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75 buckets
75 buckets for 75 years

75 buckets for 75 years

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Over the years, we have supported our local women’s refuge, now renamed Changing Lives, by making donations of a range of items from toiletries and welcome packs to toys, gifts and Christmas cards. Last year, the staff asked if we could provide cleaning products to enable the residents to maintain the cleanliness of their living quarters, and which could be taken with them when they moved on to other accommodation. We provided 20 sets of cleaning products in plastic buckets over the year. This year we decided to make up 75 buckets containing cleaning products to commemorate the 75th anniversary of SI Widnes’ service to our local community. We received donations from Morrison’s Supermarket, Widnes and the Blackhorse Community Convenience store, Widnes as well as five other Soroptimist Clubs: SI Liverpool, Warrington, Ashton-under-Lyne, Southport and Bootle. 75 orange buckets were purchased to reflect the ‘#orangetheworld’

Programme Action Speaker Evening

Programme Action Speaker Evening

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Aiden Jackson with mum Caroline and President Eleanor Each year, we like to celebrate our Programme Action work with members, friends and guests and hold an annual Programme Action evening to this end. Three speakers were invited to this year's event: 1. Aiden Jackson, a young man who has put his energies into raising funds to provide community defibrillators throughout our local area. We had already donated £100.00 towards a defibrillator. Aiden regaled us with stories about some of the fundraising events he has organised. He raised £40.00 on the night with a football card. 2. Laura Bevan, from an organisation called Fortuna Female Society told us about the work they do in supporting local women mainly through social events but also through the awards ceremony they organise to honour local women. We had been invited to sponsor one of the awards and President Eleanor
75 years of Service

75 years of Service

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On 7th July 2019, Members, friends and distinguished guests, joined together at our Annual Charter Lunch to celebrate 75 years since Soroptimist International of Widnes was first chartered. The celebration was held at our usual meeting place, The Everglades Hotel, and the food, superb as usual, consisted of: Thai fish cakes or blue cheese salad followed by Salmon or beef served with potatoes and seasonal vegetables and to finish off there was a choice of a cheese board or strawberries and cream accompanied by tea or coffee. President Eleanor was joined at the top table by Regional President, Sue Underwood, and Mayor & Consort of Halton , Cllr Margaret Horabin & Mr Carl Horabin. The atmosphere was informal, relaxed and convivial as members of SI Widnes chatted and networked with Presidents and members from other Soroptimist Clubs from our Region, South Lancashire. The fantastic cake

Celebrating Burn’s Night

Celebrating Burn’s Night

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Saturday 25th January was a night of fun, food and friendship in the true Soroptimist way as we celebrated the Robert Burn's birthday. A fantastic four course Scottish dinner was served up  by 'Sugar and Spice', which consisted of: Arbroath smoky fish cakes; scotch broth; haggis, tatties and neeps followed by cranachan or tipsy laird. A selection of poems written by The Bard were read out by members and guests of SI Widnes and Region President Yvonne and her husband John gave the address to the 'lads' and the 'lassies'. John revealed his creative side by writing both addresses in rhyming verse, much to the delight of everyone. The evening culminated in the draw of our superb raffle, for which tickets had been sold over the previous six months; amongst the many prizes were:  a gin hamper, a spirits hamper, a chocolate hamper and a
Fun, Food and Friendship

Fun, Food and Friendship

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Our annual strawberry tea held in conjunction with Cronton Methodists took place on July 27th. The event was organised by Hazel Landon who was very ably assisted by her “team” .  This year' event was the largest to date with over 70 people attending and more than £400 was raised with raffles, stalls and a fabulous cake sale. The strawberry tea was absolutely delicious.   In August, Sheila Guthrie invited current and past members to her home for an evening of chatting and eating. Current members brought along food items and the result was an amazing spread. It was a very pleasant evening and £175 .00 was raised for our President's two charities. We know we can look forward to a relaxed and enjoyable evening when Jean Sinnott is our host and the coffee evening at her home in September was no exception. Jean had
“Full House” for Christmas Bingo Night

“Full House” for Christmas Bingo Night

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We held a fundraising bingo night and raffle at the Holy Family Club in Cronton. Before we could say, "Eyes down", the bingo machine had a false start, which could have been "unlucky for some!" However, after some amusement, we were soon underway. The event was well attended by members and friends of SI Widnes; in fact we had a "full house" and it was a very enjoyable evening for all. Altogether, £480.00 was raised for the President's Charities.
Advocacy in Action

Advocacy in Action

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The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. It was started by activists at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and continues to be coordinated each year by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. In support of this civil society initiative, under the leadership of the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General’s UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women campaign (UNiTE campaign) calls for global actions to increase awareness, galvanize advocacy efforts, and share knowledge and innovations. In 2019, the UNiTE campaign marked the 16 Days of Activism
Members in Conference

Members in Conference

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Members of SI Widnes travelled to Bournemouth at the end of October 2019 for the Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Annual Conference. The Conference was held over three days with the opening ceremony taking place on the evening of Thursday evening 24th October. This was a heart warming event as the flags of all the countries who are part of SIGBI (this includes many of the Commonwealth countries) were paraded on stage. Following the welcome speeches, we were entertained by the Rock Choir, who had everyone up in the aisles, singing and dancing. On Friday and Saturday, we were privileged to listen to some excellent speakers who had experience in the field of mental health. A standing ovation was given to fifteen-year-old Katy, after she had spoken about her struggle with anxiety and social phobia, which began when she was very young.
Cronton Gala

Cronton Gala

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After the continuous sunshine we seemed to have had throughout May and early June, the morning of Saturday 16th dawned grey, miserable and drizzly! However, not to be put off by a bit of rain, 3 intrepid members of SI Widnes set up a stall at Cronton Gala. Soft toys galore for our teddy tombola, which was a great success, raising £40.00 for the Alzheimer’s Society. Cup cakes and raffle tickets were on sale too as well as much loved books. We were joined in the afternoon by 2 more dedicated members of SI Widnes who kept up the good work of selling. giving out leaflets and bookmarks as well as spreading the Soroptimist word. However, all this was about to change when the heavens opened. The rain was torrential. It felt as though 6 weeks rain fell in half an hour and that quickly

Books for Bogs

Books for Bogs

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The Adult team at Riverside College, Kingsway Campus Riverside College held a book collection and sale and raised over £240.00 to twin a toilet block for a school in a developing country. This will allow the children access to clean water and will enable girls to continue their education Toilet Twinning