SI Woking and District will hold their 40th Anniversary Charter Lunch on Sunday 31st July at 12.00 for 12.30 pm at the Sutton Green Golf Club. For more information, please see the booking form. SI Woking Charter Lunch
SI Poole held a Membership Evening on June 13th. About 15 members and 10 guests gathered at Salterns Harbourside Hotel on a lovely sunny evening. The aim was to inform potential members about the aims of Soroptimism. The evening ended with a quiz about various aspects of Soroptimism – and each guest was presented with a prize! The evening was warmly appreciated by members and guests alike – and the guests even presented a vote of thanks! Many thanks to Membership Officer, Helen Kanolik, for organising this important and enjoyable event. .
The Regional Meeting is a great opportunity for Soroptimists to bring along items collected by other Clubs for their projects. At the SI Southern Region meeting, held on 11 June, the items collected included baby clothes for Nepal and sewing machines for Africa! Members of SI Poole and SI Weybridge presented Jenny Titcombe of SI Southampton with sewing machines for Netley Marsh. They will be renovated and then sent to Africa, along with funding to enable their new owners to set up in business. SI Winchester brought along several bags of outfits for babies – handknitted hats and jumpers in lovely colours. They will be sent by SI Poole to SI Kathmandu, for distribution to those families still suffering from the after-effects of the earthquakes in April last year.
Judi Chaddock, Valerie Druce, and Sally Ward, members of SI Chichester & District, together with two prospective members, Gill Climpson and Brenda Atlee, exhibited a design at Chichester Cathedral Festival of Flowers in June 2016. The Theme of the Exhibition was the Artist’s Palette and their design brief was to reflect Klimt’s “Tree of Life” using gold and bronze flowers. Blue cornflowers were also scattered on the base. They were the only community group exhibiting at this prestigious event.
Soroptimist International Poole marked her Majesty’s 90th birthday by planting a beautiful double pink camellia in the gardens of Soroptimist House in Parkstone, Poole. Soroptimist House residents joined Poole club members in the planting ceremony on the evening of 6th June and watched gardener Linda plant the camellia and President Liz place the commemorative plaque. President Liz said that it was most fitting for Poole Soroptimists to mark this important occasion celebrating the 90th birthday of such an inspirational individual whose values towards peace, humanity and justice are so in tune with those of the Soroptimist movement. Poole Soroptimists wish her Majesty the happiest of birthdays.
Painting a Brighter Future for Local Refuge Residents: Local women setting up a new Soroptimist Cub in Salisbury got stuck in to their first project this week. Following in the footsteps of the previous Club in Salisbury, they have decided to provide support and assistance for the Salisbury Women’s Refuge. Answering a call for help from staff for some aid with painting and redecorating, they gave up their time and effort to make a difference. ‘Our aim is to give something back to the local community’, said Holly Hemsley, who initiated the volunteering ‘so this service project is in keeping with the organisation’s aim of transforming the lives of women and girls. It is great to be able to help in a really practical way to brighten the lives of women going through difficult and challenging times.’ The original Salisbury Soroptimist Club which closed about
SIGBI have forwarded details of a free Community Showcase event happening in our region on 2nd July 10 am-4 pm at Ferneham Hall, Fareham. Ruth is considering having a stall at the event to publcise SI membership. If you are available to help could you please contact Ruth.
At the SI Woking & District Annual General Meeting on 27 April 2016, our 2015-16 President, Jan Perrot, had a special last duty to perform: awarding Honourable Life Membership to our long-standing member, Elizabeth Jones. In a year when the Club celebrates its fortieth year since it was chartered in 1976, it was most appropriate and pleasing to be able to bestow this award. It was made in recognition of Elizabeth’s efforts in the early 1980s to keep our Club going during a period of low membership and difficult times – without her, the Club might not have survived to become as popular, energetic and well regarded as it is today! Having helped our Club to flourish, Elizabeth has been a loyal and actively serving member through to the present day and thoroughly deserves this award. During 2015-16, SI Woking & District raised awareness and funds for the Motor Neurone
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Report on ‘Journées d’expression française’ SI Lyon 29 April – 1 May 2016 Text by Liz Rodgers, photos by Sue Fortescue, SI Poole I’m writing up our experiences and adventures on the train whilst heading to Paris, and have brought with me a wealth of memories of the French Union’s 19th ‘Journées d’expression française’. Most striking was the warmth of the welcome and camaraderie of the French-speaking Soroptimists, along with the wonderful organisation. SI Lyon and SI Lyon Tête d’Or must be congratulated on their successful event, which started on Friday evening with dinner in a city centre ‘bouchon’, a typical Lyonnais bistro specialising in the city’s world-famous gastronomy. We were entertained by the President of SI Lyon, who gave a witty and informative presentation on Lyon traditions. For example, our wine came to the table in traditional ‘pots’, wine bottles with a very
