Embrace Equity and DigitALL for Soroptimist International Women’s Day Event

3 years ago in

#DIGITALL

What an inspiring and motivating day! On Sat 11 March it was the Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Conference and Celebration of International Women’s Day. It was our first time in London since the end of 2019 and it felt great to all be together again. There were almost 50 of us there. This included Members of the London Collective from our two London Clubs (Greater London, and Central and South West London) plus Members from SI East London, Croydon, Bromley and Enfield (which are in South East and London Anglia Regions). The themes running through the day were the London Chilterns Region theme for the year “The Future is Ours to Challenge”, and the two International Women’s Day themes #EmbraceEquity and #DIGITALL. The fabulous photo below was taken at the end of the meeting with everyone doing the #EmbraceEquity pose. We began the day

Impressive Human Rights Day Event

3 years ago in

#16daysof activism

Members from around the Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region were joined for their Human Rights Day event on Saturday 10 December by guests and Soroptimists from other Regions around the London area. We received great feedback saying that people were impressed and we received many compliments about the quality and content from our speakers and the organisation of the whole morning on Zoom. We were delighted to welcome two excellent speakers: Major Kathy Betteridge, Director for Anti Trafficking and Modern Slavery, National Lead from the Salvation Army. Chris Green OBE, founder of the White Ribbon & Co Founder of Male Allies Challenging Sexism; Chris was awarded his OBE for Services to Equality – please click here to download Chris’s impressive biography Chris Green Biography The agenda can be downloaded here: Human Rights Day SILCR Agenda 10 Dec 2022 Our first speaker was Major Kathy Betteridge,

London Chilterns Challengers AGM

4 years ago in

COP27

SI London Chilterns Region had an excellent AGM on Saturday 8th October 2022: 10am to 1pm via Zoom. We were joined by, not one, not two, but three inspiring speakers! Our first speaker was Roni Cherneva, the Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking Co-Ordinator working for Bedfordshire Police. Pauline Panter from SI Bedford was proud and delighted to be able to introduce Roni because Pauline had been on the interview panel when she was recruited into this newly created role in 2016. Please look at Roni’s presentation Roni Cherneva Slavery Trafficking Presentation for Soroptimist Event which is full of useful information – in her talk to us she focused on sexual exploitation. Since the role was created the police have changed and recognise these crimes, but more change is needed so they open their eyes fully to what is going on. Roni said that in

Social Media and Membership Workshop

4 years ago in

London Chilterns

Members of Soroptimist Clubs in the London Chilterns Region were treated to an informative Social Media Workshop on Sat 25 June delivered by Soroptimist Rachel Weinhold, business owner/Director of GrowTraffic, a digital marketing agency. Rachel is a Member of the SIGBI ( Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland) PR and Marketing Team where her expertise is highly valued. This inspiring online event was organised by SI London Chilterns Region Membership Officer Helen Byrne, highlighting how easy social media is for everyone and how important it is for the future of Soroptimist Clubs. Those lucky enough to be at the Regional Social Media and Membership Workshop were treated to a tour de force: a fabulous walk through with Rachel of the aims and practicalities of using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linked In and Tik Tok, both to attract new members and to promote and develop Club Programme Action.

June Region Conference – Celebration of Being Together Again

4 years ago in

Alzeimer's Society

We were delighted that nearly 40 Members of Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region were able to meet face-to-face on Saturday 11 June 2022 for the first time since November 2019!

Diamond Celebrations for SI Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead

4 years ago in

Diamond Anniversary

SI Slough Windsor and Maidenhead celebrated its Diamond Anniversary by holding a Climate Change Conference in the Long Barn at Norden Farm, Maidenhead on Saturday 26 March and having a celebratory lunch at Ditton Manor, Langley on Sunday 27 March.The theme of their Climate Change Conference was ”Towards Tomorrow’s World – the Realities?” For this they had some very inspiring speakers. Cllr. Donna Stimson, who attended COP26 on behalf of the Royal Borough, spoke about what she took away from it and what we all could do. SI St Albans member Linda Shall talked about building her Passive house – the concept of this type of house is based on a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building which reduces the building’s ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling. The third speaker, Internationally reknown Professor Amir Sharif, Dean of the

Inspirational International Women’s Day Event SI London Chilterns 5 March

4 years ago in

#BreakTheBias

The Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Conference and Celebration of International Women’s Day on 5 March was exhausting it was so inspiring! We had two speakers, Dr Sue Hills from the Alice Ruggles Trust on stalking and Kate O’Brien from Kinship on kinship carers – both really relevant for IWD and delivered brilliantly. We also heard from the Region’s Officers and Clubs and highlighted inspirational women to celebrate the day. The agenda can be downloaded here Agenda IWD 5th March 2022 These two photos were taken at the end of the meeting with attendees making the sign for #BreakTheBias for #IWD22 The meeting began with the Region’s Immediate Past President Helen Byrne in the chair. After a warm welcome to almost 50 people on the Zoom call and the Soroptimist Vision and Mission being shared by Jo Swift from Aylesbury, Helen was

New Recruits for Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region

4 years ago in

SI Thames Valley

Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region is delighted that women from around the region are joining our wonderful Clubs. Thanks to Kay Heppell from SI Thames Valley for sending in this lovely photo and news item for her Club. New Recruits at SI Thames Valley: Featured in the photo above are SI Thames Valley’s four new recruits who officially joined the club in a special tea party in February at Bourne End Library in Buckinghamshire. Two were completely new to Soroptimism and had been attracted to it by the club’s Kori Project in Sierra Leone. As to the third member, SI Thames Valley offers a welcome back to a former member and a keen Girl Guider with whom SI Thames hopes to organise a Programme Action partnership. The fourth member is a recently retired accountant who already deals expertly with the Kori Project’s accounts. The Club’s

Thames Valley Soroptimists Plant a Pear Tree for Centenary

4 years ago in

#PlantTrees

The image here is of three Soroptimists of Thames Valley multi-tasking for the future! Alison Mayall, Alison Wray and Peggy Simson are planting a tree as part of their Club’s contribution to the Soroptimist Centennial “Plant a Tree Project.” Soroptimist Clubs around the world have been marking the centenary of the organisation with tree planting initiatives – click here to read more www.sigbi.org/soroptimistcentenary2021/a-brilliant/planting-trees-for-a-brilliant-future The Club raised the funds for the tree, a Conference Pear, and thanks to the collaboration of the Wooburn Parish council were able to plant it on Parish recreational land for the future enjoyment of the local community – in Blind Lane Recreational Ground mini orchard in Bourne End, Bucks. They were also able to raise the profile of Soroptimism in the local community by purchasing a commemorative plaque for the public to see….and one of the Soroptimist planters cleverly reversed her tabard

St Albans Soroptimists Oranged the world

4 years ago in

#16daysof activism

St Albans & District Soroptimists Oranged the world (well Hertfordshire anyway!). SI London Chilterns Region is very proud that the photo montage produced by the St Albans & District Soroptimist Club won the SIGBI Photo of the month competition for January 2022. Building on their success in 2020 when they ‘Oranged’ the beautiful St Albans Museum, (see photos and read more about it here) this year the Club set out to ‘Orange’ Hertfordshire as part of the United Nations Orange the World Campaign and the 16 days of activism to end gender based violence from 25 Nov to 16 Dec 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. Please watch the video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g6Uhoy7PH8 They wrote to significant buildings, councillors, businesses and senior schools, seeking support…..and got it!. The Museum were once again delighted to support the Club and this year laid on a ‘lighting up’ tea

SI Thames Valley – 30th Anniversary Celebrations at Last!

4 years ago in

30th Anniversary

Soroptimist International Thames Valley were delighted to at last be able to celebrate their 30th Anniversary – twice cancelled because of COVID. It was held in December at the River and Rowing Museum at Henley on Thames. Members from a whole host of Clubs came to have lunch and celebrate with them, participate in a prize draw and have the opportunity to walk around the current exhibition on show at the Museum. They also had the chance to buy Christmas articles made by Rose Hutchinson of SI Stratford on Avon for the benefit of the Kori Development Project, one of the Club’s well known projects The founder of this project, also a member of SI Thames Valley Rose Simbo is seen in the photo with Kori’s current project, an orchard to be planted in the Kori chiefdom in Sierra Leone, in line with the Soroptimist

Mind Expanding Region Conference and Human Rights Day Celebration

4 years ago in

Climate Change

What a mind expanding morning forty of us had when we attended the Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Conference and Human Rights Day Celebration on Sat 11 Dec on Zoom. The images above are of our attendees raising a hand to say “violence against women – stop it now!” All of the presentation materials are in this blog, and hopefully we have captured some of the spirit of the event. Please have a browse and share with others who were unable to attend. We celebrated the United Nations Human Rights Day in our traditional way with readings and the lighting of candles. Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone document that proclaims the inalienable rights which everyone is entitled

Memorable Conference, AGM and Celebration

5 years ago in

#PlantTrees

On Saturday 9 Oct Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region held their AGM/Conference and continued to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of SI. President Helen Byrne (pictured) welcomed 50 women to the Zoom call from all over the UK – including Cornwall and Derbyshire, and mostly from the London Chilterns Region. Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London was a truly inspirational keynote speaker who really set the tone for what would be a memorable AGM and conference. Bishop Sarah spoke about her career and gender. She spoke about her experience at the UN Commission for the Status of Women, her ability to influence law from her position in the House of Lords and the work of the church in supporting people in dire need in London. For details of this work please click on the link below to download the text from the address. Bishop

Super Day to Celebrate Soroptimist Centenary with London Chilterns Soroptimists and Friends

5 years ago in

#PlantTrees

Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region’s celebration of the Soroptimist International Centenary was a real day to remember. President Helen Byrne (pictured here during the toast later in the meeting) was delighted to be able to welcome almost 100 Soroptimists from the Region and beyond. There are videos and photos through this news item so please scroll to the bottom to get a feel for the celebrations! The event has been co-ordinated by SI Milton Keynes who have picked up the Centenary Project theme #PlantTrees inviting a speaker from The Parks Trust : an independent charity which looks after the 6000 acres of parkland and green space in Milton Keynes. We celebrated the #WhoIsShe 100 for 100 Soroptimists from around our Region and then in the second half – a party in the company of the founding club – SI Oakland in California. After a toast

Soroptimist ISILC #ChoosetoChallenge the status quo

Women Leaders – International Women’s Day – #ChoosetoChallenge the Status Quo

5 years ago in

#ChooseToChallenge

WOW! What a way to mark International Women’s Day! #ChoosetoChallenge the Status Quo – please scroll down to read more and see pictures of all of the attendees raising their hands for the challenge. The word “inspirational” is often over-used, but our two speakers were more than that – we all left the Zoom event stimulated and motivated by these wonderful women. Our two stimulating women leaders who spoke to us on Sat 13 March were ACC Kerrin Wilson, QPM – Assistant Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police and Shrabani Basu author of the “Spy Princess” who told us the amazing story of Noor Inayat Khan – the first woman radio operator to be infiltrated into occupied France in 1943. See below to read more about these two brilliant women and information on how to buy Shrabani’s books. ACC Kerrin Wilson, QPM – Assistant Chief Constable of

Milton Keynes Soroptimists in the News to Mark Centenary

5 years ago in

Soroptimists in Milton Keynes are in the news! www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/dedicated-group-works-to-change-lives-of-women-and-girls-for-the-better-all-over-milton-keynes-3169193 The MK Citizen Headline reads: Dedicated group works to change lives of women and girls for the better all over Milton Keynes MK women who are part of a 100-year-old worldwide organisation are providing help and inspiration to females all over the borough. Read the news item and check out their website to find out more www.sigbi.org/milton-keynes Milton Keynes Soroptimist Club is acting as the coordinator for the NHS Hearts for Hope activity which is a national group set up to enable stitchers to come together in a supportive way in order to make textile hearts to give to NHS staff who work in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) wards. It includes all staff from the cleaners and porters to the doctors, consultants, nurses and everybody in between. These Hearts are intended to say thank you, share

Join the fight against Modern Slavery

5 years ago in

Brave Bear

Do you recognize the signs of modern slavery? Do you know how to report them to the authorities? In their on-going work on violence against women, Soroptimist International of Thames Valley invited Caroline Virgo of The Clewer Initiative to be one of their monthly speakers, on Zoom of course because of current COVID restrictions. Soroptimist International of Thames Valley members were joined on Zoom by Soroptimists from other clubs throughout the UK and also by 7 members from their link club in Belgium, Soroptimist International of Val Brabant. Caroline explained that the Clewer Initiative had its origins in the 1900s, founded by nuns, but that now they are a group of women plus a Bishop of the Church of England, Bishop Alistair Redfern who work to combat modern slavery in the UK and Africa. Their thinking is that in every UK community there is a

Wow – what an inspiring Region Conference and Celebration of Human Rights Day!

6 years ago in

#16Days

The Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Meeting/Conference & Celebration of UN Human Rights Day was held on Sat 12 Dec via Zoom. Wow – what an inspiring way to spend a Saturday morning! This was the first meeting with our new Regional President Helen Byrne’s theme for the year “Celebrate the Past, Create the Future” – and it met the brief perfectly! We welcomed two speakers: Kimberley Lamb, Head of Bedfordshire Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit and Johanna Raffan MBE Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland President for 2020-2021. Scroll down to read about Kimberley and Johanna’s presentations and a short biography of each of them. 58 Soroptimists attended, not only from around the London Chilterns Region but also from Sheffield, Selby, Croydon, St Austell and as far away as Norway too! The wonders of technology and being part of a global organisation…. Kimberley Lamb

President Helen COI Soroptimist London Chilterns AGM

SI London Chilterns Online Conference and AGM a Great Success!

6 years ago in

#dayofthegirl

The Soroptimist International London Chilterns (SILC) Region AGM and Conference went online this year with more than 50 attendees – it was lauded by everyone as a great success! The traditional change of insignia ceremony which normally takes place at the AGM was held the previous day at Denise’s home. Please see the short video below where the current President Denise Powell hands over the chain of office to the incoming President Helen Byrne. Helen also presented Denise with a bouquet of flowers to thank her for being the perfect President during this time of crisis. Helen Byrne’s inaugural address took place at the end of the meeting and is on a separate page of the website – please click here to view www.sigbi.org/london-chilterns/president President Denise Powell opened the meeting and the AGM business was dealt with efficiently – reports had been sent to Clubs

#SoroptimistsConnect – July Day of Action

6 years ago in

London Chilterns

Soroptimists Stay Connected #SoroptimistsConnect Saturday 18 July is the Soroptimist Day of Action. Members of Clubs in Soroptimist International of London Chilterns Region have been staying connected throughout the COVID19 crisis and continue to support and connect with their local, national and international projects. SI St Albans and District Health Events on Zoom raised £700 during COVID19 lockdown SI St Albans and District organised a series of three events in June and July focused on health and wellbeing. The Club knows that as we come through the COVID-19 crisis it is really important for everyone to stay well, to enjoy life to the full when we move into the new normal… The three speakers each focused on a different ways to maintain our health. The first speaker was Dr Alka Patel a GP and lifestyle coach. The second speaker was Jen Tiller a Breathing Coach.

Three Soroptimist Clubs Join Forces to Celebrate International Womens Day

6 years ago in

Dame Vera Baird

International Women’s Day Soroptimist Conference March 2020 Maidenhead Theme “Helping Us Achieve Our Potential” Three Soroptimist Clubs (SI Slough Windsor and Maidenhead, SI Thames Valley and SI High Wycombe and District) joined forces to hold a Conference to celebrate International Women’s day. The theme of the Conference was “Helping Us Achieve Our Potential”. The event, held in the Desborough Theatre of Maidenhead Town Hall on Sunday 8th March, was very successful. An audience of 80 people enjoyed a packed agenda to inspire them on this special day. The speakers were: Dame Vera Baird, DBE,QC, Victims Commissioner for England and Wales (and a Soroptimist). Dame Vera spoke about the work done by the Commission, which listens to victims, promotes good practice across criminal justice, reviews the Victims Code and campaigns for change. Maria Evans, a volunteer with the Royal Borough’s Climate Emergency Commission, who spoke about

Soroptimists Celebrate Human Rights Day

6 years ago in

Members from Soroptimist Clubs in the London Chilterns Region and guests celebrated Human Rights Day at the Region’s meeting/conference on Saturday 30 November. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/ was signed on 10 Dec 1948. A moving Soroptimist tradition to celebrate Human Rights Day is to light candles in recognition of the work of Soroptimists and women around the world in striving to ensure that the human rights of women and children are protected everywhere. Pictured here with the framed preamble to the declaration and the candles they had lit are (l to r) Denise Powell, President SI London Chilterns, Johanna Raffan SI Great Britain and Ireland President-Elect, Kate Bellinis Member of SI Hertford and Ameeta Sabharwal Member of SI St Albans and District. Our main speaker was Rosie Wyllie from Herts Welcomes Refugees – the talented animator of the film “Suspended”

Inspirational Soroptimist Conference in Bournemouth

6 years ago in

#SoroptimistBournemouth2019

More than 40 Members of Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region attended the annual Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Conference this year 24-26 Oct in Bournemouth. The theme of the Conference was the theme for the SIGBI Federation year #ThinkOnIt with a focus on mental health for our own wellbeing and the mental health of the women and girls Soroptimists support. There is more information about the Conference on the website www.sigbi.org/bournemouth2019 Delegates wore green at the start of the conference to raise awareness of mental health. The images below give just a taste of the conference – there is so much going on you really have to be there for the full immersive experience! [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] One of the speakers was fifteen-year-old Katy lives in Bournemouth. She supports the charity Toilet Twinning which many of our Clubs do too. She was incredibly brave to

Dame Vera Baird National Victims Commissioner

Dame Vera Baird Speaker and New President at the AGM

7 years ago in

Dame Vera Baird

On a wet day in London it was a relief to be out of the rain and in the company of inspirational women for the SI London Chilterns Region Annual General Meeting with special guest speakers Dame Vera Baird (National Victims Commissioner, Member of SI Newcastle and formerly Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria) and Dr Kay Richmond (Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland Programme Director www.sigbi.org/who-we-are/programme-team/ Dame Vera Baird started by giving us some background on domestic abuse – with its history of the crime being treated as a “private matter” by police and the whole criminal justice system. The presentation is available to download here SDVC Presentation – SILC Soroptimists 10.2019 In 2018 she was the force behind a report “Specialist Domestic Violence Courts – How special are they?” – you can download the report by clicking on the link. The report provided evidence for improvements which are included in the UK government’s proposed

Hot Soroptimist Womens Conference

7 years ago in

#SoroptimistsThinkOnIt

On the hottest day of the year attendees of the Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Conference had their thoughts provoked by two inspirational speakers Janet Fyle MBE Policy Adviser at the Royal College of Midwives www.rcm.org.uk/promoting/professional-practice/violence-women-girls/ and Ruby Raut CEO and Co-founder of WUKA Periodwear www.wuka.co.uk/pages/about The focus this year on mental health #SoroptimistThinkOnIt was covered by both of these speakers. They spoke about the impact on women and girls’ mental health from the taboos around having children and menstruation. The physical abuse of female genital mutilation (FGM) covered by Janet has serious mental health effects too. The topics covered at this conference show yet again that Soroptimists are not afraid to tackle difficult subjects. The title of Janet’s presentation was – The hidden harms – she split it into 2 parts – Mental Health – its effects on women and families from pregnancy to post birth and FGM – its physical and psychological impact throughout

Kathleen Martin, High Wycombe Soroptimist in Queens Birthday Honours

7 years ago in

Chalfont St Giles

SI High Wycombe and District Member Kathleen Martin has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours”. Jen Simpson, past President of SI London Chilterns Region and Communications Officer for the High Wycombe Soroptimists said: We are absolutely delighted that one of our long-serving members Kathleen Martin has been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the community of Chalfont St Giles in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. She works very hard for Chalfont St Giles and the wider community and the award is well-deserved. Well said Jen – we couldn’t agree more!

Soroptimist Suffragette Cheerstation at the London Landmarks Half Marathon

7 years ago in

LLHM

On Sunday 24 Mar Soroptimists from London Chilterns Region “womanned” a suffragette cheer station at the London Landmarks Half Marathon (LLHM) – see the website for more about the event www.llhm.co.uk The event broke its fundraising target of £6m. LLHM is run by the baby and pregnancy charity Tommy’s. In this its second year, LLHM had 13,000 runners. Lia Fyles, LLHM race director, said: “We’re delighted to have reached our fundraising target, and we expect that figure to rise close to £7m… We’re thrilled to have welcomed thousands of runners to tackle one of the most unique and interactive half marathon routes in the world. We have already received some incredible feedback about the day, with runners loving the music, the cheer stations and the London characters lining the route.” Soroptimists volunteered in 2018 for the first time and it was great fun as well as

Three Soroptimist Clubs Join Forces to Celebrate International Women’s Day

7 years ago in

#IWD2019

On 17 March a trio of Soroptimist International Clubs in the London Chilterns Region SI Slough Windsor & Maidenhead, SI Thames Valley, and SI High Wycombe and District organised a brilliant International Women’s Day event in Maidenhead Town Hall. The theme was “Opportunities for Women and Girls READ ALL ABOUT IT ! in the Maidenhead Advertiser: www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/gallery/maidenhead/142762/in-pictures-soroptimist-clubs-join-forces-to-celebrate-international-women-s-day.html and in the Windsor Observer: www.windsorobserver.co.uk/news/17525578.town-hall-conference-on-international-womens-day/ Speakers included: Gerry Lejeune OBE, CEO, Berkshire Community Foundation Hannah Little, Fundraising Officer, Womankind Worldwide – A global women’s rights organisation working to improve lives of women Alaa Fawaz, Chairman, and Raakhi Sharma, Representative, – two schoolgirls from Slough Youth Parliament Penny MacKenzie, Detective Chief Inspector, Thames Valley Police on crime issues affecting women in the Thames Valley The Mayor of Slough, Paul Sohal, and the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of the Royal Borough, Colin and Samantha Rayner, attended. Disappointingly but

WINNER!! Soroptimist Club Wins St Albans Mayors Pride Award in the Voluntary Sector

7 years ago in

London Chilterns

Soroptimist International of London Chilterns is proud to announce that the St Albans and District Soroptimist Club won the St Albans Mayor’s Pride Award 2019 in the Voluntary Sector category. The first picture is of the three finalists (Soroptimist Jane Slatter is on the right), with the Mayor, Councillor Rosemary Farmer at the front. The other finalists in the Voluntary Sector were the St Albans Museum Volunteers and the SAlbans Helping the Homeless Group. We could hardly believe it when we won because the other finalists would have been truly worthy winners. Barbara Saunders Secretary, Jane Slatter Communications Officer and Kat Clark President-Elect are pictured here at the beginning of the event at St Michael’s Manor, before the awards were announced. They all agreed it was a wonderful evening and brilliant to be recognised for the work Club Members have been doing in St Albans and

London Chilterns Soroptimists Celebrate International Womens Day

7 years ago in

#IWD2019

Our event began with a celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) which has been celebrated on 8th March every year since 1909. The day was adopted by the United Nations in 1975 with an annual identified theme; this year that theme is Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change. In the celebration of IWD we had several readings: Remembering Britain’s First Warranted Policewoman Edith Smith – Read by Pauline Panter Extract from: “Joan Clarke, woman who cracked Enigma cyphers with Alan Turing” By Joe Miller BBC Technology Reporter in November 2014 – Read by Rita Beaumont Message from UN Secretary General António Guterres – Read by Pam Robertson The full transcript of all of the readings are at the bottom of this page. After the readings we lit a Candle to Celebrate the Women of the World. Our first Speaker was Chloe Seymour, Fundraising Manager The Hope

Are Women Their Own Worst Enemy? Inspiring Womens Day Debate

7 years ago in

#BalanceforBetter

Are women their own worst enemy? On 7 March SI St Albans and District held an inspiring International Women’s Day debate… The panel and audience discussed the question: Are Women their own worst enemy? the answer: yes and no – it’s complicated! St Albans Soroptimists and sponsors, The Talent Keeper Specialists held a lively debate with an expert panel. The event was broadcast live and is available as a podcast from www.radioverulam.com/show/the-parents-show/ listen again to 7 March at 8pm You can read more about the event on this page of the St Albans website www.sigbi.org/st-albans/2019/iwd19/ Please scroll down through photographs from the event. Animated discussions covered: equality, women and employability, domestic abuse, health, societal and media pressure on women and how women experience the criminal justice system. The event was chaired by The Thinking Woman’s Coach, Dr Jessica Chivers and the panelists were Claire Harvey – Director of Culture and Inclusion at EDIT Development, Min Rodruiguez –

A Moving Human Rights Day Region Celebration

7 years ago in

#16Days

Members from Soroptimist Clubs in the London Chilterns Region and their guests attended a moving Human Rights Day event on Saturday 15th December. 2018 marked 70 years since the signing of the United Nations declaration of Human Rights for www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/ One of our traditions to celebrate Human Rights Day is to light candles in recognition of the work of Soroptimists and women around the world in striving to ensure that the human rights of women and children are protected everywhere. The introduction to the declaration was made by Joanna Swift, SI Aylesbury and District, who lit the first candle to remember those in the world who are still denied their Human Rights. The second reading and lighting of a candle was by Immediate Past Regional President Margaret Badley, SI Bedford to celebrate the work of Women across the World. The third was by Regional President Elect

London Chilterns Soroptimists in the Face of Suffrage

7 years ago in

#Vote100

Soroptimists from all over the UK were encouraged to add their images to The People’s Picture – the Face of Suffrage on display on the concourse at Birmingham New Street Station from November 15th to the 14th December, the day women voted for the first time. For more information about the project please see www.thepeoplespicture.com/thefaceofsuffrage/ to view the whole image click here https://goo.gl/ziCzTk We are proud that 2 Members of SI London Chilterns Region are represented on the montage – Irene Cockroft from SI Greater London and Rose Simbo from SI Thames Valley – what a great way to raise the profile of Soroptimists. This is the text that was submitted with Irene’s photo entry: Irene Cockroft is a Member of Soroptimist International Greater London, London Chilterns Region since 1997 www.sigbi.org/london-chilterns She is an expert on women’s suffrage in the UK – exhibition curator, author and lecturer. Irene’s inspiration in studying women’s history

40 Soroptimists from London Chilterns Region at the Liverpool Conference

8 years ago in

40 Members of Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region attended the Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Conference in Liverpool this year. We were kept well informed with information by Members who attended, the SIGBI Conference website www.sigbi.org/liverpool2018 plus Facebook and Twitter too #SoroptimistLiverpool2018 Let’s hope we can get a good turnout again for Bournemouth 24-26 Oct 2019 www.sigbi.org/bournemouth2019– put it in your diaries now so you don’t miss out! Below is a great report with pics from Denise Powell, Region President-Elect and Member and representative from SI St Albans and District – thanks Denise! Conference this year followed the traditional pattern. It opened on Thursday night with the Flag ceremony, I find it quite emotional seeing the corners of the world that are covered by our Federation. This was followed by a rousing musical entertainment from ‘The Brothers Of Swing’ – they didn’t sing much swing music, but they did

October Region AGM and Conference – the Impact of Women

8 years ago in

Commission on the Status of Women

We had an action packed October Region meeting in London – with the AGM, a #VotesForWomen presentation, a run through nominated “Women of Achievement” and a panel session on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW). President Margaret’s theme for the Soroptimist London Chilterns Region year has been IMPACT and this event fully met the brief! The photo above was taken with everyone present and many were wearing sashes and rosettes in the colours of women’s suffrage plus Irene Cockroft and Jen Simpson were in costume. The AGM was first and reports will be sent to Clubs. Our first speaker was Irene Cockroft with a fascinating talk with excellent photo images to illustrate “International Women’s Day, Now and Then”. This is in light if the centenary of the UK women’s vote and the fact this talk was cancelled in March due to the snow. Irene, a member of Soroptimist International

Vote 100 Suffragette Exhibition – A Stones Throw from Westminster

8 years ago in

Camden

SI Greater London and SI St Albans and District have both visited the VOTE 100 Suffragettes in Camden exhibition in August. The exhibition is cleverly titled “A Stone’s Throw from Westminster” and is at the Camden Local Studies & Archives Centre, Holborn Library. The groups have been warmly welcomed by Irene Cockroft, writer and historian on women’s suffrage, co-curator of the exhibition and also a Member of the Greater London Soroptimist Club. If you visit the website www.parliament.uk/1866 you can find out more about the 1866 Women’s Suffrage petition: the first mass Votes for Women petition. For more information about the exhibition please the website www.thesuffragettes.org/ and download this word document Vote100Camden The exhibition runs until 5 October. Irene is pictured here in the library with the wonderful Votes for Women tea cosy made especially to make this special centenary year. The groups learnt a huge amount from just a morning with Irene’s wealth of

WINNER! Soroptimist St Albans Wins SME Hertfordshire Business Award

8 years ago in

#SMEHerts

Great news! SI St Albans and District has won the SME Hertfordshire Business Award in the “Not for Profit Business of the Year” category Please see the website for all the information – hertfordshireawards.co.uk The Club’s Membership Officer and local business woman Amanda Brown (pictured here) proudly represented the Club at the Awards dinner on Thursday 26 July. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… The other three deserving finalists in the “Not for Profit” category were: Golden Giving Impactful Governance – Community Interest Company Tring Together

Hilary Page OBE Receives NAWO Award

8 years ago in

Two longstanding Soroptimists were honoured by the National Alliance of Women’s Organisations (NAWO) at a gathering in Europe House, London. Zarin Hainsworth OBE, Chair of NAWO, introduced the Elder Awards, which were set up to celebrate the work of feminists who are over 80, are still heavily involved in the women’s movement, and who by their work have inspired others. Hilary Page, a long-time Member of SI Lewisham in London Chilterns Region and Past-President of her Club and her Region (now a member of SI Epsom), was nominated for her many years of service to Soroptimist International at every level including SI Great Britain and Ireland Federation President and Soroptimist International President. The award recognised her work promoting the equal role of women in society including establishing Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) GAPS was founded to progress the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women,

Impactful Region Conference in Newbury

8 years ago in

Action Through Enterprise Ghana

What an impactful Region Meeting/Conference in Newbury! IMPACT is Region President Margaret Badley’s theme for the year and this event certainly fitted the bill. 50 Soroptimists from the Clubs in our London Chilterns Region came together to learn, share and have an inspiring and enjoyable day at the Hermitage Village Hall – hosted by the Newbury and District Soroptimist Club Sarah Albeboure from Action Through Enterprise Ghana www.ateghana.org moved us when she told us about the wonderful work ATE does in Lawra, a remote impoverished community in Ghana – Sarah, her charity and the people she supports are amazing – there was hardly a dry eye in the room. Please check out the ATE website to find out more and make a donation if you can – every penny really does make a difference. Sarah was a primary school teacher in Newbury until 6 years ago when

Processions 2018 – march marking 100 Years of Votes for Women

8 years ago in

#Vote100

On 10 June Members of Soroptimist International from all over the UK marched with PROCESSIONS, a mass artwork celebrating 100 years of women voting, in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London. Members of SI London Chilterns Region marched in London in solidarity with 30,000 women and girls. Please see pics of Irene Cockroft from SI Great London in costume and Members of SI St Albans and District with their Club banner. We met up with many more Soroptimists from all over England while we were there too. Please click on the video for more of a taste of this inspirational event. Women may have the vote in the UK, but we still need to continue the fight for equality. PROCESSIONS 2018 highlights What a day! We're still loving seeing and hearing about your time at #PROCESSIONS2018. Thank you all for coming. Here's a quick round up of a truly

SI Slough Windsor and Maidenhead Annual Lunch – New Venue and a New Childrens Hospice

8 years ago in

Active

After many years of having the Annual Lunch in Dorney this year SI Slough Windsor and Maidenhead moved to the beautiful setting of the Berystede Hotel in South Ascot. Despite the rather unseasonal weather members were able to admire the attractive gardens and enjoy a delightful three course meal with their guests including London Chilterns Regional President Margaret Badley and the Mayor and Mayoress of the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. Following traditional toasts to Soroptimist International and Our Guests, Fiona Devine gave a talk about the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice. Fiona’s son Alexander died a few years ago having needed treatment for cancer and she then discovered that there was no Children’s hospice in the area of Berkshire. Having ascertained that there was a significant need for a Hospice devoted to the needs of children (up to the age of 19) she took

Soroptimist Suffragette Cheerstation at the London Landmarks Half Marathon

8 years ago in

International Women's Day

The London Landmarks Half Marathon on March 25th raised more than £1.5 million pounds for the children’s charity Tommy’s. Because this year is the 100th anniversary of female suffrage in the UK, this new London event included a suffragist cheer station manned by Soroptimists in suffragette costumes and with sashes. In the pic are Jen Simpson, Helen Byrne and Barbara Diamant SI London Chilterns Region with Brenda Simpson Associate Member (and Jen’s Mum). The event was a great success and the 4 Soroptimists had a brilliant day in London raising the profile of Soroptimists – well done ladies! There is more about the event on the LLHM Facebook page: www.facebook.com/londonlandmarkshalf/

International Women’s Day Centenary of Votes for Women – What Have We Achieved? Sun March 11 Maidenhead

8 years ago in

International Women's Day

Soroptimist International of Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead, Thames Valley and High Wycombe and District Clubs hosted an event in Maidenhead to mark International Women’s Day and the centenary of votes for (some) women in the UK. The British Prime Minister, and MP for Maidenhead, Theresa May sent a letter which started “I am delighted to send my best wishes to everyone celebrating International Women’s Day in Maidenhead, and to thank the local Soroptimist International Clubs for everything you are doing to support women across the area. For the full letter please download here: TheresaMaysletterIWD2018 The theme was: “What Have We Achieved?” Speakers included: Irene Cockroft, Writer/lecturer and expert on women’s suffrage Speaker from the charity True Honour, dealing with honour-based violence Dr Rowan Hillson MBE, former National Clinical Director for Diabetes – on women’s achievements in Medicine Liz Beckmann, an Electrical and Electronics Engineer – on women’s achievements

Yarl’s Wood Befrienders News

8 years ago in

Caroline Clarke

To understand more about Yarl’s Wood and the immigration detention of women in the UK, please read this short article: https://theconversation.com/i-befriend-women-detained-at-yarls-wood-their-life-in-immigration-limbo-is-excruciating-92905 It was written by Jo Vincett, a PhD Student, Faculty of Business and Law with The Open University and it sends a strong statement as to why people should care. Yarl’s Wood Befrienders were winners of The High Sheriff of Bedfordshire’s Citizenship awards in February. The lady on the left of the High Sheriff is Jo Vincent a befriender and trustee. Jo became involved with the centre following her being detained in the centre herself. Our Regional Councillor Pauline Panter is also a volunteer The lady holding the shield is Caroline Clarke the Director of Yarl’s Wood Befrienders. Soroptimists attending the Regional Human Rights Day meeting and celebration last December has the opportunity to hear all about Yarl’s Wood Befrienders from two of the Trustees.

Soroptimists Mark Human Rights Day with Celebrations, Befrienders and Engineering

8 years ago in

#16Days

More than 50 Soroptimists from Clubs in the London Chilterns Region gathered in Bedford to mark and celebrate Human Rights Day and is part of the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was read by Regional President Margaret Badley. Three candles were lit with associated readings: Veta Hudson-Rae SI Bedford quoted Nelson Mandela to celebrate the work of Women across the World, Johanna Raffan SI Thames Valley quoted Malala to celebrate the work of Soroptimists across Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) and Jenny Vince SI Oxford to quoted Eleanor Roosevelt to celebrate the work of Soroptimists across the World We were also reminded of the quote by Hillary Clinton “human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights”… The first speakers of the day were Barbara Conridge and Angela Huddart, Trustees from Yarlswood Befrienders Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal

Step Up, Lead the Way – Brilliant Soroptimist Conference Cardiff October 2017

9 years ago in

human trafficking

Over 1,200 women from around the world gathered at the magnificent Wales Millennium Centre on Cardiff Bay to listen to inspiring speakers and to share ideas and energise each other through networking and friendship Olympian Katherine Grainger DBE, Britain’s most decorated female Olympian and Tornado Jet Pilot Mandy Hickson – only the second female pilot flying RAF fighter planes. These motivational speakers supported the conference theme of “Step Up, Lead the Way”. Two major threads of the Conference were around Violence Against Women and Modern Day Slavery. Michael Kaufman, founder of the White Ribbon Campaign challenged men to break their silence about violence against women. Kevin Hyland OBE and a panel gave a presentation with others inspiring us to take action to end human trafficking and modern day slavery. Clubs throughout our organisation also presented their inspirational projects and won awards You can read more about it in

Modern Day Slavery Survey – SI Slough Windsor and Maidenhead

9 years ago in

Active

Soroptimist International Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI) UK Programme Action Committee (UKPAC) www.sigbi.org/ukpac worked with Anti-Slavery groups and did a survey about the level of understanding of people in the UK wrt trafficked people and modern day slaves. The survey could be completed on paper or on-line. For the paper based survey, Soroptimist International Slough Windsor & MaidenheadClub had a stall in Nicholsons Shopping Centre in Maidenhead, organised by Jackie Paling. This location was chosen because the month before there had been some arrests to do with trafficking in a house on an estate in Maidenhead so was very appropriate. By 2pm when Club members packed up they had done nearly 40 paper based surveys. At the time of writing the Club has now received 122 paper surveys.The Club had articles published in the local press both before and after the Maidenhead event.

*Oct Regional Meeting/Conference plus AGM – Director, Baroness, Clubs and new President

9 years ago in

Advocacy

President Jen Simpson opened the meeting. She reminded us that her theme for this year had been ACTIVE – Aspirational, Collaborative, Tenacious, Inspirational, Vocal and Empowering for Women and Girls globally. She told us that the new Soroptimist International (SI) Presidents’ Appeal has been announced – Women Water and Leadership – there is more info about this excellent project on the SI website www.soroptimistinternational.org/campaigns/women-water-and-leadership-2017-2019/ The new SI President is Mariet Verhoef-Cohen from the Netherlands. Barbara DIxon – the Soroptimist International Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI) Programme Director was our 1st speaker. Barbara is pictured here with President Jen. She presented “Vision 2021” as a DIrector of SIGBI. The presentation materials are not included here because they will be updated shortly with incoming SIGBI President Sue Biggs.. The session was interactive with Barbara answering lots of questions on behalf of SIGBI. Our second speaker was the inspirational Baroness Caroline Cox – nurse and

Blistering and Explosive June Regional Meeting/Conference

9 years ago in

#2017WDCD

The picture above is of everyone holding up cards for the #LandmineFree2025 Campaign with SI London Chilterns Regional President Jen Simpson and Kate Moore MBE, former Chair of Action on Armed Violence at the fore. It was a blistering hot day with impactful speakers – ending with the subject of landmines – hence the headline! The meeting opened with a reading by Sue Payne of SI Milton Keynes to recognise the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought #2017WDCD June 17th and a reading to recognise International Day of the African Child #IDAC2017 June 16th by Angela Spellman, SI Newbury and District. The Soroptimist Vision and Mission was presented by Jo Lambert SI Bedford and Jen Simpson, SI London Chilterns Regional President gave us all a very warm welcome (quite literally!!). Our first speaker was Margaret Clark, Assistant Programme Director for Advocacy SI Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI)

Happy 90th Birthday SI Central and South West London!

9 years ago in

90th

Congratulations and Happy 90th Birthday to SI Central and South West London www.sigbi.org/london-central-and-southwest The Club had a whole weekend of celebrations 12-14th May 2017 with guests from all over the world including the Soroptimist International President Yvonne Simpson who is from New Zealand (pictured above with the Club’s Immediate Past President Joy Brown at the Gala Dinner in the Chapter Hall of the Museum of the Order of St John in London). Unsurprisingly there were lots more guests at the delicious afternoon tea at the Orangery, Kensington Gardens on the Sunday. Pictured here at the Orangery are International President Yvonne with Regional Communications Officer Jane Slatter, the Club’s Presdient Victorial Clark with her table guests and SIGBI President-Elect Sue Biggs with her husband David and table guests. What a wonderful way to celebrate a 90th birthday – here’s to the next 90 years! International President Yvonne’s Report is extracted

Regional President Jen Abseils for More Smiles Charity

9 years ago in

abseil

This is SI London Chilterns Regional President Jen Simpson’s report of her amazing abseil antics for www.moresmiles.org.uk to provide a ‘fit for the future’ expanded Paediatric Intensive Care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington. “On 26th April at 11am I well and truly faced my fears and completed my abseil down the 150 foot, 10 storey Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Building at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington. After being harnessed up, we were escorted up the staircase to the 10th floor and shown through some offices onto the balcony with stunning views across London, excited to spot the London Eye in the distance. After a safety briefing, it was time for me to climb onto the scaffolding platform and start my descent. I must say stepping backwards off that platform was the scariest thing I have ever done, made worse by my determination not to look

Kori Library – Official Opening by SI Thames Valley

9 years ago in

Jen Simpson

We couldn’t all go to Sierra Leone, so the official UK opening of the Kori Development Project Sandy Raffan Memorial Library was organised by SI Thames Valley and was held at the John Lewis Heritage Centre in Cookham on 18 Apr. As you can imagine a huge amount of effort went into fundraising, planning, building and equipping a major project like this – so it needed a fitting celebration! The photos here show Johanna Raffan presenting Rose Simbo with flowers. Johanna gave a moving speech because the library is a wonderful tribute and memorial to her late husband Sandy. Rose is the driving force behind the Kori Development Project in the Chiefdom where she comes from originally – and what a driving force she is!! The second picture is of SI London Chilterns President Jen Simpson celebrating with Rose, Rita Beaumont (Member of SI Bedford

SI St Albans and District Ends 60th Year on a High

9 years ago in

60th

Members of Soroptimist International St Albans and District enjoyed a lively Annual General Meeting in April to end their diamond year on a high. Click on this link for more www.sigbi.org/st-albans/agm/ The AGM marked the end of the Club’s 60th Diamond Anniversary Year, and the start of the Club’s 61st year with President Rita Andrews at the helm. We were delighted that SI London Chilterns Regional President Jen Simpson was able to join us for this special occasion. Please click on this link to read more about SI St Albans and District Diamond celebrations at the end of March www.sigbi.org/st-albans/2017/diamond/ There were lots of Soroptimists from the Region and from around the world who were able to join in right across the Friendship weekend.

International Women’s Day at London Chilterns Region March Meeting

9 years ago in

#BeBoldForChange

On Sat 11 Mar almost 50 women from around our Soroptimist London Chilterns Region met in London. A packed agenda included lots of news from Federation and Clubs plus two really interesting speakers – Sarah Smart (pic left with Regional President Jen Simpson), Director of Development and Communications, Food for the Hungry UK, Building Schools in Bangladesh and Lesley-Anne Alexander CBE (pic right with Regional President Jen Simpson), Trustee of the MicroLoan Foundation. This was an opportunity for Soroptimists to stand together on the closest Saturday to International Women’s Day – see the lovely pic above of our Members holding up #BeBoldForChange calling for everyone to help forge a more gender inclusive world. For more information please keep reading…. The group photo above won SIGBI Photo of the Month for March! We started the day with a reading about International Women’s Day by Moira Watson from SI Oxford and District: “International

Soroptimists in e-Christmas Card from Breast Cancer Now

9 years ago in

Breast Cancer Now

The Christmas message from Breast Cancer Now has London Chilterns Soroptimists Johanna Raffan (2nd from left) and Rita Beaumont (3rd from left) on front row with Baroness Delyth Morgan Chief Executive of BCN (far right). This photograph was from a Breast Cancer Now workshop earlier this year – see this webpage for more information. Merry Christmas everyone and a healthy and peaceful 2017,

Human Rights Day Celebration

9 years ago in

HR Day

Soroptimists from Clubs in the London Chilterns Region gathered in Beaconsfield to mark Human Rights Day. Four candles were lit – one to remember those in the world who are denied their human rights, the second to celebrate the work of women across the world, the third to celebrate the work of Soroptimists acrossSoroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (follow this link to find out more about the Spoon Project )and the fourth to celebrate the work of Soroptimists across the world. Our first speaker was Janie Grover from SI High Wycombe & District who told us about her life-changing trip to Peru with the charity iProjects working on a construction project in Lima to improve the lives of a community. Poverty, crime and violence are rife in Lima which is home to 12 million people. Janie is now fundraising for the charity to continue its work. Janie is

Teamwork at International Day of the Girl Child

9 years ago in

High Wycombe

This event, marking the International Day of the Girl Child was hosted by Thames Valley Police, working in partnership with local businesses and partners, to share and celebrate the achievements of women and girls from around the community in High Wycombe. It also aimed to inform the multicultural population of women and girls living in the High Wycombe area about facilities available for them. The team was made up of four Club Members from SI Thames Valley, two Members from SI High Wycombe and Sue Fortescue from SI Poole with their project “Purple Teardrop Campaign” against human trafficking. See SI Poole’s report at www.sigbi.org/southern-england/2016/10/16/team-work-at-thames-valley-event/ The event attracted hundreds of participants and the team was kept very busy distributing leaflets and information about the Purple Teardrop Campaign, and Soroptimist International. The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, Millie Soames, spent a long time at our stand, learning about our initiatives.

New Soroptimist Club Chartered in Milton Keynes

9 years ago in

New Soroptimist Club Chartered in Milton Keynes Exciting news – A new Soroptimist Club was Chartered in Milton Keynes on 11th June 2015. SI Milton Keynes are bringing focus to the very real, but global issues, which affect women locally. Angie Novell, the new club President said, “Soroptimists are not afraid to tackle the less glamourous and more challenging issues which affect and hinder women locally. From homelessness to trafficking and domestic violence; FGM to opportunities to work and support their families. We are there not just to raise funds, but through our skills, networks and influence, provide practical support to local charities and support organisations. We also hope to celebrate and highlight the economic, political and social achievements of women, and raise awareness of work still to be done to build a better world for women and girls….” Congratulations to our new Soroptimist sisters.

Breast Cancer and Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead Charter Lunch

10 years ago in

London Chiltern Soroptimists have been out and about learning about and supporting some of our charities and clubs over the last few days. This group photograph shows Johanna Raffan and Rita Beaumont with Campaigners at a workshop run by Breast Cancer Now in London on Saturday 16th April 2016. The second is of (from the left) Rita Beaumont and Pauline Panter (SI Bedford) and Evelyn Hatch (from SI Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead) at SI Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead’s Charter Lunch on Sunday 17th April 2016 held at The Guildhall in Windsor where 4 days later her Majesty the Queen cut her wonderful 90th Birthday cake.

Wonderful Women’s Conference!

11 years ago in

Soroptimist International St Albans & District were proud to host a successful Women’s Conference and Regional Meeting on Sat 20th June in Redbourn on behalf of Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region. Forced Marriage was the topic for the morning – with keynote speaker Aneeta Prem, founder of the Freedom Charity. The charity works to empower young people to feel they have the tools, confidence and support around the issues of family relationships which can lead to early and forced marriage and dishonour based violence. Aneeta has been on national TV recently covering these important human rights issues. Aneeta was joined by Sophie Lott from the Home Office Forced Marriage Unit (see picture below Sophie L Aneeta R). Recent law changes haven’t forced this crime underground – in fact there was the first sentencing only last week. Aneeta told some moving stories about individuals’ personal horrific stories of forced marriage –

Club Member Hilary Ratcliffe awarded OBE for Promoting Gender Equality

11 years ago in

Soroptimist International (SI) Programme Director, and member of SI St Albans and District, Hilary Ratcliffe, has been made an “Officer of the Order of the British Empire” (OBE) in the UK Honours List , for services to “promoting Gender Equality Overseas”. Hilary Ratcliffe is pictured here collecting her OBE from the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace on 21 Nov 2014. After the excitement of the day Hilary said “It was a lovely day – a very very special day – I am so proud. The ceremony at Buckingham Palace is perfect. Meeting Prince Charles and having travelled to Sierra Leone I was able to talk about the wonderful work Soroptimist International is doing there and we agreed on the horror of the current ebola crisis. The day was a celebration – not just for me but for the work of so many of the women who work

St Albans Welcomes 6 New Members!

11 years ago in

The Soroptimist International St Albans & District Club was delighted to be able to welcome six new members to the Club at their first meeting of 2014 – what a great start to the New Year! We hope they will all enjoy their membership and we are sure that as Soroptimists they will inspire action and transform many lives of women and girls in the exciting times ahead for the Club and the organisation. Pictured are: Front row l to r – new members Janet Audley-Charles, Patsy Cann, Jane Ellis, Back row l to r – Membership Officer Helen Byrne, new members Pamela Rochford, Debbie Tankard, Maggie Gatza.

Johanna Raffan MBE

11 years ago in

Johanna, a member of Slough Windsor and Maidenhead Club in the London Chilterns Region has been awarded an MBE for her work with Gifted and Talented Children.

Jackie Paling receives award from Theresa May 2013 / Violence and Conflict Resolution

11 years ago in

Jackie Paling receives award from Theresa May 2013 / Violence and Conflict Resolution – please click on the link to the article to read more: Marsh Award

Dr Eileen Alexander OBE 1911- 2014

11 years ago in

Dr Eileen Alexander OBE 1911- 2014 Eileen pictured here enjoying her 100th birthday at a club meeting. It is with sadness that we have to announce the death of our friend and fellow Soroptimist Eileen Alexander. A Soroptimist for 62 years she held a number of offices. Eileen was a Regional President, Club President (Bedford) , member of Federation Executive and a very active Federation Friendship Link Co-ordinator. Eileen died peacefully in her sleep on 20th January 2014, aged 102 years. Her many friends are invited to her funeral at St Paul’s Church, Bedford on Monday 17th February 2014 at 2.30pm. Eileen trained at Dartford College and taught in two schools before she was appointed Lecturer at Homerton College Cambridge. During World War 2 She was seconded into the ATS in 1941 for War Service in Anti-Aircraft Command organising physical activity for ATS manning searchlights and for NCOs. On

Former SI London Mayfair – Lunch at the Sloane Club

15 years ago in

When SI London Mayfair disbanded in April 2010, the members knew they would always stay in touch. It has fallen to Sakina Jetha (now of SI Central & SW) to arrange a social event for the former members and this was the third event which she has arranged. Previous events were lunch at the Ritz as well as a previous visit to the Sloane Club. It was also a double celebration as Eve Craske, now a member of SI Elmbridge, had celebrated her 80th birthday earlier in the year and we had champagne and birthday cake as part of the lunch. SILM distributed the remainder of the charity monies raised during their final year to extend the finance of projects which they had started, this meant that Project Mala in Africa had a further 3years finance and a pupil in San Fernando, their Friendship Link, had

8 March for Women International 2011

15 years ago in

Tuesday 8th March International Women’s Day 100th Anniversary (Picture is 2010 Walk) “Women on the Bridge” London Millennium Bridge – joint event with Women for Women International (WWI) – see the website www.womenforwomen.org/bridge There will be events in the UK and all over the world. The London event is the main event and it’s in our Region! Liz Morgan-Lewis will speak alongside people like Annie Lennox and leading politicians after the march. Sign up for an event on the WWI website www.womenforwomen.org/bridge or contact Jane Slatter. The march will leave Borough Market at 11am (meet from 10am), walking along the south side of the river to Millennium Bridge, crossing the Thames to the North side then continuing west along the river walk past Victoria Embankment Gardens, then crossing back along Hungerford Bridge to the South side of the river and finishing at the Royal Festival Hall for

Incoming Presidents @ 63

15 years ago in

On Saturday 5 February 2011 we held the Incoming President Workshop which included Elects, Vice and was hosted by Region President Johanna Raffan and led by Teams of Excellence trainer Eileen Shaw, both from SI Thames Valley. We were also joined by members of the Exec Committee. The Region holds this event every year and helps to introduce the new presidents to the Committee and to understand how the Region moves forward within the SIGBI Federation. After the introductions it was clear that we had a mix of recycled Presidents, members of longstanding who finally wanted to take office, and those newer members, who wanted to make an early start in club life. Given this range, it is clear that these personalities are within every Club, and one of the fundamental messages from every President should be to recognise the differences within her club. It is important to recognise

Jean Driver SI Lewisham Newspaper interview

15 years ago in

Congratulation to Jean for the excellent article. Your points on the value of Soroptimist were very well made. My attempt to copy this is rather fuzzy. You may get a better copy by pasting the following into your browser: http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&pnum=&refresh=7a1Q0Tc5z04E&EID=50e786ee-c629-4dee-ba75-9b9d94f0a6ac&skip=true

100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day 8 March

15 years ago in

You will be thrilled to hear that Soroptimists from London Chilterns, South East and Southern Regions joined in the march on the Millennium Bridge on Tuesday 8 March. It took one and a half hours but the circuit was held in bright sunshine and there was plenty to feel proud about. Arriving at the Festival Hall on South Bank, after crossing the Hungerford Bridge, there were rallying speeches from Annie Lennox, Bianca Jagger, Lynne Featherstone (Equalities Minister) and our own Federation President Liz Morgan-Lewis, and also some stirring words from the great grand-daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst. After the speeches, we went back to our stand where were able to speak with interested parties along with other participants such as Care international and Women for Women International. For once we had been given a great introduction by the organisers and the word Soroptimist was used several

House of Lords – Training in Public Speaking with Baroness Flather

16 years ago in

Training in Public Speaking at the House of Lords with Baroness Flather There were nine of us present at the Public Speaking workshop hosted by Baroness Shreela Flather on Tuesday 15 June. She is a feisty lady and broke the mould when she became the first Asian in the House of Lords and a woman too. There was a good representation from the Clubs of SILC Region and we spent the morning showing her our prepared speeches. It was clear that perhaps we didn’t all interpret the meaning of Public Speaking correctly and she made it clear who had it right or not. We were invited to mark certain elements and make our own comments about each other. It was during this discussion that other talents became apparent and after lunch we reorganised our speeches, some changed content totally and we re-presented the results. This

Thames Valley News of Projects in Sierra Leone

16 years ago in

SI THAMES VALLEY have been really lucky in recruiting two new soroptimists who are directly connected with Sierra Leone. Many clubs will already know of Rosie Simbo who is a specialist midwife dealing with FGM and HIV/Aids mothers. Rosie has also started a field project in her area, recruiting 50 women to plant seeds and grow much needed vegetables which they can feed their children and also sell. Lori Spragg is a local Marlow lady who has already made a huge difference to the literacy chances of children in Sierra Leone. This is Lori’s latest newsletter. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do and if you have any contacts with schools, libraries we would be delighted to collect any books you can deliver, either to our Fashion Party in Bourne End at Sat 11 Sept, our next club meeting on 21 Sept

Fabulous Fair Trade Fashion Show

16 years ago in

The Fair Trade charity fashion show organised by Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region on 27th May was a fabulous event. The event raised money for Project SIerra, which helps disadvantaged women and children in Sierra Leone face their futures with confidence www.projectsierra.org Julie Blackwell, President of SI London Chilterns Region is pictured here on the left of the picture with all of the models. While guests enjoyed a glass of wine during the evening the girls showed off a gorgeous selection of People Tree Fair Trade fashion, and two dresses made by women in SIerra Leone who have been supported by Project SIerra. In addition to the fashion show there were displays for guests to view with information from Soroptimist International, The Fairtrade Foundation, Women for Women International, clothes, jewellery and gift items from Natura, Alkara and Briony Bell-Burrow, with personal beauty treatments from

Annie Lennox with Soroptimists on International Women’s Day

16 years ago in

“Women on the Bridge” event in London International Women’s Day – Monday 8th March Soroptimists joined the march and stood in solidarity on the Millennium Bridge in London to mark International Women’s Day. This global event, organised by Women for Women International brought together women from their partner organisations including members of Soroptimist International. Annie Lennox, popstar and campaigner, Sarah Brown, the Prime-Minister’s wife, Cherie Lunghi the actress were there along with other prominent figures. The event honours the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around the world. The 81 events worldwide symbolise building bridges to peace, sending a message that says “No!” to war and “Yes!” to peace and hope. Pictured here with Annie Lennox are Julie Blackwell (Soroptimist international London Chilterns Regional President) and Johanna Raffan (Soroptimist international London Chilterns Regional President-Elect). Take a look at the event on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHqOUUzNhh4

“Stop Trafficking” Conference

16 years ago in

British-Taiwanese Women and Soroptimist London Chilterns Conference‏ “Stop Trafficking” This special event was organised by Taiwan Soroptimist Helen Yang from the Citizens Organizing Foundation (COF) in London in partnership with SI London Chilterns Region. Hilary Ratcliffe, SIGBI Programme Director chaired the morning session where three speakers tackled human trafficking from different perspectives. Workshops in the afternoon covered “how to organise a campaign”, “Taiwanese experience of human trafficking” and “Drivers to supply and demand – what limiting action can we take?” Pauline Monk from SI Poole ran a workshop and presented on the “Purple Teardrop Campaign” – “Stop the Trafficking, Stop the Tears” www.purpleteardrop.org.uk

Bras in Cardiff Bay at the Soroptimists Annual Conference

17 years ago in

Bras in Cardiff Bay at the Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Annual Conference in Cardiff Photo: Andrew Jeffrey The “Bras in the Bay” event in Cardiff was a spectacular success. Hundreds of Soroptimists brought their bras to Cardiff Bay to benefit an Oxfam project for women in Senegal. The Millennium Centre in Cardiff is behind this chaotic scene of Soroptimists with thousands of bras. To hear the interview on Radio Wales with Hilary Ratcliffe (SIGBI Programme Director and member of London Chilterns Region) click here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8335356.stm

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