Welcome to SI Milton Keynes

Our Milton Keynes group is here to take a proactive, practical stance on issues that highlight the particular disadvantages faced by women and girls, locally and internationally. We are the voices of local women having a global impact at the United Nations as one of the few voluntary organisations heard around the world.

Join us at one of our events – download our 2020 calendar

Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, there may be changes to our 2020 Calendar meetings and events. A Calendar update note will be uploaded on to the website after each monthly branch meeting. Please keep an eye out for this update.

At 6 July 2020 branch meeting, taking into account latest government guidance, we are hoping to hold the following events:

Friendship lunch on 5 August at MK Snap at 1.00pm

Peach Melba fund raising Garden Party on 18 August at 6.00pm (Details still to be confirmed)

It is hoped that from September we will be able to begin holding our branch meetings in person. See dates on calendar

Future funding events will be kept under regular review.

Latest update – July 21

It was lovely to see everyone on 21 July via Zoom. Discussions quickly moved to wondering if we will be able to meet up, social distance rules applied, in the flesh, so to speak. We agreed our branch friendship lunch on 5 August would be at MK Snap and how we are looking forward to seeing each other.

Discussion turned to our current business. Cakes for the Womens Refuge have now finished, although a number of us our still baking as we have remembered how much we like baking. We agreed to bake cakes to say thank you to all the staff who have worked during this difficult time to say a big thank you, although this might not happen till nearer the Autumn time. Everyone agreed they had liked the new newsletter we have been using to keep in informed and in touch and we will now move this to monthly.

We then started to look ahead to 2021. Not only is it Soroptimists International Centenary Year and what shall we do to celebrate this but it is also our year for the regional conference. A lot to start planning for and everyone has put their thinking hats on. We already have a few ideas to explore.

Our Chair Amanda has been tasked with organising speakers for some of our future branch meetings and we are looking forward to see what she comes up with.

And we were so pleased to hear that the amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill got through.

WE finished with a wave to everyone and looking forward to meeting up on 5 and 18 August. Let’s hope the weather is on our side for outdoor meeting.

SI Milton Keynes Branch raising funds for MK Hospital new cancer unit

Our campaign for 2020-2021 is to address issues around domestic violence

We do this by helping to educate young people to identify when relationships are becoming abusive; we empower women looking to escape or change abusive homes through supporting the preventative, practical advice provided by MK ACT; we enable women to put their lives on a new path by fundraising for new hostel rooms at the YMCA and distributing dignity packs to over 3000 local women through the Red Cross each year. And we fund research to support the work of Works for Us, helping local women back into the workplace.

Join and support us in making Milton Keynes a life-enhancing community for women and girls.

If you are looking for immediate support, please contact our link charities directly – listed here.

Happy 5th birthday

Happy 5^th Birthday Milton Keynes!

Soroptimists International Milton Keynes Branch was 5 in June 2020. We held our birthday branch meeting via Zoom on 16 June, with each of us bringing along a cake and a glass of something to celebrate. Not quite what we had planned this year, but once we are out of lockdown we will make up for it. To read more about what we have done in those 5 years click here