Signing up is easy https://thebigplasticcount.com/sign-up/households The Big Plastic Count is open to everyone of all ages! By signing up to take part, you’ll help reveal the true scale of the UK’s plastics crisis and uncover what really happens to our plastic once it leaves our homes. Taking part is simple: You count your plastic packaging waste for one week and submit your results online to receive your households personalised plastic profile. In case you missed it, the UK’s biggest people-powered investigation into plastic waste is back next month! From 9-15 March, thousands of us from schools, households and communities across the UK will be counting all the plastic packaging we throw away for one week The Big Plastic Count 2026 comes at a critical moment. Since the last Count, we have a new government in place that has promised to tackle plastic waste. This year’s Count will gather

Penny Rushen from SI Stourbridge had great fun creating wonderful items using silk clay with women from our local refuge. Here are photos of some of their creations   They also had  a free raffle using toiletry donations for prizes

The name Soroptimist was coined from the Latin soror meaning sister, and optima meaning best. Soroptimist is perhaps best interpreted as ‘the best for women’. From the founding of the first Soroptimist club in Oakland, California, in 1921, through to the present day where over 3000 Clubs are flourishing throughout the world, Soroptimists have continued to strive to achieve ‘the best for women’ in every sphere of their lives. If you would like to join our group or want to consider becoming a Soroptimist, please call Mary on 07886469701, she will be delighted to discuss Soroptomism and SI Stourbridge club with you.  

Hamlin Fistula UK

We are proud to support Hamlin Fistula UK to help mothers through childbirth in rural Ethiopia. The letter below from Helen Marriot CEO, of Hamlin Fistula UK was lovely to read.   Dear Stourbridge & District Soroptimists Members, Thank you for your donation of £709.00 to Hamlin Fistula UK. Your generous gift will help women like Mawardi* deliver their babies safely in rural Ethiopia. Mawardi’s pregnancy was difficult, but she received ante-natal care from Blen, the Hamlin midwife at Boko health centre. When it came time to give birth to baby Hafsa, Mawardi knew she wanted to deliver at the health centre, with support from a trusted health professional. Mawardi said: “I am happy to have a healthy baby and want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Blen for her support during my stay. Her care has made all the difference in my journey to

   In the gardens named in her honor stands a statue of Mary Macarthur, the Scottish suffragist and trades unionist who led women chain-makers on strike to raise the minimum wage in Cradley Heath. Mary Macarthur (1880-1921) was born in Glasgow. She was Glasgow Girls’ High School newspaper editor and aspired to become a writer. In her early 20s, as a reporter for a local newspaper in Ayr, she attended a Shop Assistants’ Union meeting. Impressed by their values, she joined the union. Within a year, she got elected as the Union president in Scotland and became the first female representative on the Union’s National Executive. The following year, she moved to London and was appointed Secretary of the Women’s Trade Union League. At 26, Macarthur founded the National Federation of Women Workers, Britain’s Anti-Sweating League, and a newspaper for women trade unionists called Women

SI Stourbridge are pleased to contribute to the Black Country Food Bank, here are the donations for December. Thank you to all  

Club members at the MAR meeting in Kenilworth today, with Orange part of the 16 days of activism. You can find out more about the 16 days of activism here https://sigbi.org/2025/16-days-activism/

Members from Stourbridge were inspired by their attendance at our national conference in October. Here are a few photos of the team and a link to the blogs and agenda for conference which you may find useful.   Saturday 1 November 2025 – Workshop Blogs      

Soroptimist Ann Middleton has written this article for her Parish magazine, you can click on the link to read a snapshot of Program Action activities Stourbridge group are doing now.   Taking positive action to improve the lives of women and girls