April is the time of year where we take stock of all that we have achieved throughout the ‘soroptimist year’ and we celebrate this at our Annual General Meeting. (AGM) President Jill opened our meeting and this marked the beginning of her second year as club President. At this meeting we install our new officers and Diane Walker and Kay Turner were installed as joint Presidents Elect. Rowena Castillo- Nicholls became our new Vice President. We have every confidence in our officers as we move into the new year. We were proud to know that of the £3,509 raised for President’s Charities during the year 2022-23, £2,248.97 was for Cornwall Hospice Care. Their representative Carrie was present to receive ‘the big’ cheque. Programme Action Officer Diane reported that she had submitted 22 programme focus reports on our club projects to the national Soroptimists updated website. 

March was a really busy month for our club. Events included our Unsung Heroine 2023 awards ceremony, our First Lego League Challenge, a World Book Day Give Away and of course International Women’s Day celebrations. Encouraging girls into STEM We began the month by presenting  an Andrew Flint Bursary of £500 to Ellen Winn who is a BTEC Engineering student at Truro College.  This bursary was set up in 2019 from a very generous bequest. It is used to support girls in Science, Engineering, Technology and Maths. We look forward to regular updates from Ellen as she progresses through her course.   World Book Day On the 4th March we gave away over 1000 children’s books (donated by members) at St Austell Library to mark World Book Day.  Families were delighted to find a large collection of books available to them for free! Books included

Carclaze school received their Buddy Bench, we launched our Unsung Heroine Awards 2023 asking for nominations, Libby hosted a soup and dessert lunch for St Petroc’s, where we remembered fondly Shirley Mathieson a very active Soroptimist for many years and delightful human being.

Pursing our aim of encouraging girls into STEM, we sponsored a team of girls at Sandy Hill Academy in the LEGO League Challenge We made a donation to local school girl Hannah Toogood- Johnson to help her fundraising for her trip to Ghana in July with African Adventures Foundation. Members enjoyed a Charity Lunch for The Women’s Centre Bodmin at Emily Scotts and Dinner Dance at The Alverton Hotel to celebrate the 44th Anniversary of our Charter with Nour Chakroun and Region President Valerie as our guests and Change Cornwall Chorus our entertainment.

A large number of members attended the Cornwall Air Ambulance Christmas Carol Concert in Truro we had a special mention. We rearranged the date of our December meeting in order to support Soroptimist  Karen Hurn. Anita Edgar from El Shaddai Children’s Rescue Trust Charity based in Goa spoke to the club at our December meeting. We sponsor a young girl in one of their homes. Members joined other local Women’s organisations in Newquay to Reclaim the Night with a March and Vigil. We decorated a tree in Soroptimist colours in the Church of St Bartholomow Lostwithiel. At the December meeting we presented a cheque to Lizzie of Look Good Feel Better and we wore our Christmas Jumpers. Members donated various items and 18 bags were made up and given to 22 individuals ranging from babies to teenagers who find themselves in temporary housing at Christmas.

Members attended the Region meeting in Taunton and 25th marked the start of the 16 days of Activism  and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Once again the members formed a team to invite shoppers at Tesco St Austell to donate items for our local Women’s Refuges. President Jill joined others in the Region at Weston super Mare in drawing attention to Gender Based Violence at a. Railing Against Abuse event

We welcomed another new member, Mersedeh Proctor and presented Ellie Greenwood (apprentice carpenter) with the current Elisabeth Millard Bursary of £500 to aid with the costs of her studies. Soroptimist Diane ran the London Marathon members met up to enjoy a Brilliant Breakfast in aid of The Princes Trust’s project to help disadvantaged young women, October 22nd  was the annual Autumn Fayre which raised over £2100 for the charity Look Good Feel Better, most of the club were involved with the various stalls and kitchen during the day. We have also supported local foodbanks with a donation of £200. At the end of the month 18 club members including 6 first timers attended the SIGBI Federation Conference in Belfast. An enjoyable, interesting, illuminating and exhausting time was had by all. Friendships were formed and others cemented. Lots of shared experiences.

Always a busy month, The commeorative plaque in Jo Bennett’s flower bed was unveiled, the group sewing a Peace Square for SI Fernando Trinidad’s 60th Anniversary quilt met to plan their design. Over 2 days members gave away books at Lanlivery Rally and others attended a Region meeting in Taunton, some never made it because of traffic problems. Members took part in the MCS Beachclean and survey in Charlestown and enjoyed a guided evening walk around Charlestown with local historian, author and friend of the club Lyndon Allen.