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Medway and Maidstone Soroptimists Support IWD Inspire Inclusion

Medway and Maidstone Soroptimists Support IWD Inspire Inclusion

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In the mailing of 24 January, we were told of SIGBI’s plans for International Women’s Day 2024. As a Federation we were adopting the theme from the IWD website of “Inspire Inclusion”. ‘When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there is a sense of belonging, relevance and empowerment.’ SIGBI will be writing letters to the leaders of each political party of the UK asking them what they are doing regarding Inspiring and Including Women. An open letter is to be sent to various newspapers asking them to publish it on their letters page. Each club has been sent a link to the Trello board to access draft letters we can use to send to our own party leaders. When members from SI Medway and Maidstone got together in

What were the themes of our Day of Reflection for 2024?

What were the themes of our Day of Reflection for 2024?

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We held our annual Day of Reflection on 17 February at the St Margaret’s Millenium Centre. A small planning group led by Teresa Cambell met in advance to plan the day. A short survey was sent out to all members. The key themes from the survey were collated and fed-back to the group and were used to inform the content of the day. Teresa welcomed everyone and opened the session with an ice breaker. She shared the aims and objectives of the day. We broke up into groups to look at growing our membership and developing partnerships. Carol Infanti and new member Mandy Samrai led this getting everyone engaged and contributing. We stopped for lunch that Janet Garnons-Williams had coordinated. All the food was brought by members and included homemade soups, bread, samosas, cheese, fruit, and cakes. In the afternoon we looked at who we
Induction of new Member Mandy

Induction of new Member Mandy

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Badge and Certificate Presented to New Member Mandy Samrai We were really pleased to formally welcome and induct our latest new member Mandy Samrai to Medway and Maidstone club. At a meeting on 16 February. Carol Infanti, Membership Officer presented Mandy with her name badge and membership certificate. Mandy is already getting actively involved in our club development plan focusing on recruitment, PR and marketing and promoting our work with partners.

Who Donated Kente Banners ‘Excellence Together’ to Byron School

Who Donated Kente Banners ‘Excellence Together’ to Byron School

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SI Medway and Maidstone have a partnership agreement with Byron Primary School in Gillingham. Jane Barnes sits on the School’s  UNICEF Steering group which meets every 3-4 weeks. Some wonderful links have been made such as with Mary’s Meals and Toilet Twinning. These links will be developed in the future. We often wear our Kente sashes to promote who we are. These have been admired by the teachers and pupils who have wanted to know about them and where they come from. We were asked if a banner could be made to show the School motto ‘Excellence Together’ to display in the School. In December, Jane Barnes presented the UNICEF Steering group with 3 Kente banners with their school motto. Two of the banners had kindly been donated by Nellie Adjaye and the third by SI Accra to the school. They are now looking forward

How did Medway and Maidstone Soroptimists respond to Call for Action?

How did Medway and Maidstone Soroptimists respond to Call for Action?

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10th of December is the Soroptimist International Foundation Day (also known as Human Rights Day). SI President Maureen Maguire, encouraged us all to raise funds and donate them to the Soroptimist International Foundation. With the establishment of the Soroptimist International Foundation, SI will no longer have an International President’s Appeal.    The SI President will lead the Foundation. Raising awareness of projects and promoting fundraising through continued Soroptimist members giving, and legacies, grants and other funding sources. Soroptimists need to fundraise so that the projects can continue to be funded.  It makes a difference to the lives of women and girls around the world. The Soroptimist International Foundation has launched with two projects.  Hence a call to action to support the work.  The two projects are : - Education For Women And Girls In or From War-Torn Countries Visible and Vocal Medway and Maidstone Soroptimists organised
Who Says ‘Write a letter, change a life…’?

Who Says ‘Write a letter, change a life…’?

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Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign transforms the lives of people whose rights have been wronged. In recent years, we have seen real change to people’s lives because of action by Write for Rights supporters. From Zimbabwe to Guatemala, activists have been released and justice delivered. This year’s campaign features people from around the world, all connected because their human rights have been violated. Some by their governments, others by the police, or by big corporations. All because of who they are and what they do. The Maidstone, Medway and Swale Amnesty International Group had a stand at the Christmas Fayre. This was at Aylesford Priory on 2 December. Visitors signed 63 greetings cards with messages to the people featured in this year’s campaign. Three Medway and Maidstone Soroptimist members, Nellie Adjaye, Carol McKeough and Wanda Wright volunteered on the stall that day. In the Amnesty