SI Sevenoaks held a very successful quiz evening at St Luke’s Church Hall in Sevenoaks on Saturday 17th February, with many members, friends and guests attending, including teams from St Luke’s Church, Arts Without Boundaries, Sevenoaks Town Council and a team led by Sevenoaks Deputy Mayor Cllr Libby Ancrum. Our Quizmaster was David  who gave us some very interesting and sometimes amusing questions!  The winners, for the third time in a row, were I-Care – a team of touring quizzers from Knockholt who donate their winnings to their charity I-Care. Member Anne Bond organised a very successful raffle and, altogether, the sum of £1,060 was raised.  This will be divided between the two charities chosen for this year by our President, Pauline Payne – Arts Without Boundaries, who support disabled and non-disabled people in our area by providing music and creative sessions, and CAMFED, an

Sevenoaks club member Wendy Metcalf is the coordinator of our weekly zoom sessions with students of Dasghara Girls’ College in West Bengal.  Recently Wendy, club President Pauline and Programme Action Officer Sandie paid a visit to the London flat of Indian Soroptimist Paramita Biswas. During a very enjoyable day our hostess told us how she used a legacy to establish the college in 2017. We have been associated with Dasghara for some two years and Paramita assured us that the opportunity to speak regularly with our members is proving beneficial to the students. As financial restraints mean that the girls only attend classes two or three times a week we are now hoping to raise money towards their travelling expenses.

Sevenoaks Foodbank (Loaves & Fishes)was set up 12 years ago by two mums who realised some children were arriving at school hungry. Soroptimist International of Sevenoaks is one of the many local organisations to donate goods. It is run by volunteers & open once a week. Rather than giving out  bags of food , the policy is now to let the families choose their items. There is a cafe offering tea, coffee & chat. Advice on further available help  is there for those seeking it

SI Bromley and SI Sevenoaks joined forces to create a splash of orange at the Polhill Garden Centre Café and we did manage to attract some attention!  Seventeen of us met for coffee and a lovely chat – so nice to have plenty of time!  The Manager and his team were very welcoming and one of the chefs came out to see us and took the photo above. Sandie Higgs PAO SI Sevenoaks

SI Sevenoaks have been collecting small and medium men’s clothes to support the Gatwick Detainees.  These asylum seekers arrive with very little and we are pleased to be able to support them with jumpers and other items.  We have a link through our former member, Beverley, and she kindly collected 4 bags of clothes on 3rd January. Sandie Higgs Programme Action Officer SI Sevenoaks

Orange the World – UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls 25th November 2023 “SI Sevenoaks have been Oranging the World again, this month at the Bullfinch pub in Riverhead, Sevenoaks – they kindly let us in early for coffee and we could serve our own cakes!  We wanted to make this one special as it is the actual UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.  We had extra balloons and posters and most of the members and guests who attended are pictured here enjoying a friendly chat and, of course, the cake!  We left posters and leaflets for the staff and other guests at the pub; we are hopeful that the Bullfinch Social Media Manager will put an item on their website to help spread the word!” Club Member Programme Action Officer Sandie

Novembers meeting began with a very interesting talk on Powerful Women at Knole by Curator Samantha Bailey. President Pauline and club members welcomed and enrolled Barbara Ropek and Jean Bright as new SI Sevenoaks members. We were delighted that Regional President Alison Driscoll could join us.

SI SEVENOAKS CELEBRATE CAMFED’S SUCCESS! SI Sevenoaks have been supporting CAMFED, the charity which supports the education of girls in Africa, for many years now.  We have been lucky to have Valerie Caton in our club; until recently she was a trustee of CAMFED and has always given us regular updates about the work of this wonderful charity.   We were delighted to hear that the highly influential commentator Nicholas Kristof and the New York Times have just made CAMFED their top recommended non profit to support.  See the piece below: CAMFED named as a top cause to support this giving season In the New York Times on 18th November 2023, Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof names CAMFED as a top cause to support this giving season. “Of the dozens of nonprofits I’ve recommended, CAMFED is the top audience favorite […]” – Nicholas Kristof, New York Times This year’s ‘greatest hits’ version of Kristof’s annual holiday gift guide highlights the top causes

MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING On Friday 29th September SI Sevenoaks held a coffee morning in aid of the Macmillan Cancer charity. Our hostess, Sandie Higgs, made us very welcome and those present, some forty members and guests, were able to enjoy her lovely lakeside garden on a beautiful late summer’s day. Special thanks go to incoming Regional President Alison and SI Bromley for helping us raise the grand total of £556.

ROCKDALE 1948 – 2023 On Monday 4th September, a glorious early autumn day, seven members of SI Sevenoaks joined residents and guests for a “forties” themed garden party to mark seventy five years of Rockdale retirement centre. As usual the grounds looked immaculate. Speeches were made by Rockdale Chairman Ian Grattidge, Sevenoaks Mayor Claire Shea{included in our group photo} and the High Sheriff of Kent, Nadra Ahmed. Tea and cakes were served and musical entertainment provided by Henry’s Big Band. As pointed out in his speech by Mr Grattidge, our club has a special connection with Rockdale, since it was established by Beatrice Wilson, a founder member of SI Sevenoaks. It is our privilege to hold our monthly meetings in the room which bears her name. Pauline Payne {President SI Sevenoaks)