Our one-minute presentation on latest recruitment. We held our membership evening at our speaker meeting in May. In preparation for this event members were asked to bring a guest to find out what Soroptimist’s are and do. Members wore their t-shirts, polo shirts, sweat shirts & scarves on the evening along with ‘Ask me why I’m a Soroptimist’ badges. Everyone was ready & waiting at Rosegarth by 7pm, guests arrived promptly, information boards and our latest projects were on display, our meeting room which was packed, looked a picture. Our very important reliable team of caterers were in place. Copies of the Soroptimist news and information had been put on each chair for invited guests to take home. Each of our members participated and recalled what we had done over the past year. A lot of hard work had been put into this event to

Speaker from the Tanzania Development Trust “A quick snip and ‘the most unkindest cut of all’ – preventing HIV and combatting FGM in Tanzania http://www.tanzdevtrust.org/portfolio-item/mugumu-safe-house-for-girls/ Speaker: Anne Danks from the Trussell Trust https://www.trusselltrust.org/ Speaker – Chris Green from the White Ribbon Campaign http://www.whiteribboncampaign.co.uk/aboutus  

Gaynor waved her magic wand and a cake and scones appeared on the table. Now the Speaker Meeting could begin! We had invited Samantha Marshall to Rosegarth to give us a talk. Samantha is a Network Marketing Professional for the South West. Network Develop Succeed — that is her motto. Her talk was informative and fun. She spoke of her personal journey through the business world and some of her private life. Her main points were – don’t let others dictate your life, be in control and trust your own choices. She demonstrated how positivity had influenced her life. If a door closed for Samantha she looked for another to open. Some ladies were inspired and some of us were exhausted by her work ethic and achievements! Samantha’s background is in training and coaching and she loves to help people. It was a reminder to

Strawberry Tea party raises £300 to be shared between Breast Cancer Care, FORCE Cancer Charity Exeter & Rowcroft Hospice Barbara Soames and daughter Gaynor Raisey hosted a Strawberry Tea in Barbara’s garden  with friends, family, colleagues and neighbours and raised an amazing total of £300 for Breast Cancer Care, FORCE Cancer Charity Exeter and Rowcroft Hospice. Barbara and Gaynor enjoy hosting charity events and held a Strawberry Tea because they wanted to help provide vital support for people living with breast cancer.  They support the FORCE Cancer Charity which focuses on local people, offering support, as a relative was diagnosed with cancer. Everyone had a wonderful time at the Strawberry Tea, around 20 members and friends enjoyed the sunshine, ate the delicious home-made sandwiches and cakes, drank tea, whilst supporting and making donations, another great excuse to get together and make a massive difference!

The Soroptimist International of Torquay & District was founded in 1941 in the middle of WW2. The name Soroptimist comes from the Latin “soror” meaning sister or woman and “optima” meaning best, so “The Best For Women” or possibly “The Best of Sisters” is both the name and ethos of what is now the world’s largest women’s service organisation. Soroptimists are all about education, empowerment and enabling opportunities for women and aim to ‘make a difference’ . We meet on the first and third Tuesday in the month at 7.30pm at the Rosegarth House in Tor Church Road, Torquay, we either have a Business meeting or a Speaker meeting. At the Business Meetings we discuss matters relating to Our Club or Region and International matters, which have been communicated to us by Federation, we arrange our fundraising and work in the community.  At the Speaker

May 2016 Soroptimist News ​JTS is a Scottish company that supplies herbs in the UK.  SI Hamilton has secured a deal to help raise money for the Meru Women Garden’s Project.  To view the range ​click on the link http://shop.jts.co.uk/ to their online shop and to place an order please email info@jts.co.uk Make sure you mention that you are a Soroptimist in the email body so that their donation is sent to the project.