At last, after two years, Winchester Soroptimists were able to take a stand at the Sunday Cattle Market car boot sale in Winchester.
The club had first applied for space in 2020 and then lockdown for Covid-19 hit us all. They have also been unable to meet face to face, like many charities, so this was a great opportunity to be outdoors and see other members of the club. They don’t know when we will be able to restart their regular meetings as the meeting venue, the Holiday Inn at Morne Hill, is still a vaccination centre.
Fortunately, the date was offered at short notice for 13 June and club members made sure there were some interesting items to attract visitors, who were also delighted to be out in the sunshine and meeting people.
Winchester City Council grants a different charity each week, the right to collect rents from the vendors at the car boot sale. Julie Blackwell, Treasurer said, “It is a wonderful community-spirited thing to do and we would happily apply to do this again. We enjoyed meeting local people and made a total of £450 which will go towards our charitable projects.”
Soroptimist International of Winchester & District support the women’s Refuge in Winchester and also the Trinity Centre, along with lobbying Government for women’s rights and many other projects in the UK and overseas, transforming the lives of women and girls. It is a global women’s organisation and celebrates 100 years in October 2021.
Winchester Soroptimists will also be taking a stand at the Hat Fair 2-4 July 2021.
We were also pleased to confirm a donation of £205 to the Fire Fighters charity for our virtual Fire Station tour on zoom on 11 June.
If you would like to know more, or consider membership then please contact us on winchestersoroptimists@gmail.com