NEWSLETTER
of Soroptimist International of South East England

JUNE 2007

IN THIS ISSUE:

  • From the Region President
  • Club News
    • Croydon
    • Folkestone
    • Gravesend
    • Haywards Heath
    • Sevenoaks
  • Programme Action
  • Obituaries
  • Diary Dates

From the Region President or as Ann puts it

Presidents Rant June 2007


Well, doesn't time fly when youre having fun? Events seem to occur in a rather feast and famine way. Feast, because so many involve a meal and they often bunch up together and famine, because sometimes there are gaps in between events which leave me thinking Doesnt anyone love me any more?

Immediately after the last meeting I went with Janet Doyle to East Grinsteads Dinner, which was wonderful. I stayed with Janet so that I could go straight up to London the following morning to go to Greater Londons Lunch. The speaker at this lunch was accompanied by his wife who I hope we persuaded to join Soroptimists, although not in our region but in Southern. The following week saw both Canterburys huge membership push and the HiKent Quiz night. Teams were entered from SI Maidstone, SI Ashford and SI Medway Towns, so we were well represented, if not winners. This was clearly a period of feast.

Then ensued 3 weeks of famine, as I attended no SI events except Ashfords business meeting. However, the ending of this break was well worth waiting for and I went to Sevenoaks Lunch. What a venue!!! Drinks were in the conservatory, through which grew the most wonderful wisteria then in full bloom and the scent was intoxicating. It may not have been something Sevenoaks could claim direct responsibility for but WOW…..

A weekend later saw me going to Beckenham International evening on the Friday for another wonderful meal and a fascinating talk, plus terrific hospitality from Dinah Scudder that night, enabling me to go directly to Rochester Cathedral for a guided tour with SI Gravesend on Saturday. My weekend concluded at Lewes Daffodil Fayre on Sunday. The following Friday was Croydons Presidents Dinner after which I could sort of catch my breath as it was the Easter holidays and we had a fortnight on the canals. (Hard work, but BLISS!!)

When we returned from holiday there was the usual rush of things at school and I went to Haywards Heath Dinner at the end of the week, more scrummy food and great hospitality, this time with Sheila Burnie.

Medway Towns had their AGM and dinner the following week, another great evening, and then there was a gap again. This was really quite a good thing as all the exam marking for GCSE had to be done at this point!

Haywards Heath had asked me to go to their meeting at the end of May, which was a great pleasure for me, though perhaps not for them! (I think they enjoyed it, they certainly kept asking me questions!)

May also saw Croydons 80th celebrations. It was packed full of activity. Although I didnt attend the walks, I enjoyed time with Gill Matthews with whom my Mum and I were staying . Unfortunately my Mum was ill on the night of the banquet so couldnt attend. She missed a really exhilarating celebration of 80 years of service.

Between the time of writing this and the next meeting I will attend the London Chilterns Regional meeting, the Southern Region meeting (cant manage London Anglia as it is on the same day as Southern!) and go to the Gravesend Dinner.

Somewhere in among this lot I do manage to fit in time to take my daughter out in the car (she is learning to drive), go to Sheffield to see my son and take some things up to him and bring some things back (he is in his second year up there at Uni), do things in the garden with Mum and hold down a full time teaching job. There does usually seem to be time to fit in any other bits and pieces I want to do!

I have to say that I have had and am still having a really exciting time. Being Region President is an honour and also a real pleasure perhaps you should try it sometime?

In friendship.

Ann Reeves


HAYWARDS HEATH AT WORK AND PLAY

President Eva and members celebrated the 60th Birthday of S.I. Haywards Heath and District Club last September by wearing posh hats (see picture left) and gaining free entry to Ladies Day at Plumpton Races. They enjoyed a silver service lunch followed by racing. S.E. Region President 2005/2006 Denise Staplehurst was their chief guest ……


……. and on Feb.13th 2007 the club held an open evening when Mr Thorn from The Sussex Air Ambulance Appeal, their charity of the year, gave an interesting talk on how the appeal is progressing and their plans for the future. President Eva Hudson presented Mr Thorn with a cheque for £650 making a total of £1,300 which Soroptimist International of Hayward's Heath & District have given to the charity.

Eva Hudson


SEVENOAKS HELPS OUT FOR SATURDAY OF SERVICE

Programme Action Officers Anne Beasley and Jenny Burton took a stand on a damp and windy Saturday morning to promote WaterAid for SI Sevenoaks' Saturday of Service programme.


Former Presidents and longstanding members Barbara Mitchener and Sandie Higgs came along to help on March 3 and the group also used the occasion to promote Soroptimism and to recruit new members.

There were jugs and jars of dirty water and passers by were asked whether they would drink this water.

Jenny said: Most turned their noses up and we explained that over 1.1 billion people still lack access to safe water and to bring awareness to World Water Day on 22nd March.

During the afternoon of the same day, SI Sevenoaks helped out with refreshments at the local Fairtrade Fashion Show.

Jenny Weston


FOLKESTONE CLUB SUPPORT SALVATION ARMY

Soroptimist International of Folkestone has recently made a presentation to the Salvation Army. A cheque for £1000 was presented at their monthly business meeting held at the Clifton Hotel; this was money the club had raised during a year of fund raising activities. The fund raising events consisted of a Race Night, the organization of a Boot Fair, raffles and "Simple Suppers" held for fellow members in their own homes. The Folkestone group has a small membership of committed ladies who work tirelessly fund raising and working to promote the status of women in society and raising awareness of the plight of women, young girls and children throughout the world.

Our President Shelia Ash chose the Salvation Army as her charity in her presidential year and invited John Rouffet, the "Youth Worker" from the Canterbury Road Headquarters to accept the cheque. He outlined the work he did and how they would allocate the donation. John as the "youth worker" is involved working with youngsters from the age of 6 to 18. He runs the youth clubs working on diversionary activities and supporting the vulnerable young people in his care. As a club we were especially interested to know that the money would be used to help young girls from the deprived areas of Folkestone and he said how important it was to teach the girls about the choices available to them in society, to build self esteem and empower them to believe that anything is possible. We look forward to hearing about their future plans and hope that our donation will help in a small way to make a difference to some of the young people's lives.

Melanie Chalk

OBITUARIES

Nancy Ellison SI Sevenoaks

It was 9 years ago, when we were celebrating our 60th Anniversary, that Nancy had a stroke and to her great sadness missed the events organized.

It left her partly paralysed and never able to attend meetings again. However she retained her pride in being a Soroptimist and always donated the equivalent of the membership fee towards our projects.

While in hospital, a few weeks before she died this February, at the age of 93, she was, in true form, investigating possible projects; and in her memory we hope to take up her idea of donating a piece of equipment for district nurses to do blood tests on patients taking warfarin in the comfort of their own homes instead of a trip to hospital.

Isobel White

Peggy Jenner SI Gravesend & District

Peggy, who died on the 21st May, aged 85, was one of our very active members being involved in every aspect of the Clubs activities, in particular Housing. She was Club President in 1975 and secretary of the Housing Committee for several years.

As well as SI her interests included Golf, Bridge, and membership of RSPB, NADFAS and English Speaking Union.

When Peggys health deteriorated she tried hard to continue attending meetings but finally she felt it was too difficult and painful and she resigned from the Club but she remained interested in the Clubs activities.

She had a great sense of humour and older members will always remember the stories she told us about her hilarious experiences in the ATS during the war.

She will be sadly missed and remembered with great affection.

Molly Cant

Lord Weatherill

SI Croydon and District mourn the loss of Lord Weatherill, former speaker of the House of Commons and MP for Croydon North East, who died on 7th May 2007.

Lord Weatherill and his wife Lyn (an Affiliated Honorary Member of SI Croydon) had both been long-time supporters of our Club and over the years hosted several lunches at the House of Lords in support of our fundraising efforts. The most recent of these occasions was in July 2006.

It was a privilege to have known this warm, dignified and humorous man. He will be greatly missed.

Our thoughts go out to Lady Weatherill and her family.

Patricia Painting


CLUB TAKES A LEAD ON HEALTHY EATING

Gravesend club has published a collection of international recipes with a healthy eating slant. Healthy, Tempting, Tasty, Aafull-colour, fully illustrated, A5 collection of starters, main courses and desserts printed on handy laminated cards for ease of use has been rated against all-important nutritional standards: calories, sugar, carbohydrates, fats and salt by dieticians at Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford, Kent. The publication also contains a series of tips on how to stay healthy.

The project was the brainchild of Farida Usman, Club President for 2006/7 as part of her theme for the year of promoting international goodwill and understanding. The club had first to secure funding which came from Land Securities Link who agreed sponsorship of £3,600. Kent County Council later contributed another £700. The publication contains a short explanation of Soroptimist International and the work of the club locally.

For upwards of a year Farida and a small group of club members worked in conjunction with Year 9 students of St Georges Church of England School, Gravesend, who, overseen by members of the club and Kent Muslim Womens Group, cooked the dishes as part of their curriculum and prepared them for photography. Faridas husband Mahmood was behind the camera! Later members worked closely on editing the recipes and the prepared copy was handed over to a local printer. Detailed proofreading followed before the final edition was agreed and a special email address set up to take orders for copies.


The Mayor of Gravesham, Councillor Harry Smith, who officially launched the publication at a ceremony at the school, congratulated the club on its foresight and praised the youngsters who took part. This project represents a recipe for life, requiring cooperation, skills and community involvement of young people, he said before presenting each student with a personal copy.

Farida said: Soroptimists are women in the community working for the community. The club regards this undertaking as a positive contribution to health and community involvement. We saw it as an opportunity to tell the public more about our work and service to the local community. We hope it will not only help to improve the standards of cooking of the young people who participated but also add greatly to the enjoyment of imaginatively-prepared, largely home-produced food and it will give pleasure to all those who cook the recipes also, we trust, pleasure to those who sample the dishes.

Healthy, Tempting, Tasty is now on sale at £4 through members and club events. Copies can also be ordered by emailing the club at: si.gravesend@virgin.netIsobel Kesby


CELEBRATING 80 YEARS OF SOROPTIMISM

On 23 May 2007, SI Croydon and District celebrated its 80th birthday. Club members met together to reminisce over past events and Honorary Member Ethel French presented a history of the Club. The evening concluded in true Soroptimist style with wine and food.

This was followed on 25 to 27 May with our 80th Anniversary Friendship Weekend.

The celebrations began with a Champagne Reception hosted by the Deputy Mayor of Croydon in the Mayors Parlour, a splendid venue and a fitting place to greet our overseas and other guests visiting Croydon for the first time.

Federation President Hilary-Kay was the guest speaker at our Anniversary Banquet, where we welcomed many members from the South East England Region, as well as from Manchester and Wallasey, and two members from our Friendship Link Paris-Fondateur. Region President Ann brought goodwill messages from Soroptimists worldwide. We were delighted that she was able to spend the whole weekend with us.

Many gifts were presented to Croydon Club, for which we would like to express our thanks. One of these gifts included a tree which SI Gravesend had planted in our name in the National Forest. This means that we now have two trees since, to mark the start of our anniversary year, a Liquidambar Styraciflua ,(Sweet Gum) was planted on International Womens Day at the Heathfield Ecology Centre in Croydon.

An auction held at the Banquet raised £550. This, together with the gifts of money received from several clubs, will go towards Presidents Pennys and Jeans charity, the Croydon Young Carers Support Project, which currently supports around 370 young people.

Patricia Painting


SEWING MACHINES REACH AFRICA

Twenty-four hand sewing machines and a large quantity of sewing materials collected by the SI Gravesend over the period of a year have reached their destination in rural South Africa.

The consignment of three cases weighing over two tonnes arrived in Philippolis, near Johannesburg, thanks to the sponsorship of Mr Jim Cowell, chairman of Jacob White Packaging Ltd, Dartford who took charge of the goods, packaged them and arranged their export free of charge.

A recent communication from the project where they are being used to train women in community workshops to make and sell garments to help support their Aids- affected families says that it has given them a new lease of energy.

Isobel Kesby

PROGRAMME ACTION REPORT FROM UKPAC

To all those of you who are attending the International Convention I hope you enjoy it, make lots of new contacts and return fired up with new ideas and enthusiasm. I am celebrating a significant wedding anniversary on that weekend but I look forward to hearing all about the convention afterwards. Have a great time!

Project Sierra a family and a future: At the UKPAC meeting on 16th June, members of the committee were give a brief preview of the new quadrennial project by Alison Sutherland, the International Programme Liaison Officer. Partnered with Hope & Homes for children and with local Sierra Leonean personnel in the field, the project will work with very vulnerable children in five selected areas in town and rural communities.

The project has three strands:
Very young mothers will be able to either return to school or to embark on vocational training while their babies and children are looked after in day nurseries. They will receive education in health and life skills and where possible the mothers will be reunited with their families.
Children living alone in the streets will be clothed, fed and be able to attend school. While primary Education is free in Sierra Leone, children need school uniform and equipments such as pens and pencils etc. again if possible the children will be reconnected with their families.
Integrated child and family support will be given to communities in very poor remote areas. Local community leaders will be involved in helping one-parent families (single grandparents, child heads of the family and widows). The support programme, tailored to individual need, will provide such things as education, medical care and micro credit.

Leaflets and lapel pins etc, will be available in Glasgow and the dedicated website www.projectsierra.org will go live on August 1st. The target is to raise one million pounds over the next four years.

What can we do to help? To get this project off to a good start initial support will be needed. Any money raised in the first few months should be sent in promptly so that the work can get underway. My suggestion is that every club in our region each raise a small sum (e.g. by having a raffle, a coffee morning or something more imaginative) and sends it to SIGBI within the first three months of the project launch.


Rail project: Thank you to clubs who returned the survey forms regarding raising issues with Passenger Link Managers. The data will be collated ready for our next meeting with Passenger Focus.

We are still pushing for the recommendations set out in our report on ticket machines and have had meetings with ATOC and Southeast Trains.

We are now considering the next issues regarding passenger safety & comfort we will be taking up with the rail authorities.

Concerns have been expressed about seating space and provision for luggage in carriages and how someone travelling alone with a suitcase manages access to the toilets. Your views and anecdotes on these and any other rail issues are always welcome.


A date for your diary ~ Study Day Saturday 5th July 2008. Preparations are well underway for the study day at Lancaster University in July 2008. The subject will be Education and will include an exciting programme of speakers and workshops. Further details will follow late in the year.

Ann Greenfield Region Programme Action Officer

Diary dates

2007
29th July- XVIII Soroptimist International Convention-Glasgow-Unity of Purpose,
2nd August Diversity of Action
9th September Four Regions Lunch, Details below
15th September SEE Region Meeting, Ramada Jarvis, Pembury
1st-3rd November SIGBI 73rd Federation Conference, Harrogate-Words Whisper, Actions Shout
1st December SEE Region Meeting, Ramada Jarvis, Pembury
2008
16th February SEE Region Meeting, Ramada Jarvis, Pembury
28th June SEE Region AGM, Ramada Jarvis, Pembury
20th September SEE Region Meeting, Ramada Jarvis, Pembury

From the Editor: I hope you enjoy this edition. As the Region President says things seem to go in feast or famine fashion and that is certainly true for Newsletter submissions as I have had far fewer contributions from clubs this time. Perhaps this is a reflection on the change of officers and it taking a little time to get into a new programme. However, those clubs that have sent items seem to have achieved some exciting results. Dont forget that if you want your Diary Dates included you need to PLAN WELL AHEAD. The next Newsletter will not be published until September; too late for any of your summer events but I look forward to including dates for Autumn and Christmas. To help you remember to send details of your events past and present I will email a reminder to the Club contacts during August.
In friendshipValerie Boswell


Items for publication in the next Region Newsletter MUST reach the Editor by Monday, 3rd September, 2007