Our club enjoyed an interesting Reflections Day with lively discussion, friendship  and lots of laughter. We focused on two key areas; our roles and contributions to the club and how we can best support each other and our achievements over the last year and how we could do things differently, working  collaboratively to achieve our goals.  We all agreed that community and friendship was most important and key points for change were identified. The day was rounded off with a presentation of a special Soroptimist Rose to celebrate member Jane ‘s twenty five years as a Soroptimist. We also gave some well deserved flowers to Mary in thanks for hosting our lovely day with such warmth and efficiency.       The day ended with an amazing bring and share lunch provided by us all – a veritable feast of many tastes and

Club members were delighted to welcome Jackie Carter from the local charity, The Haven to their March meeting. Jackie gave an inspiring talk about the work of the charity supporting the local homeless and other vulnerable people. Members were concerned to hear that a large proportion of people who visit the Haven are women and this group are particularly vulnerable. In gratitude for her visit the club presented her with a cheque for £50 to support the valuable work carried out.    

     A successful coffee morning organised by a club member raised over £900 for the very worthy charity, Target Ovarian Cancer. Many thanks to Jane for organising, Mary, Karen, Millie and Susan for their valuable help on the day and to all those who contributed cakes to be enjoyed and sold.

Whitstable Soroptimists welcomed guests to their second International Women’s Day Dance in aid of local charities. The event was once again a great success, with more than 95 guests dancing the night away to the fabulous Project F. Friendship and fun were visible in every corner of the the Whitstable Umbrella Centre hall and everyone agreed that it was once again, an amazing night. More tickets were sold, more money was raised, and more fun had by all! £1084 was raised allowing the club to donate £542 to both The Rising Sun Domestic Violence and Abuse Service and Maya’s Community Food Bank.        

We are very proud to be awarded the “Our Planet, Our Future” award by #soroptimistssoutheastengland. The award is in recognition of our leadership of #plasticfreewhitstable, helping to reduce single use plastic in the town. Our project links with the UN sustainable development goals: 5: Gender Equality: the climate crisis especially affects women and girls who are more likely to be displaced from their homes. 6: Clean Water: water quality improves when pollution decreases.                             12: Responsible Consumption & Production: environmentally sound waste management.                                                                                                  

Whitstable Soroptimists celebrated International Women’s Day with a lively evening of music and dance at the Umbrella Centre in Whitstable. Members decorated the hall with fairy lights and our Soroptimist banner stood proudly beside the raffle prizes. Ninety one tickets were sold and the hall was packed as members and guests danced the night away to the fabulous local band Project F. The band played a great collection of funky tunes which kept the dance floor full all night and everyone agreed what a great night it was. Unexpectedly, we were treated to a wedding proposal in the interval when Maya took to the stage and proposed to her partner in front of us all. Definitely a first for us! We were delighted to raise £813.93 at the event, to donate to Maya’s Community Support Centre and to the Umbrella Centre, a well treasured local

Whitstable soroptimists carried out a beach clean on Seasalter beach in January. This is a regular event for us and despite the cold it’s always rewarding, if disappointing, to see how much we manage to collect in an hour. Most of the rubbish appears to have been washed up from the sea, a far too common and worrying trend these day. We are always glad to help maintain the cleanliness of our beaches and the sustainability of our beautiful locality and world. We also enjoy the coffee and chat afterwards!  

Whitstable soroptimists joined other clubs from our region, members of local organisations, family and friends and like minded members of the public on November 25th to take part in the annual silent march  organised by Soroptimist International Canterbury. The march aims to raise awareness of gender based violence and to campaign for an end to this inexcusable social issue by colouring the streets orange. OrangeTheWorld #endviolenceagainstwomenandgirls #16daysofactivism