{"id":4991,"date":"2021-06-13T12:11:38","date_gmt":"2021-06-13T11:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/london-chilterns\/?p=4991"},"modified":"2021-07-05T11:32:55","modified_gmt":"2021-07-05T10:32:55","slug":"12jun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/london-chilterns\/2021\/06\/13\/12jun\/","title":{"rendered":"Super Day to Celebrate Soroptimist Centenary with London Chilterns Soroptimists and Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Soroptimist<\/a>\"SI<\/a>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!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The event has been co-ordinated by SI Milton Keynes<\/a> who have picked up the Centenary Project theme #PlantTrees<\/strong> inviting a speaker from The Parks Trust<\/a> : an independent charity which looks after the 6000 acres of parkland and green space in Milton Keynes. We celebrated the #WhoIsShe<\/strong> 100 for 100 Soroptimists from around our Region and then in the second half \u2013 a party in the company of the founding club \u2013 SI Oakland<\/a> in California. After a toast and cake cutting we then sat back and enjoyed a play, telling the history of Soroptimist International<\/a> & our Federation Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland <\/a>performed for us by SI Milton Keynes.<\/p>\n

\"SILC<\/a>We had almost 100 attendees – Members of some of the Clubs in the Region were able to get together (COVID-safe of course) and share the event. All the Clubs in the Region were represented and we had many very welcome guests from around the UK and beyond including Leicester, Salisbury, Sheffield, Southport, St Austell and Chico in California. One Member of SI Surrey\/Delta Western Canada got up extra early and joined us for the whole meeting. Eight of our Soroptimist sisters from SI Oakland joined us and were welcomed for the second half of the event. SI Oakland was the founding Club of Soroptimist International in 1921<\/strong>, it has a friendship Link with\u00a0 SI Milton Keynes (the youngest Club in our Region) and is the Mother Club of SI Greater London founded in 1924.<\/p>\n

Our President Helen Byrne<\/strong> welcomed everyone to the meeting and read the Soroptimist Vision and Mission. She notified us of three significant absences: Jenny Vince, Past Federation President & member SI Oxford, Hilary Page, one of our “#WhoIsShe?” Soroptimists\u00a0 and our dear Federation President and Regional Member, Johanna Raffan. Helen sent all of them our very best wishes and our sincere hope for better health. Tragically, Johanna has since passed away.<\/p>\n

All the presentation materials and videos are available to click through to below – enjoy!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Our first speaker was Julie Dawes, Events and Community Engagement Manager: Milton Keynes Parks Trust<\/a><\/strong> [Picking up the Centenary Project Theme #Plant Trees for a Brighter Future]. Julie was introduced by Amanda Carter-Philpott, President of SI Milton Keynes \"SILC<\/a>(pictured here during the toast later in the meeting). Julie’s presentation was fascinating – click here to view Parks Trust Talk for SIGBI 12 June 21<\/a> The Parks Trust is an independent charity that cares for over 6,000 acres of parkland and green space in Milton Keynes. This includes the river valleys, ancient woodlands, lakesides, parks and landscaped areas alongside the main roads that represent 25% of the city and it continues to take ownership of additional areas of green space as Milton Keynes expands. In most places parks are owned and managed by the local authority, but the city\u2019s founders wanted to be sure that such a unique green landscape would be managed and protected forever, without having to compete for funds with other council priorities. So, The Parks Trust was created in 1992 to care for most of the city\u2019s green space and was endowed with a substantial property and investment portfolio. The income from this portfolio pays for the vital work of nurturing and enhancing the landscape. The Parks Trust is entirely self-financing. There were plenty of questions showing that everyone was really engaged with The Parks Trust and the great work it does. After the presentation many attendees are now planning a visit!<\/p>\n

We played this short inspiring SIGBI Centenary Video<\/strong> which got us all thinking about our “bright past” and our “brilliant future” as Soroptimists.<\/p>\n