SI SOLIHULL AND DISTRICT CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
The Soroptimist International Centenary Wood was officially opened on 9th December 2021, by the Mayor of Solihull Councillor Ken Meeson, whose ward is Dorridge. He was joined by Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of the Council, and Councillor Karen Grinsell, Deputy Leader. The President, Margaret Lloyd, and members of the Club were there as well.
See photos of the event here: https://si-solihull.org.uk/ and a video of the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uJTjvRDvjY
The Club will provide tree wardens to monitor the trees and report any damage to the council. The plan is for the “Soroptimist International Centenary Wood” to become a sanctuary. Somewhere that women and girls can feel safe. There will be fundraising to buy one or more benches so the woodland can be enjoyed all through the year.
More celebrations……
At the October supper meeting, President Margaret was delighted to be joined by Elaine Clarke President of Midland Arden Region, the Mayor and Mayoress of Solihull, and members past and present.
The Mayor proposed a toast to 100 years of Soroptimist International, also to 21 years of SI Solihull and District, and President Elaine responded. President Margaret had baked a delicious cake which she cut with founder President Beverly Haywood. Members took home a piece of cake along with a commemorative bookmark designed by President-Elect Jacky.
We also celebrated that throughout the Centenary year we had:
- Produced an e-booklet of 100 projects that the Club had undertaken.
- Planted the beds at Widney Manor Station in the Centenary colours along with an explanatory poster.
- Worked in Partnership with Solihull Borough Council to plant a 100 tree ‘SI Solihull Wood’ in Dorridge Park.
SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL
A BRIGHT PAST – A BRILLIANT FUTURE
London Calling!
The House of Lords welcomed Soroptimists from the UK and Ireland to celebrate our Centennial. Federation President Cathy and SI President-Elect Maureen Maguire led the champagne toast and reminded us of the great achievements of our organisation – and also that there is still a lot to do to improve the lives of women and girls.
We were joined by our most recent female Prime Minister the Rt Hon Teresa May; however, the House of Lord’s protocols prevent the sharing of internal photographs with her on social media, Incoming Regional President Anne Rogers did manage to obtain her autograph though – a lovely souvenir.
Midland Arden Members love a celebratory event, particularly one where champagne and wonderful food are served. Protocols do allow us to share a group photograph of Midland Arden Region members on the Terrace enjoying the sunshine and having our very own toast to our Region.
A very memorable and enjoyable day!
SI Worcester & District Tree Planting Ceremony
SI Worcester and District hosted a tree-planting ceremony on 23rd September at 2pm in Fort Royal Park, Worcester to celebrate the Soroptimists Centennial year. The Mayor of Worcester, members of SI Worcester & District and friends and relatives were in attendance
The tree planting was followed by Tea / Coffee and Celebration Cake at Fort Royal House.
Worcester News Press Release – Press Release
SI Kidderminster Art Exhibition
SI Kidderminster is continuing the centenary celebrations with an art display on the theme of ‘Women’. This will take place in the Kidderminster Library and will be held from the 2nd to the 15th October.
Unveiling of the SIGBI Sculpture and Afternoon Tea
After all the planning and anticipation, the day of the unveiling of the SIGBI Sculpture in the National Memorial Arboretum finally arrived. Mistress of Ceremonies Isobel Smith welcomed members and their guests to the unveiling of the statue on a gloriously warm, sunny September day. The statue is the centerpiece of a small lawn area with seating and is located near the central obelisk of the Armed Forces Memorial.
This occasion was the first opportunity for members from as far afield as Northern Ireland, the Lake District, and Kent to renew friendships and socialise together since the first lockdown in March 2020 – and we made the most of it!
The statue was unveiled by SIGBI President Cathy Cottridge, followed by an Afternoon Tea in the Oak Room of the Conference Centre. During the afternoon tea, Isobel thanked Ann Keepax for her hard work and support during the project. There was also a message of support and thanks given by Maureen Maguire, our SI President-Elect.
Instructions on how to view photographs taken by Steve Evans from Seven Star Photography are below:-
- Go to www.sevenstarphotography.co.uk.
- Select Client Login.
- From the list, select Soroptimists Unveiling.
- Enter the password, which must be in uppercase lettering – SIGBI
- Read the information in the panel at the top of the gallery before viewing the images.
If you are interested in purchasing any of the photographs from Steve, then please contact him directly. Email: Steve@sevenstarphotography.co.uk
Well done SI Kidderminster!
A big thank you to everyone who took part in, by performing or attending, The Centenary Celebration, organised by SI Kidderminster. We raised almost £800 for Women’s Aid which surpassed the £500 target somewhat. The contribution made by Regional Clubs made a huge difference to the event and the fundraising.
Members of SI Stourbridge and SI Bromsgrove and Redditch also participated in our Celebratory Cream Tea which was a huge success. We raised £900 for Tarango, our club charity that supports women in Bangladesh.
It is so heartwarming to see the way that our clubs support one another in our programme action.
Yours in Friendship,
Janice Bell
SI Kenilworth & District proudly present ‘The Women of Empowerment Trail:-
Trail of Empowerment
Taking place on 23rd-30th August 2021
SI Solihull & District – Plans to celebrate our Centenary 1921 – 2021
As well as celebrating 100 years of Soroptimism, we are also recognising our 21st year, and 15 years of gardening at Widney Manor Station.
Some of the ways we are doing this are:
*Collecting and collating 100 Projects our Club has worked on.
*Using the Centenary colours for the planting at Widney Manor Station. We are working in partnership with the station management to agree on a poster display.
*Planting 100 trees. This is a partnership with Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. A site has been identified and an Autumn planting will soon be upon us.
*A celebratory Supper Meeting in October, regulations permitting.
As each plan comes towards fruition we will update the MAR website.
We look forward to joining in the celebrations of Soroptimist International, SIGBI; Midland Arden Region, and Clubs.
The Commemorative Statue is Installed
SI Kenilworth & District – Women of Empowerment
To celebrate the Soroptimist Centenary S I Kenilworth is planning ‘The Women of Empowerment Trail’ which will run from Monday 23rd August to Monday 30th August 2021.
Every club member nominated three women they believe have changed, or are changing the world for the better. Nominations reflect the diversity of women as powerful agents of change; from Emmeline Pankhurst to Malala Yousafzai, from Mary Seacole to Kamala Harris, and from Margaret Thatcher to Dolly Parton with many others along the way. They combine to produce our list of 100.
Club members are currently working on ways to represent each of our 100 women with examples such as ballet slippers representing Dame Darcy Bussell and dental x rays representing Marie Curie. Each representation will have
a brief description of the achievement and legacy of the women and the reason they were chosen.
The 100 representations will be displayed along a trail through Kenilworth in gardens, shop windows, and community buildings. A trail map will be produced for followers to identify the 100 women, and enter their completed trail maps in a prize draw.
A down-loadable quiz will also be available.
The Trail will be widely publicised in schools, community buildings, and the community Facebook page
Calling All Artists – Any Medium!
As part of our Centenary Celebrations, SI Kidderminster is organising an exhibition of arts – painting, drawing, sculpture, poetry/writing, etc., on the theme of Women. We are planning a physical exhibition to run during October at Kidderminster Library as well as a virtual exhibition.
We would like to include work from the talented members of the Midland Arden Region in this event. We want this to be a celebration of Women and we invite you to join us with your work. This could be a group piece – a bit challenging in these Covid times but Soroptimists like a challenge – or an individual piece.
We ask that you let us know your intention to participate by 28th February 2021 and have your piece of work ready for submission by 1st September.
A Message from Sue Clark, Centenary Celebration Co-ordinator SI Kidderminster & District
I hope you are all keeping safe and well. Due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, SI Kidderminster feels that it will no longer be possible to stage our July 4th celebration at the Rose Theatre in Kidderminster.
Therefore we propose that a virtual concert take place online on Sunday, June 27th at 2 pm.
Several clubs in the region had already agreed to participate with us and we hope they will join us virtually too.
They are S I Stourbridge- S I Coventry- S I Kenilworth- and S I Bromsgrove & Redditch.
We would welcome any other clubs to join us in this virtual venture.
We estimate a contribution of 5 – 10 minutes per decade which can be presented in many ways to celebrate 100 years of Soroptimism, following the “Bright Past and Brilliant Future” theme.
Please contact me for more information. It would be lovely if you could join us in what we hope will be an uplifting and entertaining afternoon.
President Rose Marks the Start of the Centenary Celebrations with a Message to Regional Members
The launch is at 12noon and we would like as many of you as possible to take a photograph including the time, the date, or something with ‘100’ plus of course a Soroptimist logo of some sort. You might choose to raise a glass or to light a candle. Perhaps wearing our colours of blue and yellow?
These photos will be used on Social Media, your websites and we can send them in for inclusion on the Centenary website.
We may also be able to put them in a montage for future meetings.
Several of us from the Regional Committee will be attending a Three Regions meeting on Zoom and will also be celebrating.
This is my initial attempt at something different.
President Rose Cutting the Centenary Cake
