We recently held the second get together of club members to completed the pillowcase dresses for the children of Lawra, Upper West Ghana supported by ATE (Action Through Enterprise). These dresses give the girls confidence as well as the protection they deserve.
For our June meeting we had a volunteer from the Charlie Waller Trust. Carol was very interesting and informative explaining what the charity did, how it had grown and about her role as a volunteer. She also handed out book marks with very useful wording and tips.
Our speaker for the March meeting was Caroline Herman the founder of All Yours Period Boxes. Caroline explained that it all started with a very interesting conversation with her daughter and has really grown thanks to their hard work and the support of many volunteers. They provide as many period boxes and period education workshops as possible to the young people and women in our local communities so that they are able to look after their menstrual health. As well as delivering all over West Berkshire they also have the boxes available at the food bank, positioned where they can be discreetly added to their bag. We also gave them a donation which was matched by the Good Exchange.
Newbury Soroptimists have joined the UNiTE campaign which has proclaimed the 25th of each month as “Orange Day “a A day to raise awareness and take action to end Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Orange badges are available which say Soroptimists say NO to Violence Against Women. We are wearing a badge and something orange each month to show our support.
In December we held a coffee morning in Newbury Town Hall to raise money for our President Charity which is also a good way for us to raise the profile of Newbury Soroptimists.
The first of the fourteen trees, seven Mango and seven Cashew Nut trees to be planted These are the images of the fruit trees being planted in the rural Lawra schools, they are in brilliantly secure cages to protect them from wildlife and domestic animals, each school will have one Mango and one Cashew Nut tree, fully funded by the Newbury Soroptimists. A note of thanks from Sarah Gardner, CEO of the charity ATE said – Thank you so much for this incredible support, we are all delighted, especially the children. I can’t wait to see them eat the fruit in a couple of years.
SI Newbury and District held a Street Plant Sale to raise funds for the Charity ATE, this will enable them to purchase and plant 2 trees – mango and cashew in the grounds of the 7 schools the charity started and supports in Lawra, Upper West Ghana. The trees will provide shade and food as the fruit grown on the trees can be eaten.
Unfortunately pancake races or lunches were not able to take place this year due to COVID 19 but Newbury Soroptimist met up on zoom to enjoy a pancake lunch in their own homes. We will be back on next year – Shrove Tuesday March 1st 2022 in the Market Place for the races and in St Nicolas Church hall for lunches.
At our last meeting in March before LOCKDOWN we all enjoyed a very entertaining evening with a presentation by our new member Margo, who shared her experience as an Olympic Gamesmaker in London 2012. We were able to look at the Olympic Games from a very different perspective altogether. Lots of interviews, team meetings and training before the event, which then led to a very exhausting but fun time for everyone, many of us wishing we had taken the plunge and applied to the event as well.
