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Weybridge, Walton & Hersham are on Santa’s Route

Weybridge, Walton & Hersham are on Santa’s Route

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At this time of year mothers and women struggling financially face difficult choices, heat the home, pay the bills, put food on the table,  borrow to buy extras and gifts? Alongside supporting foodbanks with female hygiene products year round, local women soroptimists volunteer and fundraise to aid community foodbanks around the country with supermarket vouchers and food, plus summer essentials like children’s sun lotion and treats at Easter. This festive season our soroptimists and friends in Elmbridge donated £15 to fill each gift hat for women and mums from Santa.  Brenda and Cathy delivered 20 to @Runnymede at #WeybridgeFoodbank last week, Jean and Ann did the same at @Walton&Hershamfoodbank. Sincere thanks to the generous soroptimists, neighbours, friends and family for the cash to enable this sharing of joy and goodwill locally. Merry Christmas to all  partners, volunteers and charities we work with locally to improve

Soroptimists fly the flag for Women and Girls for #16DaysofActivism

Soroptimists fly the flag for Women and Girls for #16DaysofActivism

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Women volunteers in local soroptimist clubs around the world #orangetheworld as part of the global campaign and action to stop violence against women and girls. Locally they are ‘flying the flag’ in many ways on Monument Green, Weybridge and in Stoke d’Abernon to highlight the UN messaging for global action and progress under the UNiTE program. Soroptimists are advocating to reduce online and IT tech-led actions and increased use of private information which impacts women and girls well being and safety adversely and to encourage everyone to harness technology to enable safety, respect and dignity in every situation, every country and every online media. Progress is steady, nothing is impossible. “We are hopeful not hopeless” in the words of an Afghan women’s advocate speaking at the recent SIGBI conference about the challenges women and girls face every day in country. Amplify the messaging share on

River Thames at Cowey Sale is ORANGE!

River Thames at Cowey Sale is ORANGE!

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  Following on from the success of our monthly #OrangeCafes, this year we upped the scale of our activities to mark the start of #16days of activism. Saturday November 25th was a cold but bright winter’s morning. A group of club members met up for a ‘Walk & Talk’ Café Crawl along the Thames towpath between Walton & Weybridge. Our aim was to raise awareness of #16Days and the UN Day for the elimination of violence against Women. We were joined by Soroptimist sisters from the region as well as family members & the Outreach team from #Northsurreydomesticabuse. We  met at the Cowey Sale café then we all walked & talked all the way to D’Oyly’s Café. The island setting offered a great photo opportunity on the bridge across the river. Even the tree in the background was orange! We were all wearing orange &

Soroptimists ‘Remember’ in Weybridge

Soroptimists ‘Remember’ in Weybridge

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Just a month on from meeting as a club with family, friends and retired members to remember Dorothy Clarke MBE at a memorial service in Hersham, we were honoured to lay a club poppy wreath in remembrance of the many who have fallen for our freedoms over the decades since WW1. Joining members and friends Alexis was welcomed on Sunday for the first time to represent the many soroptimists in Weybridge.   Sincere thanks to Alexis Past Club President for arranging the wreath and representing the club.      

Elfing around..Elmbridge..

Elfing around..Elmbridge..

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Last week we approved fund allocation to fill 40 elf hats for gifting to @RunnymedeandWeybridgefoodbank and @Walton&HershamFoodbank. Packed by Santa’s elves and labelled ‘For Mum from Santa” soroptimists in @weybridge, @waltononthames and @molesey hope to spread some joy and goodwill to the hard pressed families in our district on Christmas day. Our Women against Violence (WAV) team are really busy hoisting flags, putting up posters and arranging the #orangetheworld cafe crawl on the Thames from Cowey Sale, Walton to amplify the  Surrey clubs work in the southern England region to end violence against women over #16daysofactivism each and every year. Show your solidarity with orange ribbons, posters and share our posts to widen the information sharing and impact action.   Save the date  – 25th November start of club activism to unite in solidarity with women and girls suffering violence.     

#16Days of Activism get ready..

#16Days of Activism get ready..

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The global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is a key international moment to call for an end to violence against women and girls. It runs from 25th November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) until 10th December, Human Rights Day. In support of this campaign, the United Nations Secretary-General’s “UNiTE by 2030” initiative calls for global action to increase awareness, galvanise advocacy efforts and share knowledge and innovations to help end all types of violence against women and girls. In 2023, the UNiTE campaign theme is Invest to Prevent Violence against Women & Girls. Soroptimists and UNWomen’s focus is on Tech-facilitated gender based violence against women and girls. What is that? Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is any act that is committed or amplified using digital tools or technologies causing physical, sexual, psychological, social, political, or economic harm to women and girls because

Meet up to talk about Women against Violence at Squires Hersham today 10-11.30am

Meet up to talk about Women against Violence at Squires Hersham today 10-11.30am

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Elmbridge based Soroptimists from SI Weybridge and District meet up today to chat about women and girls safety in Surrey. We’ll be wearing orange to highlight the #16Days campaign and #orangetheworld to support the United Nations annual UNiTE campaign to end violence against women. Feel free to join our table to meet local women against violence (WAV) and hear about the plans we have.

A busy month ahead for Soroptimists in Southern England

A busy month ahead for Soroptimists in Southern England

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October Club Meeting on 19th The meeting starts with supper at 7pm. This month we welcome a speaker from the @Holme Farm a volunteer-led community group running an 8-acre site of an old farm in Woodham, Surrey. The business meeting will start at 8.30pm, please look out for  the monthly newsletter, the Management Group meeting minutes sent out yesterday and the summary of a recent Regional Program Action Committee meeting ahead so you are  aware of progress this month. SISE Regional AGM This weekend the SI Southern Region (#SISE) AGM will be held in East Sussex, please review the Agenda and last years Minutes in case you wish to raise any matters and influence the voting. Margaret & Danny are attending. The regional Soroptimist Bluebell Awards presentation of club projects and judging is scheduled alongside a celebratory lunch, a lot of hard work and dedication

‘Orange’ Cafe stirs interest at Cafe Enzo Weybridge

‘Orange’ Cafe stirs interest at Cafe Enzo Weybridge

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Soroptimists around the world have elected to highlight our pledge to stop violence against women every month on the 25th using a global taskforce #WomenAgainstViolence . #ElmbridgeSoroptimists have started!: we’ve held our first Orange Cafe! Five members of our club met on Monday 25th September at Cafe Enzo in #Weybridge. We made a splash of orange with our clothes, badges, flowers and tablecloths. We told the cafe staff about Soroptimists locally and about the UN campaign to end violence against women and girls. We left some good/bad relationship cards for them to give to customers. It’s a small start, but hopefully this is something that will build month by month. Halloween Week beckons – we will meet on Wednesday 25th October at @SquiresGardenCentre, Hersham, 10am-11.30am. Join us for a warming drink and chat, hear what it’s all about. This month we will be talking about

Santa’s Elves are preparing gifts for ‘Mum’ with Elmbridge based Soroptimists

Santa’s Elves are preparing gifts for ‘Mum’ with Elmbridge based Soroptimists

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Local soroptimists will once again help Santa’s elves supplying gift filled  ‘Elf Hats’ for Mothers for the local Foodbanks. The hats which cost £16 were really well received last year, ensuring mums had a present from “Santa” to open at Christmas. The plan is to fill the hats at our November 16th meeting and to have them hand sewn by our seamstress elf Jeannie, with labels added “For Mum love Santa” they can then be delivered by month end.  We invite you to join in this project and fill a hat for donation. SI Weybridge  will donate a £10 food gift voucher to each hat we fill to a maximum of £400, so don’t delay. Kindly email soroptimistsweybridge@gmail.com by 10 November to obtain the bank details and remit the cost of the contents £16 (inc. hat) to bank in good time. Please give ‘Elfhat’ (and your initials or