Members of Soroptimist International St Albans and District would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and peaceful 2025. Instead of sending Christmas cards we are making a donation to the Soroptimist International Foundation soroptimistinternational.org/si-foundation
Soroptimists are feeling festive now after a busy December volunteering and raising money for a few of the amazing charities we support. Please scroll down to find out more!
Soroptimists were joined by friends (including some members of local choirs), to sing festive songs at St Albans City Station and raise more than £400 for SAHWR Women’s Refuge! Everyone wore orange to continue with the #OrangetheWorldHerts campaign. It is thanks to the generous travellers for their donations, the station staff for hosting and for everyone who gave up their time to make it such an enjoyable event whilst raising awareness of violence against women and girls. The weather was vile, times are hard, and there were train delays that evening which made the money raised even more amazing!” Travellers and people meeting up in the ticket hall said “Bravo. Well done. Christmas is here and what a fantastic start you guys made”, “thanks for what you do”, “how lovely to hear this on my way home”, “I was going to give you £5 but because it’s for the Refuge please make it £10.” “I’ve been in London having a great day feeling Christmassy and coming back to the carols was 
just lovely”. Singers and musicians went to the “White Hart Tap” afterwards for a well deserved supper and warm up – and more “oranging” of course! This was one of the many #OrangetheWorldHerts Events for 2025 – click here to view the campaign: https://sigbi.org/st-albans/orange25/
Christmas Club Meeting on Zoom – this was our last meeting for 2025. It was lovely that our Members who are unable to join in with face-to-face events were able to join. We looked back on our successful Orange the World Campaign and have a good catch up. We all agreed it was a lovely way to spend an hour in one another’s company – like the friends we all are through our Soroptimist membership.
Santa Float for Home-Start Herts https://www.home-startherts.org.uk/ We were asked for volunteers to join the elves following the Round Table’s Santa Sleigh https://www.stalbansroundtable.org.uk/christmas-float/ on Tue 16 Dec in aid of Home-Start. There was much fun and friendship as Soroptimist 
International St Albans and District members Jane and Barbara plus her husband Derek joined the elves on the west side of St Albans and Cottonmill. Donning capes and Santa hats, they accompanied Santa and his Sleigh for more than 3 hours. Children from all around ran down the streets and it was magical to see their faces when they saw Santa. The elves had to hurry along and knock on doors to raise much needed funds for families supported by Home-Start. After the event, Nina Puglia, Home-Start’s Media Marketing Officer wrote : “Thank you so much for collecting donations and bringing some festive cheer to Cottonmill.”
Gifts for the SAHWR Women’s Refuge . St Albans Soroptimist Barbara Saunders said that it was her “privilege and pleasure to deliver the presents Soroptimist members had collected to SAHWR.” She was able to deliver 19 wrapped presents, 2 x £10 vouchers and £195 for staff to distribute as gifts to those most in need. She delivered lots of tea bags and coffee too because we know that our troubles can seem a bit easier when we sit down for a cuppa! Liz from the Refuge said “Please pass our very grateful thanks to everyone for all you have continued to do to support us and our families at SAHWR. Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and I look forward to catching up with you all in the New Year.” We hope it brings them a little bit of Christmas cheer and hope for a happy new year!
Christmas Tree Festival – our Member Catherine Moore decorated a tree beautifully (our tree is pictured here with another Club Member Debbie Tankard) at St Saviour’s Church, Sandpit Lane, St Albans as part of the wonderful Christmas Tree Festival open to all from 16-22 December. This year the theme is “Past, Present and Yet to Come” and the SI St Albans & District Tree was called: “Orange the World: for a future free from violence against women and girls”. Our tree made a real impact because it was in front of the pulpit and it was decorated in orange as another event for our #OrangeTheWorldHerts Campaign for 2025 – click here to see more: https://sigbi.org/st-albans/orange25/ Funds raised from 
the Christmas Tree Festival go to Herts Young Homeless and St Saviour’s Development Fund. It is truly magical when so many trees are all lit and decorated and it smells amazing – we’re looking forward to the next festival in 2028 already!
Our Member Katherine Clark designed the beautiful e-Card and as its says we are sending:
“Warmest Festive Wishes and Kindness and Compassion to All in 2026” from Your Sisters at Soroptimist International St Albans & District.