Soroptimist International of Winchester took part in the Hat Fair from 2-4 July. This year was very different with 5 sessions of ticketed slots from Friday evening to Sunday evening. This took place at the North Walls Recreation ground and the School of Art in Winchester. As part of a recruitment and membership strategy, it’s good to create awareness of what the club does do, and to be more a part of the Winchester community. We were also delighted to receive a development grant from SI Southern England region to support the registration. Julie Blackwell, member of SIW said, ‘We were able to talk to several interested ladies and pass on our information. Most people had not heard of the organisation so we want to address this going forward, especially in this our centennial year. We felt it would be good to be part of

The photo shows items assembled ready for taking to the Refuge for their ‘At Home Picnic’ a substitute for our annual outdoor event which we, unfortunately, had to cancel due to COVID-19 restrictions. We were delighted that the manager also welcomed some donations of children’s clothing and toys. The picnic coincided with a birthday party for one of the children which made it extra special. Thank you to all our Club Members who contributed, Gina and Myra for helping out, and of course Jennifer who organises all of our support to this very worthy local cause.

Trinity Winchester are set to open a new chapter in its 34 years of supporting homeless and vulnerable people in Winchester District by providing accommodation on-site for the first time. Bradbury View comprises of 12 ‘flatlets’ for people who are rough-sleeping repeatedly – often the hardest to reach and to help in our community. The flatlets have ensuite bathrooms to reduce the risk of contagion through sharing facilities, protecting both occupants and the wider community. Residents are offered individualised person-centred support to help them get their lives back on track and move towards successfully living independently. Recently, members, Jennifer, Gina and Jo were given a tour of the new accommodation at Trinity. The club has plans to contribute to the gardens of the new accommodation, as well as continue our collections and food support for the main centre. 

Soroptimist International of Winchester is delighted to have a member working in the healthcare environment. Marianne Wanstall, Chief Executive of Winchester based Brendoncare Foundation, at the ground-breaking ceremony of the St Giles site commented: ‘This is the first milestone in the construction of the new care home. The new home will provide much needed support for older people in Winchester, offering nursing, residential, dementia, respite and end of life care’. The new home will have 60 purpose-built en suite bedrooms, a cafe/restaurant, hair and beauty salon and a community hub. The community hub will be open to residents, their families and the local community, with exercise classes, social groups and carer support services. We hope that the care home is completed on time and that the club may be able to have an active input in time. Download the full article: Hampshire Chron Brendoncare If

Soroptimist International of Winchester is delighted to be part of the Hat Fair from 2-4 July. The event takes place annually but has not happened for two years now. The organisers are doing things differently this year and rather than the performers handing around their ‘hats’ for a donation, they will be paid by income from the ticket sales, making the event covid safe. We felt it would be good to be part of this fun community and in doing so talking to people about who we are and what we do, in a different context. There are five different time slots over the three days and tickets can be bought for each time slot. The venue is the North Walls Recreation ground in Winchester. More information can be found on Hat Fair | Free Outdoor Arts Festival Download recent article on the event: Hampshire

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

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https://youtu.be/7ZuKoBEGF3s

Young Girls Online – SI PAC One of the concerns of Soroptimist International is that young girls are able to live in safe and healthy environments. The Internet has completely changed these environments. Most Teenage girls can’t “just turn it off” and pretend that what happens online isn’t real, because for them, it is. This is the world they have grown up in and it isn’t that they are dedicating themselves to their devices, it’s that these are their preferred tool for communicating, sharing, and all the other things teens do as they grow into young adults. However, we know that the online world can expose girls to online messages of hate, homophobia, racism and sexism. Issues that can lead to mental health issues and self-confidence problems. The aim of this SI project is to understand more about the world teenagers experience online and how

Violence against Women Violence against women is endemic in the UK and across the world. Tragic events recently must be the beginning of the conversation about women’s safety and right to live in a world free from the fear of violence, harassment and abuse. Active lobbying SI Winchester & District club has been lobbying local MPs over the last three months as the Domestic Abuse Bill has been going through the House of Lords and Parliament. Members of the club and in the region  made contact with Baronesses in the House of Lords, with women’s interests in their portfolio, and have lobbied on topics such as non-fatal strangulation and coercive control issues in domestic abuse situations. We have had many messages of support and positive replies. The Government has also reopened their nationwide Call for Evidence to inform their next Tackling Violence against Women and

Yesterday evening SI Winchester and District Club enjoyed a wonderful talk from Mark Porter of the National Garden Scheme via Zoom. The members were fascinated to see the history of the scheme and the many charities they supports. We were also inspired by the photos Mark showed us of beautiful gardens which will be available to view in Hampshire when the world returns to normal. If you are looking for an outing in your local area, which is very likely to include tea and cake go to www.ngs.org.uk for inspiration…  

Margaret said that joining Soroptimist International was the best thing she had done in her life. She overcame personal challenges and in many respects the organisation was her family. She certainly embraced Soroptimism, whole heartedly. She joined SI Cheltenham in 1980, moving to SI Portsmouth in 1982 and then SI Winchester in 2001. She twice served as President of SI Portsmouth 1985-6, 1999-2000 and as President of SI Winchester 2006-7. She served as Southern England Regional President 1991-1992. At Federation level, Margaret was Co-ordinator for Economic and Social Development on the UK Programme Action Committee. Throughout there was a plethora of sub-groups, committees and campaigns upon which she targeted her energies. Margaret’s professional role was Manager of Mediation Services, which required much hard work garnering funding for this essential service. Margaret was kind, a great listener, determined and stubborn; qualities which made her an excellent

https://sigbi.org/winchester-and-district/files/2020/12/We-wish-you-a-merry-christmas-.mp4

Between thee 25th November and the 10th December​ the Soroptimists of Winchester and District took part in the 16 Days of Activism against Gender based Violence with the ‘Orange the World’campaign. Each day we posted on Facebook wearing orange to show our support for some very important issues. Below you see the full 16 days… November 25th 2020 Soroptimists Of Winchester and District will be supporting  #16DaysofActivism starting today with the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, violence against women has intensified. A shadow pandemic of domestic violence is growing and we need to stem the tide. Watch this statement from Nicole Kidman:​ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uddNvBu0MV8&feature=emb_logo ​ #Orangetheworld​ #Generationequality​ #16Daysofactivism​ #Metoo​ November 26th 2020 Soroptimists Of Winchester and District are supporting  #16DaysofActivism and today Gina Bird wears Orange to show support for Unity against rape. Soroptimists want to work together to break the silence that surrounds rape culture.​ November 27th 2020 Soroptimists believe in

Thank you to Matt Jameson from Breast Cancer Haven Charity for speaking tonight to SI Winchester and District to tell us more the charity and the challenges they have faced during the pandemic. When your world has been turned upside down by breast cancer the charity provide personalised support to help put your life back together. Their support programme includes 12 free hours of one-to-one appointment time. This is made up of two hours with a healthcare professional and up to ten hours of supportive therapy time which is tailored to your individual needs. They offer assessments, counselling, and therapies to help with the emotional and physical side-effects of breast cancer and treatments. They also offer help with healthy eating and exercise and you can join one of our support groups. Their support is currently being offered live online and over the phone so you

Thank you very much to Claire Morgan of MHA who delivered a very interesting Zoom speech this evening to the SI Winchester and District club. The organisation’s work with the elderly has become very important during the recent pandemic, where they have adapted quickly to provide online, social and telephone connections with isolated members and become a voice for the elderly in the media. Methodist Homes (MHA) is the UK’s largest charity care provider. They inspire the best care and support at every stage of later life, for people of all faiths, beliefs and none. With over 75 years’ experience, they put people at the heart of everything we do. As a charity, fundraising and donations are vital for MHA to continue their work in enabling older people to live later life well. They help provide additional crucial services that can make a difference in

4 August 2020 The Right Honourable Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 10 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA Dear Prime Minister On behalf of Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland(SIGBI1) Ltd I am writing to encourage the UK Government to adopt the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Convention 190 (C190), regarding the elimination of violence and harassment in the workplace. Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland is a non-governmental organisation in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN. We are part of a global organisation, Soroptimist International (SI), which consists of Soroptimist International of the Americas, Soroptimist International of Europe, Soroptimist International of Great Britain & Ireland, Soroptimist International of the South West Pacific, and Soroptimist International of Africa. SI operates as a global volunteer movement working to transform the lives of women and girls. Our network of 72,000 club

(SI Winchester) Membership Officer Gina Bird hosted a prospective member’s tea and cake session with two ladies this week. The weather held and we were able to talk at a social distance and still enjoy refreshments. Treasurer Julie Blackwell also joined the party. Marianne and Debbie had recently made contact with the club with a view to join us, but with no meetings in person at present, this seemed the Gina suggested this would be a good way to meet up and discuss the club and our projects. We found we had a lot in common and with Marianne working in the care home sector and Debbie in the NHS, we found a great synergy with our goals and objectives. We hope that Marianne and Debbie will join us in our next social zoom meeting where they can meet the rest of the members and

  The coronavirus pandemic self-isolation is resulting in increased reports of domestic violence in the home – which ought to be the safest place right now. This makes disturbing reading and impacts on services which are already stretched and can only respond by increasing online support, set up emergency warning systems in pharmacies and grocery stores to reach those in need. When it comes to standing up for women, we at the Soroptimist International Club of Winchester do our bit. At present we are sending additional donations to the Winchester Women’s Refuge, the Trinity Centre and the Night Shelter. It is a difficult time and many of our charities have suffered from a slow-down in funding. Recently we were able to deliver picnic items and games to the women and children at the Winchester Women’s Refuge. We have supported them for many years. The picnic

#Soroptimistsvolunteer To celebrate National volunteering week, we have asked the Soroptimists of Winchester and District to tell us more about the range of projects they support on a volunteer basis. SI Winchester and District Members, Kay Linnell and Barbara Jeremiah:  Providing accountancy, tax and compliance services to a wide range of good causes. Winchester members Barbara and Kay provide vital accountancy, tax and compliance services to a range of community associations providing sports and allotment facilities, schools and charities for a fraction of the normal fees.  Two of which are featured below: Help Hoima Help Hoima is a Hampshire based charity which works closely with local people to support improvements in health, education and agriculture in Hoima district, Uganda. ROCHUN – Pay it forward The charity supports the purchase of education materials, libraries, schools and community centres to support underprivileged students struggling to access basic education.

The situation of lack of clothing for new-borns in Nepal led to the name of ’fish ‘n’ chip babies’ as they were leaving hospital in newspaper. This was a few years ago and we have since had a team of knitters outside of the club who regularly provide us with beautiful knitted garments and hats to send out to where they are required. We have sent out a total of 340 knitted sets with 2 boxes going through Intercare – courtesy of member Jo Gilbertson. The knitters are outsourced volunteers and extremely prolific. Note that we are holding an event with SISE Region on Saturday 12 September in support of The Big Story ie Empowering Girls in Nepal. This is the Federation project. We will be holding a lunch event at the Gurkha Museum in Winchester with the founder of this programme Philip Holmes. Watch

We have been working with local schools for some years on the Pillow Case Dresses and this year we were able to send out several packages from participating schools. Over the years we have been making these, we have moved on to include boys, and sending out shorts, although the girls have been wearing the shorts under their dresses. We have a connection through our daughter club, SI Salisbury, Teresa Wells who founded EdUKAid and works in Tanzania. She has taken the dresses and shorts to a rural village called Mikindani in southern Tanzania where children were queuing to receive the clothes. This year we have had dresses from Henry Beaufort, Churchers, and Westgate schools. Letters were sent to local schools this year for their support and we received positive responses from Churchers, Wildern and Westgate schools. Barbara has presented textile books as awards to

When it comes to standing up for women, we as a club will do our bit. At present we are sending additional donations to the Winchester Women’s Refuge, the Trinity centre and the Night Shelter. It is a difficult time and many of our charities are suffering from a slow down in funding.  On a wider scale we have heard that the Purple Community Fund in the Philippines is suffering as the ring pull items cannot be sold in the present circumstances. It is impacting on the international agencies to support the poorest inhabitants as the Government is unable to do so. Closer to home the COVID-19 self isolation is resulting in increased reports of domestic violence in the home – which should be the safest place right now. This makes disturbing reading and impacts on services which are already stretched and can only respond

The club was delighted to welcome Kerry James of The Firefighters Charity on 17 February. The club is keen to support Winchester projects and charities and this is one of the charities supported by the current Mayor of Winchester Cllr Eleanor Bell. The Mayor was also in attendance and introduced Kerry and also indicated why she had chosen this charity during her year of office. She said, ‘On looking through the charities supported over the last twenty years, there was no mention of The Fire Fighters Charity.’ Given that so many recent environmental disasters require the services of Fire Fighters, not just in the UK, it is a very important resource. Kerry explained that they offer many tailored programmes to fire fighters, both serving, volunteers and retired. They offer Rehabilitation, Recuperation and Respite with nursing services given by those who fully understand the job, many

At the recent Number 63 AGM on 25 January 202, there were some very positive reports and initiatives. One of these was greeted with much support as the launch of ‘Number 63 Gin’ was announced. This is now available to order through the Number 63 website at a cost of £30 per bottle plus £5 p&p. You’ll find details in the News and Offers page. Of course Soroptimists do not do things by halves and this product is no exception. The design was carefully thought through, as well as the botanicals content for the spirit. Gorilla Spirits Co Ltd was asked to develop a suitable mix. The gin lies on the citrus side and orange is one of the botanicals used in its make-up. This is reflected in the label design, which was produced by Barbara Jeremiah of SI Winchester. She says, ‘It seemed right

We look forward to welcoming Kerry James from the Firefighters Charity in Winchester at our supper meeting on Monday 17 February. We have selected this charity for a fundraiser Quiz on 24 April, as it is one of the charities supported by Winchester Councillor Mayor Eleanor Bell. She will attend the supper meeting on 17 February. We are keen to learn more about the charity and what else we might do to help – Helping everyday Heroes to recover their Lives.

We were delighted to welcome Abigail Cooke to speak to us regarding Project Integra at our last supper meeting. This is the Waste Disposal and Recycling programme in Hampshire. Abigail manages this department at Hampshire County Council and provides the service to its 1.1 million residents. The Council provides Waste Collection services and the Contractor Veolia is the Waste Disposal Contractor. Their main facility is in Cosham. Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils have their own Energy Recovery Facilities for waste disposal and these can be visited by the public. In any one year 475,000 tonnes of waste is non-recyclable and incinerated. 300,000 tonnes is recycled in a Materials Recycling Facility. The council requests that only plastic bottles are recyclable, along with tins and that these be clean, dry and loose so they can be easily sorted. Costs rise when other items have to be removed. Of

This year SI Winchester were pleased to sponsor a prize for pupil work on women in history. The prize was awarded to Charlie Harder a year 9 pupil of Mountbatten School Romsey. James Brierley, head of history at Mountbatten School in Romsey is very keen to highlight the significant but often unsung roles women have played at key moments in our history. The award was made at a prize giving organised by the Romsey and District Society at Crosfield Hall Romsey on 15 October 2019, with thanks to RDS for allowing us to work in conjunction with them. Gina Bird from SI Winchester made the presentation to the winner. It was encouraging to see that it was one of the boys who had produced an outstanding piece of work on the topic. Appreciating the role of women in the past and promoting the role of

We were delighted to host 8 members of SI Essen in Germany for afternoon tea on 4 October. Their President Sabine Reimann contacted us through our website to say that they were planning to come to Winchester for a weekend and could we meet up. The initial contact came about when one of our members, who works for international collections on a self employed basis, Beatriz Sampson, gave a lecture to the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft (German British Society) in Essen about the V&A and Sabine Reimann had attended and spoken to Beatriz. The lecture evening had been arranged by the Soroptimists and the Society. Beatriz had been a member of SI Munster in Westphalia before coming to England and she has been consultant curator to the Jewellery Gallery some years ago in the V&A. We enjoyed a visit to the Pearls exhibition there which Beatriz had

As supporters of the Winchester Women’s Refuge we were delighted to welcome Dwinder Singh and her lovely eldest daughter Lux to tell us of her personal story of Honour based marriage and subsequent domestic violence. Dwinder is a Sikh and as such had to conform to her family’s wishes when it came to marriage. At 17 she was married and pregnant shortly afterwards. Without going into specific details her story from then on became one of suffering domestic abuse/violence from her husband and her family and his family and concern for protecting her young daughter. She was never alone to be able to make contact with any other people and the opportunity arose when she her husband was out of the house and she, with daughter, managed to escape to see the doctor. The doctor was concerned that the child was being mistreated and wanted

As Mother club to the new SI Salisbury club, members were delighted to attend the Salisbury Charter event on the evening of 3 August. The club has been the mission of Liz Batten (then a member of SI Winchester) over the last three years. The Salisbury club closed in 2006 so it still had a presence in the town and Liz was keen to enlist new members to carry on the good work the previous club had started. Imagine how delighted she was after patience and support from SI Winchester that she has recruited 20 ladies committed to the SI Vision and Mission and was able to charter the club. The event was held in Salisbury Cathedral cloisters, a fitting venue for such an occasion, with the Mayor in attendance. Federation President Sue Williams was there to charter and also many of Southern Region’s clubs

The club decided on a summer fundraising event to be held at the home of Barbara Jeremiah and Kay Linnell. The event was to be a Teddy Bears Picnic, with bears coming free with their owners. We were delighted to welcome members from SI Southampton as well as SIW club members and friends. There was a good turn out and the weather on 13 July was just right. The picnic is always well catered for at Brick Kiln Cottage with the whole garden being used. We made a nominal charge and total for our charity fund reached about £300. Myra Clare’s Teddy Bear won a prize for being the oldest bear and a passport for future travel as time progresses. Pooh Bear received a jar of honey and Barbara’s bear was the best dressed. In addition to the bears at the picnic, the resident peacock

We were delighted to have the Lady Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Eleanor Bell, at our supper meeting this week at the Holiday Inn Winchester. The speaker was Hollie Ryan from the National Trust property The Vyne and we had an excellent turnout with members from SI Southampton and friends and guests. We were keen to know the Mayor’s charities for her year and how we might be able to help. We were also able to show her the projects in which SI Winchester club is involved. Her charities include the Firefighters Charity, Winchester First Responders, Winchester Hospice and the Children’s Society. We look forward to her making a return visit. Hollie was an enthusiastic speaker and told us about the history of the property and how it had been a favourite of the young King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. He enjoyed the hunting and

This is our 5th annual picnic which we host for the mothers/families of the Domestic Violence Refuge held at St Swithuns School We also had several lovely volunteers (see below) to help us with the children. As the school has a small nursery there are lots of child friendly toys and an outdoor playground which we can make use of. Once they had enough to eat, the girls were kept very busy as we had some busy boys. Just to be sure of the weather, we held this inside but with easy access to outside when the sun broke through. The ladies enjoyed talking to us and the girls and were delighted with the opportunity to be in a safe anf friendly environment.

BRITAIN’S best-known gardener has dug in to show his support for the campaign to create a hospice for Winchester. Alan Titchmarsh, who is best known for hosting the BBC garden makeover series Ground Force, visited Burrell House at Royal Hampshire County Hospital to put the first spade in the ground in what will become the garden at Winchester Hospice. The garden will allow patients and their loved ones to spend special time together. Alan, who is also a best-selling author and the Chancellor of the University of Winchester, was pleased to hear that such a space is being planned for the hospice. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to have this space within the grounds of Winchester Hospice to create a place where patients and their loved ones can spend time together enjoying the outdoors,” he said. “Gardens are an extension of any space, and having a

SIW congratulate Liz Batten on her hard work for assembling the forthcoming SI Salisbury club.  However from April 2019 this will leave SI Winchester with reduced numbers. We have therefore embarked on a recruitment drive which we hope will make us more Winchester-centric. On Friday 8March, International Women’s Day, we were able to set up a display stand in an area of the Hampshire County Council offices (in Winchester) known as The Street. This is an area close to the cafeteria where we were positioned from 12-2pm over lunchtime and were able to talk to quite a few ladies over this period. It was interesting to learn how many commuters to Winchester work from these offices so we were able to spread the word about Solent East and Southampton clubs. Gina Bird and Julie Blackwell manned the stand to talk about the Winchester projects and

Soroptimist International of Winchester were delighted to receive notification of a donation from local motoring club Alresford Allsorts. The sum of £350 was presented by Gordon Cooper to Julie Blackwell of SIW at Bramdean village hall, which gave the opportunity for some of the Allsorts members and vehicles to be present. SI Winchester supports local charities including Trinity House in Winchester and the Women’s Refuge as well as international and overseas charities which the SI organisation supports. Julie Blackwell said, ‘The Allsorts have requested the donation to be sent to the Women’s Refuge in Winchester and as our club already supports this along with Trinity House, the day centre for domestic abuse victims, this is a generous gift from their members and will doubtless be much appreciated. The Allsorts were looking to support the Refuge so this is a perfect match. The motoring club has

We were delighted to welcome Jane Walker MBE to our supper meeting on Monday 18 March. Jane was the founder of the PCF charity starting in the Philippines and has many interesting stories of innovative ideas and ways of tackling the problems impoverished women and families to improve their lives. She was able to give us an update of her charity and how over 20 years she is now embarking on an Upskills programme which allows more people to turn trash into saleable items. The charity now employs the parents of the children it initially started to help and giving people a new self esteem and sustainable future. The most familiar items created for sale to bring money into their lives is the recycling of ring pulls from drinks cans to make stunning jewellery and bags, some of which we have sold successfully in the

It’s amazing when you think of past Soroptimist involvement. Just walking behind Abbey House on the High Street in Winchester you can find the Sensory Garden for the blind which the Winchester club organised in 1995. It’s time to revisit and update the plaque to remind visitors of our involvement. It’s a valuable asset and we need to remind ourselves of what we can do.

If you’d like to make a difference, inspire action and transform the lives of women and girls, then join us to see how we achieve this both locally and internationally. Soroptimists of the Winchester club invite you to join us on 9 March at the Quaker Meeting House, 16 Colebrook Street, Winchester SO23 9LH for coffee, cake and a chat from 2-4pm. You’ll find out about our projects, from supporting the Women’s Refuge in Winchester to twinning toilets in Africa. Soroptimist International is a global women’s organisation with consultative status at the United Nations. As a member you can be involved in changing perceptions, lobbying government and highlighting women’s issues. We look forward to seeing you on 9 March. For more information please visit www.sigbi.org where you can also search the SI Winchester website.

Our speaker on Monday 18 February 2019 will be Margaret Braddock, a member of the Information Group of the Mary Rose Trust.   Margaret has been actively involved with the project since before the recovery in 1982 and she was present at key landmarks over the past 30 years. Her talk covers the momentous events in the life of the ship, namely the sinking, the rediscovery, recovery and display. Her talk, The Mary Rose, Past Present and Future covers the momentous events in the life of the ship, namely the sinking, the rediscovery, recovery and display. She will show illustrations of the exciting museum which unites the ship with the artefacts, which she will be bringing, giving us insights into the lives of the men who lived and died on The Mary Rose. The meeting will take place at the Holiday Inn, Telegraph Way, Morn Hill, Winchester at

‘Female health – where do we start? From conception to older age’   Jackie Porter is the County Councillor representing the Itchen Valley Division since 2005, representing residents, voluntary organisations and businesses in the area, and is the County’s Lib Dem spokesperson for children right across Hampshire. She is also Winchester City Councillor for the Worthys. Jackie is a school governor and a trustee of several different charities in the Winchester area. As well as sitting on the Council, Jackie is the non voting deputy on the Cabinet (Leisure Centre) Committee. She also serves on the Housing Appeals Committee and is a deputy on the Kings Barton Forum. Jackie spoke to the Club on Monday 21 January about women’s health. She took us through the ‘Seven Ages of (Wo)Man’, spelling out the health issues associated with each stage of life and the care and support associated

In line with other clubs in the Region, members of SI Winchester have found that collecting five pence pieces to fundraise for the Mamelodi Project in support of AIDS orphans in South Africa is quite a painless process. We have added the challenge to our members of having a £1 guess as to the total collected. The total collected over about a year was £46.20 and with the additional funds collected from the ‘guess the amount’ competition, a total of £66.20 will be sent to the Region for the Mamelodi Project. The winner of the competition was Kay Linnell, who wins a book token as a prize. Congratulations to her!

We are sad to report that longstanding member Arlene Fisher passed away peacefully at 8.30 a.m on her 79th birthday – 12 December 2018. Arlene had been a committed Soroptimist since 1971. She served as Winchester Club President twice, in 1983 and 1995, and later as Programme Action Officer and then as Club Secretary. In 1999-2000 Arlene was Regional President of Southern England. Arlene will be sorely missed for her active participation and commitment to our organisation, strong views on programme action issues, her friendship, and her sense of humour. She had been a very regular attender and active participant at all Club meetings and events, until her failing health prevented her from doing so, which was a real frustration to her. Our thoughts are with Ray, her devoted husband of 55 years, who has always been a great supporter of Arlene and all the

Just as the winter starts to take hold it seemed timely to organise a delivery of store cupboard food for the Trinity Centre. Winchester member Jo managed to find individual coffee/milk/ sugar sachets in Poundland and bought 12 packs of 6 and delivered those  along with toiletries donated by friends and empty containers, for take away food, from club members. A Tesco ‘shop’ was also organised and delivered to make sure that there is plenty of nutritious food for homeless people in Winchester using Trinity’s valuable services as the days get colder and the nights longer.

At the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, local Soroptimists added their voice to the international campaign to end violence against women and girls around the world. Soroptimist International of Winchester was one of the groups who supported the event in Winchester on Monday 26 November for Community First against Domestic Violence. The University of Winchester has formed a choir with some of the ladies from Trinity House, the agency which houses women escaping from domestic violence. The choir has written a song which tells of their experiences and the support from Trinity. This has been recorded with help from the University. The choir sang several times between the hours of 11am and 1pm and attracted attention where we were in a position to talk to bystanders. The police are in support of this initiative and were also in attendance. The

For a number of years the club has been selling Purple Community Fund hand made items in support of the charity and the women who make them. On Monday 18 March we will welcome back Jane Walker MBE, CEO for the charity. She spoke at our day conference in Winchester in March 2017, so we are pleased to welcome her back for an update on the work of the charity. In 2002, Jane Walker developed highly successful, poverty reduction programmes for disenfranchised communities in some of the worst slums in the Philippines.  Following her fantastic work, she was awarded an MBE in 2009 and won the Woman of the Year UK award in 2010.  Making the Philippine charity self- sustainable after 15 years, in 2016 Jane turned her attention back to the UK and is currently CEO for the Purple Community Fund, a charity that

  Former SI Winchester member Margaret Bluck who emigrated to Canada two years ago came for a visit and met up with Jennifer Laute and Gina Bird. Margaret is a member of Zonta, in Canada, an organisation with similar aims and objectives. Margaret’s club does a lot of work supporting the world scholarship students at Pearson College.