Soroptimist International Bath and District

Along with other volunteer organisations, we set up a stall to showcase what we do within Bath, around the country and world.

We asked the public to guess how many women in particular are affected by domestic violence each year and they were staggered by the amount that are (1.4 million year 2022/23) and it’s increasing. The number of men affected is also astonishing!

Thank you to 3SG for organising such a valuble event.

At our monthly meeting on Wednesday Judy from the Twinning Association told us about the special link between the 2 cities and how much involvement there is between them including some very special visits

Speaking German and having an interest in Germany is a great way to keep in touch with the language and lifestyle over there.

We have a friendship link with Braunschweig and have met up a few times over the years.

Club member Liz represented us and was chosen to meet with Queen Camilla who was officially opening the new cancer unit at the RUH. When mentioned, the Queen said that she had heard of Soroptimists and the work that we do.

We held a book/DVD stall in Corsham to raise more funds for the Chippenham Women’s refuge. Over £70 was raised despite the inclement weather.

It started out with rain but once the weather improved so did the shoppers at Prior Park Garden Centre. We managed to raise nearly £300 which wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of the local people and the use of a SumUp card reader. It really does make a difference and the proceeds will go to the local refuge.

The club and region pull together to collect ring pulls for the Purple Community Fund and also old and disregarded jewellery for a Soroptimsit club up North who donate them to a worthwhile charity.

A few of us gathered together for a summer excursion to Bath City Farm. Around 20 years ago our club planted some fruit trees there. It’s a lovely tranquil place right on the outskirts of Bath with wonderful views looking down into the City. We were shown around and then had lunch at the Cafe. Well worth a visit.

More blister packs went to Superdrug who send them off to the Marie Curie charity to help raise funds. We do this on a regular basis and as long as the Superdrug store has a pharmacy within then they will have a special box for you to drop them in.

3 members of our club were marshalls at the recent annual Walk for Life event organised by the RUH. It was a hot day and some participants were frazzled by the end of it. This event always raises much needed money for the hopsital and is always well organised.

On 25th April we had another ‘get together’ for our Orange Cafe at the Boston Tea party restaurant in Bath. It was fairly quiet but we managed to hand out ‘Orange the World’ leaflets and STOP cards that have recently been given to us highlighting essential information that can be passed onto victims of abuse to help them seek help if required or indeed prevent it.