Our successful candidate for the 17th Public Speaking Competition was 16 year old Daphne Katz. She is currently studying for her GCSEs at Stratford Girls’ Grammar School and hopes to proceed to study French, German, Philosophy and Politics. She enjoys debating and public speaking, and although nervous, this did not show in her powerful and well-constructed delivery of “# Me Too”. She is sure that winning this competition will be an important step in achieving her goals. (16th March 2019).   Val Clark from Stratford Club (left) with winner Daphne Katz  

We had twenty children plus two staff from the Young Carers Group. They were split into three groups. Indoors they did napkin folding to make waterlilies, icing biscuits and making butter. In the spinney they planted primulas which they took home and made fat balls and strings of apple and sultana to feed the birds which they were able to watch from the hide. The third group took a walk through the parkland stopping to play “pooh sticks” on the bridge over the river and seeing the deer in the distance. They visited the lambing pens and one lucky group even saw a lamb being born. The Soroptimists supplied a picnic lunch and although we were not really able to use blankets we have donated some for the group to use when the weather improves.  After lunch Judy led the children on an Easter Egg

Back in January, a group of Soroptmist’s got together for a practical meeting. We helped trace, cut and sew materials for sanitary towels for the women and girls in Sierra Leone for the Kori Project. The Kori Project supports women and girls in the rural community of the Kori Chiefdom; it has already seen 2000 women join the agricultural project since it was started in 2011. The Kori project aims to raise awareness of the dangers of FGM as well as provide them with the training, tools and equipment for agricultural development. The washable sanitary towels were made from unwanted fabrics, duvet covers and curtains – what a great way to make use of old materials! These simple items can make a huge impact to the women and girls in Sierra Leone, who can attend school without the embarrassment of menstruating.

The Soroptimists will soon be preparing for a busy period in the garden again. It has been quite wet and cold over the last few months in Stratford upon Avon, including a number of “Snow Days”! Back in November the team were hard at work weeding, pruning and tidying the garden. This provides a great space for those at the hospital to relax and is also a treat for the eyes!

MIDLAND ARDEN REGION PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITIONHeld at Rugby Council Chambers on Saturday, 17th March 2018 A four-minute speech was made by 11 contestants from 9 Clubs. Stratford Club entered two contestants: Ricky Cookefrom Shipston High School whose topic was ‘Miracles do happen’ and Sinead McCall from Stratford Grammar School, her topic was ‘Human Trafficking – Modern Day Slavery. How can we stop it?’ The adjudicators were Bernadette St Aubyn, Jasvinder Kandula and Leigh Hunt.  The scoring took account of content and delivery, deductions being made for reading from a prepared speech, excessive use of cue cards, memorising without understanding and timekeeping.   Sinead McCall won 1st prize of £150 and the Midland Arden Trophy. Vanshika Anand from Rugby High School won 2nd prize of £75.00 and the Runner Up Trophy – her topic was ‘Miracles do happen’.  Tamanna Janjua from Alderbrook School, Solihull won 3rd

  President Ann plus 7 club members attended the Annual Federation Conference in Cardiff from Oct 26th – Oct 28th. During that time we sold cards and gifts in the exhibition area and raised £300 for the MERU Project.      

On Thursday Sept 7th the Soroptimist International club of Stratford upon Avon and District were joined by Jayne Blacklay, Director of Development and Deputy Chief of South Warwickshire Foundation Trust. Jayne gave a very comprehensive talk about the current state of the NHS with a £30 million funding gap predicted by 2020 with a massive increase in demand for social care.New models of care are being developed including structural changes and more geographical funding. There is also an increased emphasis on helping people to help themselves.  Our local trust currently operates from 52 buildings with a £250 million budget and were one of very few trusts to make small profit last year. Following this success they are now buddying with Wye Valley trust in Hereford to help with best practice. Jayne has worked tirelessly over the last two years to bring about the opening of

On the 3rd August, SIBGI Stratford-upon-Avon met at the Pierre Bistro in the town with some special visitors. President Ann presented Lila Morgan, Chair of the League of Friends at Stratford Hospital, with a cheque for £680. The Shakespeare Hospice was presented with a cheque for £1,280 – the proceeds from our concert and the Shakespeare Marathon water station. Our other visitor was Gill Curry from SI Thames Valley who spoke to us about the Kori Project in Sierra Leone which she is involved in and also travelling to with past President Rose in October. The Kori Project supports women and girls in the rural community of the Kori Chiefdom; it has already seen 2000 women join the agricultural project since it was started in 2011. The Kori project aims to raise awareness of the dangers of FGM as well as provide them with the training,

  Some super work was carried out by our SI ‘Gardening Team’ earlier this month to prune, weed and tidy the garden. It looks beautiful, bright and colourful for all visitors. staff and patients at the hospital.       The ladies do a fantastic job at maintaining the garden throughout the year so that all can enjoy the wonderful sights and smells the garden brings.    

SI Stratford upon Avon had speakers from the Warwickshire Young Carers’ Project for our meeting in June to share the great work they are doing in our county. The Project supports young carers from ages 8-25 who are caring for close family or relatives and may not have access to the help they need. Support includes allowing the carers to take part in regular activities for their age such as trips, music festivals and fishing. Some of these activities are offered to the project free of charge, however, many are paid for through fundraising/donations. The Project also aims to raise public awareness of unpaid carers in Warwickshire with visits to schools.   The Project also helps with referrals to the Bereaved Young Carers group Echoes at The Stratford Hospice for carers who are dealing with loss. To find out more visit www.warwickshireyoungcarers.org.uk