Club news Archives | Page 4 of 7 | SI St Albans and District

6 years ago in

Members of Soroptimist International St Albans and District enjoyed a lively Annual General Meeting in April. The AGM marked the end of the Club’s 62nd year, and the start of the Club’s 63rd year. The event was a celebration of President Linda’s excellent year and a look forward to a new year with the latest Club President Katherine Clark (Katherine is pictured here in the Club’s regalia). All the Officers of the Club gave their reports which can be found in the Members’ Area of this website, Linda went through the busy Club year – as an aide-memoir just scroll down through the Club News on this website. Our new President Katherine addressed the Club as President for the first time – please see Katherine’s message on this web page: www.sigbi.org/st-albans/president The Club was sorry to say goodbye to Christine Farringdon who has decided to retire

Celebration of Soroptimist Support for Girls Cricket in Hertfordshire

6 years ago in

#hertsontour

The St Albans Soroptimists held a celebration on 8 April in support of girls’ cricket in Hertfordshire, The Club’s support for girls’ cricket is a legacy of their late Member Audrey Collins OBE who died in 2010. Audrey was an inspirational Soroptimist – a pioneer of Women’s cricket and a trail blazer for women. Please read more about the legacy project here : www.sigbi.org/st-albans/charities/cricket/ During the evening we heard back first-hand from the young women who went to the first ever County Ladies tour to Sri Lanka last autumn. Our sponsorship included kit bags (one is in the photo) so that the team looked professional at all times – there is more about the tour on the website www.sigbi.org/st-albans-and-district/2018/cricket-tour/ Supporting women and girls sport is really important for mental health and personal development – clearly demonstrated by the attitude and determination of the girls and young women involved in

Katie Waite Fundraising to attend the World Scout Jamboree in USA

6 years ago in

Girl Guides

The Club was delighted to welcome Katie Waite to their meeting. Katie is from Girlguiding Hertfordshire and runs a Girl Guide group in Radlett. She is fundraising to attend the World Scout Jamboree for 3 weeks in West Virginia USA 22 July www.2019wsj.org please take a look at the website it looks amazing! The World Scout Jamboree is an educational event that brings together the world’s Scouts to promote peace and mutual understanding and to develop leadership and life skills. They are expecting 50,000 guides and scouts from around the world! Katie was selected as one of the leaders for the trip from Hertfordshire who are taking a group of 40 children. Each place costs £4000 which has to be raised by each individual. The Club gave Katie a cheque from the Club for £40. Katie is pictured above receiving her cheque from Club President Linda

Quizzically Successful Night

6 years ago in

charity

The Soroptimist annual quiz night was a great event as always! We raised close to £750 for the St Albans & Hertsmere and Welwyn Hatfield Women’s Refuges plus charities providing learning opportunities for women and girls. Well done to the winning team – it was a close result! Thanks so much to everyone who came along on Sat 23 March and made it such a winner! Special thanks, of course, must also go to all of our Club Members and supporters who worked hard on the night to ensure the event was so much fun.

WINNER!! Soroptimist Club Wins St Albans Mayors Pride Award in the Voluntary Sector

6 years ago in

Mayors Pride Award

Soroptimist International St Albans and District Club Members are proud to announce that the Club won the St Albans Mayor’s Pride Award 2019 in the Voluntary Sector category. The first picture is of the three finalists (Soroptimist Jane Slatter is on the right), with the Mayor, Councillor Rosemary Farmer at the front. The other finalists in the Voluntary Sector were the St Albans Museum Volunteers and the SAlbans Helping the Homeless Group. We could hardly believe it when we won because the other finalists would have been truly worthy winners. Barbara Saunders Secretary, Jane Slatter Communications Officer and Kat Clark President-Elect are pictured here at the beginning of the event at St Michael’s Manor, before the awards were announced. They all agreed it was a wonderful evening and brilliant to be recognised for the work Club Members have been doing in St Albans and District since

Networking at St Albans Girls School on International Womens Day

6 years ago in

club

St Albans Soroptimists Kat Clark and Jane Slatter were delighted to attend the St Albans Girls’ School International Women’s Day Inspiring Women Careers Event for Year 8 and Year 12 Students. These girls all have a great future – we hope we helped to inspire them! Soroptimists have been participating in this annual event since it’s inception. Thanks to STAGS for the montage image.

Are Women Their Own Worst Enemy? Inspiring Womens Day Debate

6 years ago in

#BalanceforBetter

Are women their own worst enemy? an International Women’s Day debate… The panel and audience discussed the question: Are Women their own worst enemy? the answer: yes and no – it’s complicated! St Albans Soroptimists and sponsors, *The Talent Keeper Specialists held a lively debate with an expert panel. The event was broadcast live and is available as a podcast from www.radioverulam.com/show/the-parents-show/ listen again to 7 March at 8pm Please click on the link below to scroll through photographs from the event. [new_royalslider id=”14″] We were delighted to welcome the Right Worshipful the Mayor of the City and District of St Albans, Councillor Rosemary Farmer to the event. Animated discussions covered: equality, women and employability, domestic abuse, health, societal and media pressure on women and how women experience the criminal justice system. The event was chaired by The Thinking Woman’s Coach, *Dr Jessica Chivers and the panelists

St Albans Pancake Race a Flipping Success

6 years ago in

Home-Start Hertfordshire

The St Albans Pancake Race in aid of HomeStart Herts was a great success! Seven Soroptimist volunteers (pictured here) helped with the registration on the day. To find out more about the event please see the website pancake.events Amanda Brown (Soroptimist group pic left) organised the St Albans Soroptimist volunteer crew. Suzy Moody, Strategic Manager for Home-Start Herts, sent an email to Amanda saying “a massive thank you to you and your volunteers for your support on Tuesday. We really couldn’t have done it without you all. I hope that you enjoyed the day, it was a great success with £1800 raised!” Denise Powell (far right in the group pic) said afterwards “it was a great event, enjoyed by participants, spectators and helpers alike”. Well done to everyone – it stayed dry but it was seriously chilly!

Club Welcomes Two New Members

6 years ago in

Amanda Brown

It is always a great Club evening when it is our pleasure to welcome new Members. The 11 Feb was twice as good because Pauline Swindells and Ann Beatty both joined the Club at the same time! Pictured here (l to r) are Club Officer Denise Powell, Pauline Swindells, Membership Officer Amanda Brown and Ann Beatty – we hope Pauline and Ann will enjoy their Membership and know that they have a lot to offer to the Club and the wider Soroptimist community. Pauline has a lot of experience working with victims of domestic abuse, and Ann is the CEO of the Steve Sinnott foundation. At the same meeting Club Members approved the proposals for end of year donations to various charities. These charities included Electric Umbrella which was explained on the night – it is “A collaboration of professional musicians and adults with learning disabilities;

Two Toilets Twinned at St Albans Museum and Gallery

6 years ago in

Caroline Eldred

Following Soroptimist International St Albans and District World Toilet Day event last year (please see the web page for more about it www.sigbi.org/st-albans/2018/toilet18/ ) we have been able to present St Albans Museum and Gallery with another Toilet Twinning certificate so now both of the ground floor toilets have been twinned – one is twinned with Afghanistan and the other with Zambia. Caroline Eldred, Trustee of St Albans Museum and Gallery is pictured here in one of the loos receiving the Toilet Twinning Certicates from Soroptimist Communications Officer Jane Slatter on her left and Past Club President Rita Andrews on her right. NB: we did get some funny looks having our picture taken in the loo – and we had to move out of the way a few times – these loos are very popular! Thanks to the Herts Advertiser for running our story: www.hertsad.co.uk/news/st-albans-museum-gallery-toilets-twinned-with-loos-in-afghanistan-and-zambia-1-5894359 We are planning

Refuges, Life Talk, Blankets, Birthday – what a busy Club Open Evening!

6 years ago in

Blankets for the Homeless

On Monday 28 Jan we were thrilled to be able to make donations to the St Albans and Hertsmere and the Welwyn Hatfield women’s refuges. Sara and Liz from SAHWR are pictured to the right of President Linda with a cheque for £1000. Unfortunately Dee from WHWR was not able to join us for the evening so her cheque has been sent separately. Liz and Sara gave us an update on what has been happening with the St Albans and Hertsmere Women’s Refuge since they last visited us. They said we have supported for so many years now as our “annual” Club charity that they almost feel like part of the furniture! The services of the Refuges are now contracted to the larger organisation “Safer Places” which has been a big change for everyone to get used to (and which will be due for renewal in 2020). Liz and

Soroptimists Provide Interview Practice at St Albans Girls School

6 years ago in

club

Four Soroptimists volunteered this year to take part in St Albans Girls School (STAGS) “Big Interview day” for year 11 (GCSE year) students. Pictured here are Barbara Saunders and Amanda Brown. Debbie Tankard and Jane Slatter were also conducting parallel interviews. As part of the careers programme at St Albans Girls’ School, they offer a mock interview to every year 11 student on a day called “The Big Interview”. Each student has a half hour interview based on CV’s they have prepared in school and receive verbal and written feedback. The event has been running the for the past 6 years, and it is very well received by students, for some of whom it is their first interview experience. Soroptimists have been involved for the last 4 years and have found meeting the girls a real inspiration – a win win for everyone involved!

Women’s Refuges supported at Wesley Coffee Shop‏

6 years ago in

charity

Pictured here are St Albans Soroptimist baristas Janet-Audley-Charles, Judith Kenyon, Helen Byrne and Joan WIlliams. Coffee mornings at the Wesley Coffee Shop are a great way for us to swell the coffers for our Club’s charities – on 12 Jan we raised a fabulous £85!! for the St Albans and Hertsmere Women’s Refuge and the Welwyn Hatfield Women’s Refuge We’ll be doing it again on 1 June between 10am and 12.30 so please drop in for Coffee and Yummy Cakes at Wesley’s Cafe High Street, Harpenden – www.highstreetmethodist.org.uk/wesleys/

100 pounds Easyfundraising Prize | Pants for SmallsForAll

6 years ago in

EasyFundraising

In November our Club signed up for EasyFundraising please see the SIGBI website for more info www.sigbi.org/members/clubs/easyfundraising/ When the Club signed up were were entered into a prize draw and St Albans & District Soroptimists were the lucky winners of £100 to spend with Amazon! We decided to spend all of the money on pants! 114 pairs for women and girls – see the screen-shots below. The Club already supports a charity called SmallsforAll and has collected loads of gently worn bras but needed to send more pants (in packets) with their donations see the Club website for more information www.sigbi.org/st-albans/charities/bras/ On hearing the news about winning the prize Club Secretary Barbara Saunders said to Easyfundraising “This is fantastic news! I was initially a bit suspicious about easyfundraising – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is – or so the warnings go! But this has been

A Moving Human Rights Day Region Celebration

6 years ago in

#16Days

Members from Soroptimist Clubs in the London Chilterns Region and their guests attended a moving Human Rights Day event on Saturday 15th December. Five Members of SI St Albans and District attended – please see the photograph here with Janet Audley-Charles at the front left, Jane Slatter behind Janet, then left to right around the table are Sarah Lichman, Denise Powell (daughter Becca and Member of SI Lewisham and SE London) and Helen Byrne. 2018 marked 70 years since the signing of the United Nations declaration of Human Rights www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/ One of our traditions to celebrate Human Rights Day is to light candles in recognition of the work of Soroptimists and women around the world in striving to ensure that the human rights of women and children are protected everywhere. The introduction to the declaration was made by Regional Officer Joanna Swift, SI Aylesbury

Christmas Gifts for Womens Refuges

6 years ago in

christmas

Our Soroptimist elves have been busy again buying and wrapping up personal Christmas gifts for the women at the St Albans and Hertsmere and the Welwyn Hatfield Women’s Refuges. Santa’s got a right sackful here! We know the women are thrilled at Christmas to know that we’re thinking about them and we hope it brings them a little bit of Christmas cheer and hope for a happy new year!

Womens Refuges Benefit from Soroptimist Christmas Carols

6 years ago in

16 Days of Activism

We hope we gave the St Albans commuters a bit of Christmas cheer with our annual Soroptimist carol singing on Mon 3 Dec at St Albans City Station. We collected a much-needed £380 for the St Albans and Hertsmere Women’s Refuge and the Welwyn Hatfield Women’s Refuge. We were joined again this year by a very festive Jules the dog who encouraged donations by making sure he got lots of strokes as people went by! One commuter said “thanks for what you’re doing to support the refuges – you sound great!” This year we were recorded on quite a few smart phones and some children just had to join in by singing and dancing with us which was great fun! Funding cuts and increased demand mean that Refuges need additional funding now more than ever before. Thanks to the Herts Advertiser for covering our story www.hertsad.co.uk/news/st-albans-soroptimists-carol-singing-1-5813657 This event is timed

Soroptimists Volunteer on Watling View School Christmas Stall

6 years ago in

christmas

This year Watling View School for pupils with profound learning difficulties have had a Christmas Stall on Wednesdays for 5 weeks from 14 Nov to 12 Dec on St Albans Market 10am to 2pm. Students from the school made and prepared plants and crafts as Christmas gifts to sell to raise funds for the school. Staff and volunteers from the St Albans Soroptimist Club helped the pupils and staff with the stall. The weather wasn’t very kind to us and sales were slow but it has been a great experience for the students to learn about making things and selling them and it hasn’t stopped us singing on the stall and having a bit of Christmas fun! Thanks to the The Herts Advertiser for this lovely photo and item in the paper www.hertsad.co.uk/news/watling-view-school-christmas-1-5798721

Toilet Twinning and World Toilet Day 2018

6 years ago in

Annie Brewster

On Monday 12 Nov the Club held a lively and busy meeting to mark World Toilet Day with a bottle sale, speaker and presentation of a Twinned Toilet certificate to Caroline Eldred and Cllr Annie Brewster from the St Albans Museum and Gallery. Please click on this link to find out more about Toilet Twinning Annie Brewster (centre), portfolio holder for Culture and Sport, and Caroline Eldred (right) from St Albans Museum and Gallery are pictured here with Club President Linda Shall receiving their framed Toilet Twinning Certicate – destined for the Ground Floor loo in the new St Albans Museum and Gallery. Catherine Fenton, an artist, interpreter and translator for child protection gave an inspirational talk about how she became involved in Toilet Twinning (see picture of Catherine). She had an idea of doing something through her art for World Toilet Day. 2.3 billion people have

St Albans Soroptimists Support Herts Girls Cricket Tour to Sri Lanka

6 years ago in

#hertsontour

Soroptimist International St Albans and District have supported the Hertfordshire Girls Cricket Tour to Sri Lanka 25 Oct to 5 Nov 2018. Their coach Jonathan Cirkel sent us these images from the airport en-route to Colombo. The tour party comprises 15 girls, plus Jonathan as coach and a representative of the county office. Amy Price, Captain of the Herts Ladies Cricket Team is on the tour and pictured holding the banner on the left. Our financial support helped pay for the kit bags for the team – as you can see they are very proud of them and the bags look great with our logo on them! This is part of the Club’s Audrey Collins legacy project – see this web page for more information www.sigbi.org/st-albans/charities/cricket – Audrey Collins OBE was a past Member of the Club who played for England’s women’s cricket team and was a pioneer in

Soroptimist Denise Reports Back from the Liverpool Conference

6 years ago in

#100Years

This year our attendance at conference may have been small – but it was perfectly formed – see the pic of Denise Powell and the Club’s mascot Sally Bear in situ at the Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Conference in Liverpool. We were kept well informed with information from Denise, the SIGBI Conference website www.sigbi.org/liverpool2018 plus Facebook and Twitter too #SoroptimistLiverpool2018 Last year 11 of us went to the Conference in Cardiff, so let’s hope we can get a good turnout again for Bournemouth 24-26 Oct 2019 www.sigbi.org/bournemouth2019– put it in your diaries now so you don’t miss out! Below is a great report with pics from Denise who represented our Club brilliantly – thanks Denise! Conference this year followed the traditional pattern. It opened on Thursday night with the Flag ceremony, I find it quite emotional seeing the corners of the world that are covered by our

Democracy is a Woman, Soroptimist Warsaw Conference

6 years ago in

#vote100

The 100th Anniversary of Votes for Women in Poland was celebrated with a Soroptimist Conference in Warsaw entitled “Democracy is a Woman.” Barbara Saunders, SI St Albans and District Secretary, joined 88 sister Soroptimists from 12-14 October 2018 for the event. This is Barbara’s “travel diary”, she certainly enjoyed her first Soroptimist Friendship Link visit and I hope you now enjoy reading this and sharing it with her! “Warm weather, a warm welcome, and a huge amount of preparation by SI Warsaw, were all it took to make this weekend a success. Coinciding with the 100th Anniversary of Poland’s Independence this month, there was much to celebrate. Danuta Jabukowska, Treasurer, made my weekend by collecting me at the airport (with husband Derek) and ferrying me around between the various venues. Her smiling face, enthusiastic welcome and the way she ensured I was looked after at

October Region AGM and Conference – the Impact of Women

6 years ago in

Four Members of SI St Albans and District joined an action packed Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region meeting in London – with the AGM, a #VotesForWomen presentation, a run through nominated “Women of Achievement” and a panel session on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW). President Margaret’s theme for the Soroptimist London Chilterns Region year has been IMPACT and this event fully met the brief! The photo above was taken with everyone present and many were wearing sashes and rosettes in the colours of women’s suffrage plus Irene Cockroft and Jen Simpson were in costume. The AGM was first and reports are sent separately to Clubs. Our first speaker was Irene Cockroft with a fascinating talk with excellent photo images to illustrate “International Women’s Day, Now and Then”. This is in light if the centenary of the UK women’s vote and the fact this talk was cancelled in

Mental Health Challenges For Women – Event for World Mental Health Day 2018

6 years ago in

#wmhd

On Monday 8 Oct we had a brilliant evening to mark World Mental Health Day and we now all understand so much more about the mental health challenges facing women. We looked into the many aspects of mental health including dementia and received management and support advice for how to live a better life for mental health well being. Our Member Katherine Clark ran the event. Kat is an experienced Mental Healthcare professional with her own specialist support and training service “Essential Life Skills”, working with individuals with a wide variety of needs. www.essentiallifeskills.org Kat delivered an excellent presentation covering the many aspects of mental health and how to manage them which can be downloaded and viewed here – Presentation WMHD2018 it covers depression and anxiety and what can help. Kat also did a relaxation exercise with us all – leaving us feeling like the cat in Kat’s presentation – see the pic! Kat

Wildlife Trust and FoodSmiles – captured our environment themed evening

7 years ago in

club

On Monday 24 Sep Soroptimist International St Albans and District Club held a Wildlife and Environment Themed Evening. Our Guest Speakers were Wendy Hartnell from Herts and Middlesex Wild Life Trust and Janet Bruce from FoodSmiles (pictured here are Janet on the left, Wendy on the right and Jane Slatter who chaired the evening as the happy sandwich filling!). Wendy gave us a fascinating talk with fabulous photographs on our big screen called “Where the Wild Things Are”. She told us about all the brilliant work that the Wildlife Trust does in Hertfordshire to protect and enhance places for wildlife and to inspire the whole community to value the natural world. Since WW2 93% of heathland has been lost in Herts sadly along with a great many different species of wildlife. They face the challenges created by climate change and habitat loss through development. We heard about the chalk rivers including the

New Term, New Member Jude and ICS Volunteer Alisha

7 years ago in

club

We had a lively meeting on Monday 10 Sep – it was the perfect opportunity for Club Members to catch up after the Summer break. The first thing we did was to welcome Jude Kenyon as a new Member of our Club – pictured here with Jude in the middle are Club President Linda Shall on the left and Club Membership Officer Amanda Brown on the right – they are all sharing the “hands of Soroptimist friendship” – as Linda said “what a great way to start our ‘new term’!” Alisha Mirza, a 22 year old marine biology graduate from Welwyn Garden City then spoke to the Club about her forthcoming ICS Project in Tanzania www.volunteerics.org Alisha has so much energy and enthusiasm and is such an excellent communicator that we know her trip will be a great success. The ICS work with VSO to send

Novel Bookstall Raises Funds for Refuges on Literacy Day

7 years ago in

Bookstall

The Club marks International Literacy Day every year selling 2nd hand books on St Albans market. On Sat 8 Sep this year the event raised more than £230 providing much needed funds for the St Albans & Hertsmere Women’s Refuge and the Welwyn Hatfield Women’s Refuge Our stall was busy all day and our Members enjoyed meeting many generous supporters in the town. Left over books were gratefully received by the Lions Charity Bookshop in the Maltings, Hemel Hempstead. Pictured here are some of the Soroptimist willing volunteers who always enjoy our day on St Albans Market. As Soroptimists our mantra is Educate, Empower and Enable so it is fitting that we celebrate International Literacy Day with projects that promote education, enabling women to achieve their full potential and thus empowering them to control their lives and know their rights. www.en.unesco.org/commemorations/literacyday UNESCO ‪#‎LiteracyDay

Knitting with Benefits

7 years ago in

blanket

This year Club Members have been knitting squares to make blankets. We had “knit-ins” at Amanda’s which were very sociable and chatty occasions. Away from the “knit-ins” many of the knitters found the knitting to be therapeutic. One of our Members encouraged her elderly Mum to join in with the knitting – she hadn’t knitted for years and seemed to get pleasure from the creative process. Another knitter found that it stopped her from being so obsessed with her Smart phone and a very kind supporter donated squares that she had knitted while sitting at her sick husband’s bedside. The work has now begun to sew all the squares together – see the photo above – we even managed to turn that into a social occasion by doing some sewing at a most enjoyable coffee morning. We can’t wait to see the finished blankets!

Three Club Summer Outings – Theatre Plus Exhibitions in St Albans and Camden

7 years ago in

Camden

The Club doesn’t meet formally in August but we had three summer outings which were both entertaining and interesting and provided a perfect opportunity for some Members to catch up with one another! The first enjoyable outing was on Sat 21 Jul when a group went to see “Fanny’s First Play” at Shaw’s Corner Outdoor Theatre. On 2 August a group of nine St Albans Soroptimists plus two guests attended the first “Museum Late” event at the newly opened St Albans Museum and Gallery in the centre of St Albans www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk The theme of the this first event was printing which played a big part in St Albans history. The group had an enjoyable evening learning about and doing some hands-on printing and they were also able to see a 3D Printer in operation. Outing number

WINNER! Soroptimist St Albans Wins SME Hertfordshire Business Award

7 years ago in

#SMEHerts

Great news! Our Club won the SME Hertfordshire Business Award in the “Not for Profit Business of the Year” category Please see the website for all the information – hertfordshireawards.co.uk The Club’s Membership Officer and local business woman Amanda Brown (pictured here) proudly represented the Club at the Awards dinner on Thursday 26 July. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… The other three deserving finalists in the “Not for Profit” category were: Golden Giving Impactful Governance – Community Interest Company Tring Together

Girls Cricket – Harpenden U14 – Winners of Soroptimist Audrey Collins Trophy 2018

7 years ago in

amy price

Harpenden Cricket Club U14 girls re-gain the Soroptimist International Audrey Collins Cricket Trophy The exciting finale to the 8th Soroptimist International Audrey Collins Girls’ Cricket League took place on a hot afternoon on Sunday 8th July 2018 at West Herts Cricket Club in Watford. After a busy summer of league games between the Clubs in the County the U14s Girls’ Teams from Harpenden and Bishop’s Stortford Cricket Clubs rose to the top to compete for the SI Audrey Collins Trophy, giving an enthusiastic crowd a very entertaining display. Members of Soroptimist International St Albans and District, Helen Byrne and Barbara Saunders, were delighted to attend and represent the Club. Bishop’s Stortford who are to be commended for reaching both the U14 and U12 finals in their first year of entry, batted first and, despite some very good, consistent bowling and great work in the field from Harpenden reached a respectable

Soroptimists Successful Partnership with Harpenden Lions for the Highland Gathering Raffle

7 years ago in

charity

St Albans and District Soroptimists supported the Harpenden Lions at the annual Harpenden Highland Gathering selling the Prize Draw Charity Raffle tickets. This is a partnership arrangement where Soroptimists share the workload with Harpenden Lions to great effect. Pictured here are Soroptimists Debbie Tankard, Catherine Moore, Denise Powell, Club Mascot Sally Bear (of course!) and Jane Slatter – just part of the team of volunteers who worked through the day selling tickets to win 25 great prizes with a value of almost £1000! It was a beautiful (if very hot!) day and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves doing good while having a good time – what perfect partnership work! Charities benefiting from this event are: Harpenden Lions Club charities, including the Life Skills Programme in local schools. See Life Skills Rennie Grove Hospice Care is a charity providing care and support for adults and children diagnosed with cancer and other life-limiting

Domestic Abuse and Options for Victims – interactive evening

7 years ago in

club

Mary McEvoy, Partner and Head of Divorce and Family Law and Notary Public at Neves Solicitors in Harpenden came to the Club in June and spoke about: – Development of the Law in the area of domestic violence – Current position – Practical information: what to do if you are the victim of abusive behaviour – What help is out there for both for victims & perpetrators – What’s missing? What other help/support/frameworks should be provided? Despite the really hot weather, the Club was delighted to welcome 16 visitors, many of whom work in the Domestic Abuse arena, to the Club’s “Violence Against Women” Team Speaker Meeting. The speaker, Mary McEvoy is a hightly experienced family lawyer from the Harpenden firm Neves. She has been working in family law for over 30 years and told us that she has often represented victims (and sometimes perpetrators) of domestic

New St Albans Museum includes Soroptimist Name

7 years ago in

Soroptimist

The new St Albans Museum and Gallery has opened! It is in the old Town Hall building right in the centre of the City. Soroptimist International St Albans and District made a donation of £250 towards the development of the new museum and we are very proud that our name now appears on an Honours Board in the museum. St Albans Soroptimist Members Denise Powell, Jean Eaton and Jane Slatter attended two of the special evenings held for the Honours Board donors. See below for a few photos – the refurbishment of the museum is a real triumph and well worth a visit. The Honours Boards are in the basement where you can also see the original cells used to detain prisoners before they appear in the Courtroom – which is now available for you to sit and enjoy refreshments from the cafe – perfect!

St Albans First Community Fair

7 years ago in

#CountMeIn

St Albans Community Central organised the first Community Fair this week. Soroptimists were there with 45 small, local charities from our District. The event was held at The Alban Arena for organisations like ours to meet the public and offer opportunities for people to help locally. Rita Andrews who was “womanning” the Soroptimist stand in the morning said “It was really good, we met some lovely women who will make great Members if they decide to join our Club.The Arena was buzzing!”. Other Members who were there are on the day were Sarah Lichman, Debbie Tankard, Katherine Clark, Janet Audley-Charles and Helen Byrne (Janet and Helen are pictured above).

Refugee Tales – Modern Day Canterbury Tales

7 years ago in

Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group

Felicity Dick a Trustee of Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group www.gdwg.org.uk spoke to the Club about the project Refugee Tales. The Refugee Tales Walk will be launched this year in St Albans on Friday, 6 July. It is like a Modern Day Canterbury Tales and will end in Westminster on 11 July. Felicity is pictured here accepting a donation from our President-Elect Katherine Clark. On Sat 7 July we are welcome to join the walk from St Albans to Hertford (or part of it) – please click on the links below for more details and email refugeetales@gdwg.org.uk if you’d like to join in http://refugeetales.org/the-walk-of-2018/ and http://refugeetales.org/book-for-refugee-tales-walk-2018/ On the evening of Sat 7 July there is an event in Hertford that sounds lovely – just click on the link below if you want to attend http://refugeetales.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/RefTales_Hertford_Poster_A4_small.pdf Felicity spoke in some depth about the work of Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group. They work

Processions 2018 – march marking 100 Years of Votes for Women

7 years ago in

#100Years

On 10 June Members of Soroptimist International from all over the UK marched with PROCESSIONS, a mass artwork celebrating 100 years of women voting, in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London. Members of SI St Albans and District marched in London in solidarity with 30,000 women and girls. We met up with many more Soroptimists from all over England while we were there too. Please click on the link below to scroll through photographs from the day and click on the video for more of a taste of this inspirational event. Women may have the vote in the UK, but we still need to continue the fight for equality. [new_royalslider id=”13″] PROCESSIONS 2018 highlights What a day! We're still loving seeing and hearing about your time at #PROCESSIONS2018. Thank you all for coming. Here's a quick round up of a truly spectacular day. Artichoke 1418 NOW

Soroptimists Support Girls Cricket Festival

7 years ago in

Abbots Langley

Boxmoor Wins the Girls’ Under 13’s Cricket Festival During a weekend of wall to wall sunshine, and the joy of a Royal Wedding, Barbara Saunders and Helen Byrne from St Albans and District Soroptimists (SISTAs) had the pleasure of presenting a cup and shield to Boxmoor Cricket Club’s girls’ team, at a festival of girls’ cricket held at Abbots Langley Cricket Club on Sunday 20th May. Five local girls teams took part in this Under 13’s Festival. There were some good cricketing skills on show and the girls played their matches with enthusiasm and a competitive spirit. The winning team, runners up (St Albans Cricket Club) and their coaches received individual medals which Barbara also presented. Barbara spoke of the ongoing commitment of the St Albans Soroptimists to encourage and support girls’ cricket in recognition of the pioneering contribution to women’s cricket of their late member Audrey

Does Population Matter? – evening about population growth and the sustainability of the planet

7 years ago in

Chase Africa

On Monday 14 May a lively group listened and engaged interactively with Steve Bown’s talk “Does Population Matter?” on the consequences of human population growth to our planet. Steve Bown is a doctor and trustee of the charity, Population Matters – which has high profile conservationists Richard Attenborough and Chris Packham as Patrons. Steve started the evening introducing the subject from the global perspective and after coffee showed photographs and spoke about his personal experiences in Kenya, supporting the Dandelion Project, and the CHASE Africa charity, helping run Health & Family Planning Clinics in rural Africa, empowering women to make their own choices on childbirth and health issues. In the 21st century, human activity demands more of the Earth than it can provide, and threatens the health of the natural environment on which we all depend. The more of us there are, the more we consume the planet’s natural resources,

Club Celebrates 61st Birthday at AGM

7 years ago in

Members of Soroptimist International St Albans and District enjoyed a lively Annual General Meeting in April. The AGM marked the end of the Club’s 61st year, and the start of the Club’s 62nd year with a celebration to end President Rita’s excellent year and to start a new Club year in style with President Linda Shall at the helm.

Home-Start and a Working Gap-Year in Nepal

7 years ago in

Amanda Brown

What an interesting and enjoyable Club Meeting we had on 9 April! Orla Fawcett came to talk to the Club to tell us about her forthcoming volunteer trip to Nepal for a year starting September 2018 with the charity Project Trust . Cick on the images to view the leaflet that Orla has produced about her trip, the organisation and how to support her. You can follow her on Facebook @orlafawcettnepal She wrote to us in February asking if she could come and talk to us Orla Nepal Letter Orla talked us through the educational work she is likely to be doing in a remote Nepalese village, living with a local family for a year. She is a talented and confident young woman and we are sure she will make this venture a great success for the people she will be helping, those working with her and also for her

Club Celebrates Girls and Womens Cricket in Hertfordshire

7 years ago in

Abbots Langley

A Celebration of Girls’ and Women’s Cricket in Hertfordshire and the Soroptimist Audrey Collins Legacy Project The St Albans and District Soroptimists held an inspirational evening to celebrate Girls’ Cricket in Hertfordshire and the impact of the Soroptimist Audrey Collins Legacy Project 2009 – 2017. We heard about opportunities for development in Womens and Girls cricket locally as part of our planning for Phase 2 of the Soroptimist Audrey Collins Legacy Project. The finale of the event was the presentation of the Soroptimist Audrey Collins U13 League Trophy for 2017 to the winning team – Harpenden Cricket Club. Please see the pic below. News of this initiative is in the Herts Advertiser too: www.hertsad.co.uk/news/st-albans-soroptimists-celebrate-girls-crickets-with-updates-on-audrey-collins-legacy-project-1-5466238 We heard from John Mihil and the girls of Harpenden Cricket Club about the joys and challenges of Girls’ club cricket. Sam Rose from Cricket East told us about Girls’ and Women’s cricket in Hertfordshire.

Women and Men Voted Soroptimist Quiz Night a Winner

7 years ago in

#vote100

The Soroptimist Quiz had a theme this year around the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote. The Quiz Masters (pictured) really entered into the spirit by dressing in period costumes plus rosettes and sashes in the women’s suffrage colours of green, violet and white. Many of the rounds of questions gave a nod to this special year for Soroptimists, and quiz teams had associated names like “The Fawcetteers”, “Deeds not Words”, and “Millicent”. The room was buzzing and everyone had a great evening – see the slide show of pics below. The best news is that this sellout event raised more than £1200!! for the St Albans & Hertsmere and Welwyn Hatfield Women’s Refuges plus charities providing learning opportunities for women and girls. [new_royalslider id=”12″] Thanks so much to everyone who came along on the night and made it such a winner! Thanks of course must

St Albans Soroptimists Mark International Womens Day

7 years ago in

#IWD2018

The Club marked International Women’s Day with three different and varied events this year – what a wonderful way to mark the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote! On 8 March, International Women’s Day, St Albans Soroptimists were “Guest Editors” on Radio Verulam our local community radio station. Jane Slatter, Denise Powell and Amanda Brown were chatting about equality, ending violence against women, past Member Audrey Collins OBE legacy for women and girls’ cricket and collecting pants and gently worn bras for the charity Smalls for All – what a wonderful opportunity – thanks Radio Verulam! To listen to the podcast please click here www.radioverulam.com/podcast/international-womens-day-soroptimists/ Also on 8 March, Katherine Clarke, Debbie Tankard and Jane Slatter attended the St Albans Girls’ School International Women’s Day Inspiring Women Careers Event for Year 8 and Year 12 Student Leaders. These girls all have a great future – we hope

Inspiring Club Open Evening – Home and Away

7 years ago in

charity

Members of Soroptimist International St Albans & District held an Open Evening to explain more about the work that Soroptimists do to make a difference to the lives of women and girls locally, nationally and internationally. We had Soroptimist speakers, speakers from local businesses, lots of guests and great fun learning about each other with while tying ourselves up with ribbons (too difficult to explain – you will need to ask!). Sue Wybrow, the founder of St Albans Businesses www.facebook.com/groups/stalbansbusinesses/ talked about making connections with local organisations and the challenges/opportunities of running your own business/enterprise. Claire Suttee who runs Atlas Translations, spoke about how she organises the Polar Bear Plunge www.polarbearplunge.org.uk on New Year’s Day each year at the St Albans Sub-Aqua Club. More than 500 people are involved. There are opportunities for fancy dress, loads of volunteers, people making hot food, polar bear medals, musicians, firemen, lifequards. £5000 raised

Club Welcomes 2 New Members, plus update about both Refugees and Refuges

7 years ago in

Alison Jarvis

Club Members were delighted to start the new year by welcoming 2 new Members Alison Jarvis and Helen Clothier. They are pictured here l to r with Amanda Brown, Membership Officer who introduced Alison who is standing next to her, President Rita Andrews is in the centre with the Club’s mascot Sally Bear (she gets everywhere!), Helen Clothier is next to Helen Byrne on the far right who introduced her to the Club. Helen and Alison are, like all of our Members very busy women. Helen Clothier is Vice Chair of the St Albans & Harpenden Patient Group among other things. Alison Jarvis is a senior Manager of Community Central St Albans – working to develop the local voluntary sector. We have a short informal induction ceremony in which the new Member, and all Club Members present, pledge their duty to the Club, the organisation and to each

Soroptimists Provide Interview Practice at St Albans Girls School

7 years ago in

club

Three Soroptimists volunteered this year to take part in St Albans Girls School (STAGS) “Big Interview day” for year 11 (GCSE year) students. Pictured here l to r are Barbara Saunders, Denise Powell and Jane Slatter. As part of the careers programme at St Albans Girls’ School, they offer a mock interview to every year 11 student on a day called “The Big Interview”. Each student has a half hour interview based on CV’s they have prepared in school and receive verbal and written feedback. The event has been running the for the past 6 years, and it is very well received by students, for some of whom it is their first interview experience. Soroptimists have been involved for the last 3 years and have found meeting the girls a real inspiration – a win win for everyone involved!

Soroptimist Tree at St Saviours Christmas Tree Festival

7 years ago in

christmas

Members of Soroptimist International St Albans and District decorated a beautiful Christmas tree which was on show at the St Saviour’s Christmas Tree Festival. 95 trees were decorated by local community groups and businesses and were displayed in the church until Sat 23rd December 2017. The theme for 2017 was “Community at Christmas” and our tree was “DIAMOND SISTAs – Soroptimist International St Albans & District, Women Serving the St Albans Community Since 1957″ Jean Eaton organised decorating the Club’s tree along with her Christmas helper/elf Madeline and said “The opening ceremony on Saturday 16th was different from usual. The vicar said a few kind and welcoming words and two opera singers gave a Christmas performance. After everyone had admired all the trees there we all enjoyed wine and canapes. There were lots of people at the opening ceremony and it was all rather lovely.” In the Programme Father Richard Wilson, Vicar

Canine Star Brings Success for Carol Singers at St Albans City Station

7 years ago in

16 Days of Activism

This year’s annual Soroptimist Christmas carol singing at St Albans City Station was a great success raising £516.20 for the St Albans and Hertsmere Women’s Refuge and the Welwyn Hatfield Women’s Refuge – and it was great fun too! We were joined by Jules the dog – who we are sure attracted lots of extra attention and donations! One weary female traveller gave us a very generous donation and said “it’s wonderful to hear something so lovely after a hard days work”. The feedback and donation was very welcome indeed! We would like to send a big thank you and wish the generous St Albans Commuters a very merry Christmas. Recent funding cuts and increased demand mean that Refuges need additional funding now more than ever before. This event is timed on the closest Monday to Human Rights Day when Soroptimists all around the world take action www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday Over a well deserved supper

Understanding Cyberstalking Will Make Women Safer – Fascinating Evening in St Albans

7 years ago in

16 Days of Activism

Staying Safe Online: the truth about Cyberstalking – an event for 16 Days of Activism to end gender based violence [new_royalslider id=”10″] On Monday 27 Nov our Soroptimist women’s group, Violence Against Women Team hosted an event at the Maltings Theatre St Albans – please scroll through the pictures here for a flavour of this fascinating evening if you missed it. Dr Emma Short demonstrated clearly her expertise on the field of cyberstalking (see below for more information about Emma and the content of her presentation). Cyberstalking is a crime against (mostly) women and must be taken more seriously because it wrecks lives. Awareness raising is essential and this event is part of that process. Emma presented some fascinating and scary information and the audience listened intently. She advised everyone to take up the advice from Get Safe Online www.getsafeonline.org – there are some simple steps we can all take

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