Members from across the Region joined members of SI Surrey Hills to celebrate their 60th anniversary as a Club. In the lovely setting of Myrtle’s Courtyard on the Hampton Estate on a beautifully sunny September Sunday, Soroptimists, partners, family and friends enjoyed a glass of bubbly followed by a delicious lunch in a renovated dairy. Federation President Elect Isobel spoke of the impressive Programme Action projects carried out by Club members. As well as collecting bras and pants to send to Smalls for All for distribution to women in Africa, the club has for many years been selling second hand books as a fund raiser. They have been making up and donating overnight toiletry bags for parents having to stay overnight in the Royal Surrey Hospital with a sick or dying relative. Women arriving in the two local refuges have received handbags given by the

60 girls, 15 teams and five schools took part in the third Soroptimist International STEM Challenge which began last October and ended with the Finals and Prize-giving Evening on 4 July 2019 at Royal Holloway University of London in Egham.  The challenge taken up by the teams was to create a workable solution to reduce one of the causes of world poverty. Since last October, the teams of girls from Ashcombe School (Dorking), Guildford County School, Hoe Valley School (Woking), Thamesmead School (Shepperton) and Tomlinscote School (Frimley) had devoted extra time regularly each week to developing their innovative ideas, which ranged from water purification, cooking and cooling devices through shelters to personal clothing and protection.   During the Finals, the girls presented their projects to the ten judges and to presiding VIPs, Helen Bowcock PhD OBE, Chair of Air Ambulance Kent, Surrey and Sussex and