Sherry and mince pies
A very enjoyable social and fundraising event raised £145 which will be put towards filling the Mother’s Day gift bags for women in the Refuge. The event was a joint effort with the two Margaret’s providing the venue and refreshments. [12/25]
Harewood House fund raising
Welcome visitors to the club stand at Harewood House on a miserably wet day in December were two local councillors, Terry Beer and Patrick Nicholson, and local MP Rebecca Smith. Over £200 was raised at the event, much of this thanks to the beautiful glass decorations donated by Susanne. [12/25]
Christmas gifts for Ukrainian children
A 6-strong team of our members filled 50 Christmas boxes for children in Ukraine. Many other members also contributed to the initiative by wrapping the shoe boxes in festive paper and donating items. Each box contained a Christmas card, toys, games, crayons, colouring books and sweets. The boxes were taken to a central pick up point for PUMA (Plymouth Ukraine Medical Aid) who will deliver the boxes before Christmas.
Lorraine co-ordinated the shoe box initiative for the Plymouth Soroptimist club. She said: “It was a great team effort and we all enjoyed the morning packing the boxes. It was wonderful to think that we will give some pleasure to children who are suffering in this war-torn country.”
Club members have also been making regular donations to Plymouth Ukraine Medical Aid (PUMA) including crutches, mountain bike, sleeping bags, warm clothes etc. [11/25]
Orange cafés
Orange symbolises a brighter future free of violence and is the colour used for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Children.
On the 25th of most months throughout the year we hold an ‘orange café’ in various locations in our area. Members supported the orange cafés in October at the Watermark Café Ivybridge and Tesco Lee Mill in November. They received a very warm welcome from the staff at both venues. The teams listened to some heart-breaking and harrowing stories from women who visited the stands. [11/25]
Care leavers care crates
Another batch of care crates have been collected by Social Services for delivery to youngsters leaving the care system and setting up in their own homes.
President’s lunch
A lovely lunch was enjoyed by 30 members, Soroptimists from other clubs and friends in September at the Two Bridges Hotel on Dartmoor. The unusual and delightful after lunch entertainment was provided by The Lamerton Association of Handbell Ringers. An astonishing 56kg of food was collected for North Plymouth Foodbank. [09/25]
Hygiene care crates for 36 Plymouth families
A team of Plymouth Soroptimists shopped and packed 36 ‘hygiene care boxes’ for families living in temporary accommodation in Plymouth.
Soroptimists obtained a grant of £1,050 from Plymouth Astor Trust to purchase sturdy plastic storage boxes and fill them with 40 personal hygiene items for a family including shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, sanitary towels and flannels. The boxes also contain kitchen roll, bleach spray, anti mould spray and handwash.
This initiative saw the Soroptimist club working with Odils Learning Foundation, who hosted the packing day at their Stonehouse premises. Odils made the hygiene boxes available to families in need, including their own service users as well as families being supported by Plymouth Access to Housing (PATH) and Devon & Cornwall Refugee Service (DCRS).
Plymouth Soroptimist President Ann said “This was a real team effort and it has been lovely to bring this to fruition after discussing the idea with Odils earlier this year. We believe there are at least 200 households in Plymouth living in temporary accommodation, and many simply cannot afford the toiletries and cleaning products that most of us take for granted. We’re really grateful to Plymouth Astor Trust for the grant, which has enabled Soroptimists to support some of these vulnerable families in our community.” [09/25]
Success at Plympton Lamb Feast
An incredibly successful day at Plympton’s annual Lamb Feast saw around £1300 raised by Plymouth Soroptimists*. All the money raised will go to local charities that support women and children.
With over 60 wonderful raffle prizes and a host of tombola prizes there were enough of both to attract many visitors to the stand throughout the day. Children particularly loved the tombola with most of the prizes aimed at them. Adults were attracted by the many star raffle prizes, although the giant teddy bear was coveted by many of the children!
Sue Miller was the lead organiser for the Plymouth Soroptimist club and she worked tirelessly getting raffle prizes from local businesses. She said: “We couldn’t have raised this fantastic amount of money to benefit the local charities we support without the incredible generosity of all the local businesses who so kindly donated the wonderful prizes. We are of course also extremely grateful to the many people who bought raffle and tombola tickets. It takes a lot of time and effort to get everything ready but a great team of club members pitched in to help make this event a success.” [06/25]
Raising our profile at the Chamber of Commerce
Our club was the Devon Chamber of Commerce charity of the month at the ‘City Conversation’s’ breakfast meeting in May. Club President Ann met business leaders from across the area spreading the word about what we do to support vulnerable people in Plymouth. [05/25]
Plympton May Fair fundraising
A team of four members had a busy but successful day at Harewood House selling books, glass ornaments (made by a member) and other donated items. Over £100 was raised which helps us to continue supporting women and girls in our area. [05/25]
Gift bags and Easter eggs
Plymouth Soroptimists combined a fundraising and social coffee morning with packing gift bags for women in Plymouth’s Refuge. The 11 vulnerable women in the refuge will receive bags containing chocolates, toiletries, jewellery and small gifts.
The coffee morning raised over £100 which members agreed should be used to buy Easter eggs for children in Ukraine. [03/25]
Pamper Day to mark International Women’s Day 2025 (IWD)
We treated 58 vulnerable women to a day of pampering at the Sunflower Women’s Centre. The women all access the services provided at Sunflower and/or the women’s refuge in Plymouth.
The pamper day is now an annual event for these resilient women who may not have the means to experience the luxury of self-care due to their challenging circumstances. A team of beauticians from GHQ Training, Camelons along with Soroptimists volunteered their services to provide treatments including hairdressing, manicures, pedicures, massages and facials. The women attending were also invited to order period pants and join hundreds of other local women who have been given six pairs of period pants funded from a £10,000 lottery grant and donations from Soroptimists.
The women had the opportunity to have their hair washed and blow dried as well as manicures and pedicures courtesy of a team of hairdressers and beauticians from GHQ, a local beauty training firm who volunteered their services. A nine-strong team of our members assisted the beauticians throughout the day and also provided tea and coffee along with a packed lunch.
Local businesses provided sandwiches, crisps, fruit and biscuits so everyone attending had a packed lunch. A team of Soroptimists worked tirelessly throughout the day providing a constant flow of teas, coffees and biscuits. The women were also delighted to be able to choose outfits from clothes donated by our members.
Soroptimist Sue Miller, the overall lead on this event, said: “We believe that every woman deserves to feel valued and cherished, regardless of their situation. Our pamper day aims to uplift spirits, boost confidence, and remind these incredible women of their worth. We couldn’t do this without a brilliant 15-strong team of hairdressers and manicurists from GHQ, along with facials courtesy of Greenhouse Spa. Soroptimists also pitched in giving foot spas and manicures to over 40 women who came. Sue continues: “It’s always so gratifying to get fantastic positive feedback from the women who really enjoy the day. Everyone involved in helping at the event also thoroughly enjoys the day which is so uplifting for all concerned.” [03/25]
International Women’s Day 2025
Four members attended an event in Plymouth to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD). It was an inspirational day with 15 speakers covering women’s empowerment. There were opportunities for networking which resulted in enquiries from potential members who showed an interest in joining our club.
President Elect Ann gave an excellent presentation on one of recent very successful projects, “Pants to Period Poverty” which Ann spearheaded having secured a lottery grant of £10,000. Hundreds of disadvantaged women in Plymouth benefitted from this initiative as they were given period pants which saved them money and encouraged a sustainable approach to period management. Ann also did an excellent job of promoting our club by highlighting other initiatives we have supported locally and internationally.
We also marked IWD by holding our now annual and much looked forward to pamper day. [03/25]
Charter Lunch 2025
A delicious lunch at the Elfordleigh Hotel in February to celebrate our club’s 95th year was attended by 48 members and guests. President Margaret was joined by 16 members, some with partners, and Soroptimists from around the South West Region. [02/25]
Support for Ukraine
Many members handed over warm clothes, children’s toys and sweets, sleeping bags, medicines, food and much more to PUMA (Plymouth Ukraine Medical Aid). This group regularly make the long journey to Ukraine to provide much needed support to those affected by the ongoing war.
Care leavers receive household goods
Another seven boxes of useful household items have been handed over to social services to be given to youngsters leaving the care system. Each box contains 18 items and a £20 Tesco voucher which goes some way to help set the young people up as they begin their independent lives.
To date our club have donated around 30 of these boxes which are greatly appreciated by the recipients. Margaret Luscombe said: “Our club are very happy to continue supporting this ongoing initiative. We feel it goes a little way to let these young people know that they are being supported and thought of as they leave the care system and set up on their own.”
Christmas 2024: gifts for Ukrainian children
A 9-strong team of Plymouth Soroptimists filled 50 Christmas boxes for children in Ukraine. Many other members also contributed to the initiative by wrapping the shoe boxes in festive paper and donating items.
The boxes contained a Christmas card, woollen hats, scarves, gloves, toiletries along with small toys and sweets. The boxes were taken to a central pick up point for PUMA (Plymouth Ukraine Medical Aid) who will deliver the boxes before Christmas.
Lorraine co-ordinated the shoe box initiative for the Plymouth Soroptimist club. She said: “It was a great team effort and we all enjoyed the morning packing the boxes. It was wonderful to think that we will give some pleasure to children who are suffering in this war torn country.”
Period Pants project nearing completion
We have almost reached the end of an extremely successful project to provide almost 2,000 pairs of period pants to 330 women in Plymouth. Two charts below summarise the reach of the project.
Our club was also represented showcasing this project at an international event entitled “Environmenstural – reducing plastics in period products!” It was set up by the National Council of Women Great Britain in conjunction with the Women’s Environmental Network. The informative presentation that project lead Ann Keelen produced was used at this event and will be repeated at a regional SI event in March 2025.
Orange Cafe
The September orange café to raise awareness of the need to eliminate violence against women and girls was held at St Luke’s BKinda coffee shop in Plympton. It was well supported and very well received. Four members attended and met some lovely people and heard some very sad stories. [09/24]
Breast milk warmer for Neonatal Intensive Care unit
Our club donated £1,400 to the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at Derriford hospital to buy a waterless warming and thawing device that helps to optimise and standardise human milk processes. The unit is designed for individual care and aims to maintain the integrity of human milk by warming it to temperatures consistent with expressed breastmilk and not exposing it to high heat. The disposable insert hygienically holds a bottle or syringe in place.
Developed as a single bedside unit, the Calesca machinecan be placed on an IV pole beside each NICU bed or on a worktop for preparing feeds. This minimises the risk of mix-ups. Since it is easy to handle, it can be operated by parents, thus supporting family-integrated care and flexible feed preparation times.
Pink Tuk Tuk!
Our club donated £4,000 from our legacy fund (from two dearly missed members) to buy a pink tuk tuk through the Rosie May Foundation. Three women will share the tuk tuk which will be in use 24 hours a day on 3 x 8 hour shifts. The ladies not only provide safe transport for other women but also learn to maintain the vehicle.
Lamb Feast
A very successful lamb feast in June saw a net amount of £1017 raised for project funds. A monster raffle with amazing prizes, some worth over £100, as well as a tombola produced this excellent outcome. Thanks to Sue who worked really hard to get so many great raffle prizes and for the team who worked so hard beforehand and on the day. [06/24]
Baby knits
A very kind Soroptimist friend with busy fingers, donated three bags of gorgeous knitted items for newborns to toddlers. The smallest sizes were given to Baby Basics, an organisation that provides essential equipment, clothing and toiletries to women and families in extreme need. The larger sizes went to various charitable organisations including some items that were sent to Ukraine.
Orange Cafe
A team of members held a successful pop-up Orange Café at the Co-op in Plympton where they spoke to a number of people who dropped by about the need to combat violence against women and girls. The cafes are orange themed as this is a bright and optimistic colour and is used world wide to mark the International Day for the Elimination of violence against women and girls.
International Women’s Day 2024 – Pamper Day for vulnerable women
Another successful pamper day to mark International Women’s Day was organised by Plymouth Soroptimists for women who use the services at Plymouth’s Sunflower Women’s Centre and Plymouth Domestic Abuse Services (Refuge).
The pamper day is now an annual event for these resilient women who may not have the means to experience the luxury of self-care due to their challenging circumstances. A team of beauticians from GHQ Training, Camelons along with Soroptimists volunteered their services to provide treatments including hairdressing, manicures, pedicures, massages and facials. The women attending were also invited to order period pants and join hundreds of other local women who have been given six pairs of period pants funded from a £10,000 lottery grant and donations from Soroptimists.
Local businesses provided sandwiches, crisps, fruit and biscuits so everyone attending had a packed lunch. A team of Soroptimists worked tirelessly throughout the day providing a constant flow of teas, coffees and biscuits.
Soroptimist Sue Miller, the overall lead on this event, said: “We believe that every woman deserves to feel valued and cherished, regardless of their situation. Our pamper day aims to uplift spirits, boost confidence, and remind these incredible women of their worth. We couldn’t do this without a brilliant 15-strong team of hairdressers and manicurists from GHQ, along with facials courtesy of Greenhouse Spa. Soroptimists also pitched in giving foot spas and manicures to over 40 women who came. [03/24]
Slow cookers for Sunflower Women’s Centre
Plymouth Soroptimists have given 21 slow cookers to the Sunflower Women’s Centre in Plymouth. Twenty women who access the Sunflower services will have a slow cooker demonstration, after which they will each be given a slow cooker to take away, together with a slow cooker recipe book. One of the cookers and recipe books will be for the demonstrator to use.
Soroptimist Terry West put this proposal to club members who readily agreed to fund this out of a legacy from two much missed members. Terry said: “The aim is to encourage women to cook nutritious and inexpensive meals for their families. We hope having a demonstration in a setting they are familiar with will boost their confidence to cook healthy meals from scratch and may even will encourage the next generation to enjoy making homemade food. With the increasing cost of living squeezing budgets, slow cooker meals are a great way to make money go further whilst providing healthy family meals with minimal effort.”
Sunflower Women’s Centre Manager Paula Carnell said: “This is a wonderful opportunity and generous donation. To be able to run workshops to share with our women good healthy food options cooked economically in the slow cookers which they will then be able to have and use for themselves and their families is truly amazing. The Soroptimists have always been very helpful and supported us to be able to give our women that use the centre opportunities to enrich their lives and empower them to feel confident to look after themselves and families.”
Care leavers gift boxes
Youngsters leaving the local care system and setting up on their own will be presented with a box of useful items and a Tesco gift voucher. From the legacy fund we are allocating £50 per box to include the contents and gift voucher. This will be an ongoing project in conjunction with the key social workers who will deliver the boxes to care leavers as they embark on their independent lives.
£10,000 lottery grant for period pants!
Following on from a successful pilot with Marjon students, Plymouth Soroptimist Ann successfully secured a £10,000 lottery grant to roll out the distribution of period pants to local women. Hundreds of local women will now have the opportunity to put an end to ‘period poverty’ thanks to this generous lottery grant.
The pants are reusable and therefore environmentally friendly and the aim is to encourage, support and normalise the use of reusable period products in place of unsustainable single-use pads and tampons. The Plymouth Soroptimist club will be working with other local women’s groups to distribute the pants, in particular with Sunflower Women’s Centre and Trevi.
The lottery cheque was presented to Plymouth Soroptimists by Johnny Mercer MP who has a long standing association with Trevi. Soroptimist Ann who spearheaded the successful lottery grant application. She said: “We’re absolutely delighted that we’re going to be able to help so many women who struggle to pay for period products, while at the same time encouraging a sustainable long term solution to end the use of disposable pads and tampons. We are extremely grateful to national lottery players who have made this initiative possible.” [01/24]
Care in a bag
A number of homeless and disadvantaged women and men who access the services of the Shekinah Mission in Plymouth have each been given a backpack filled with warm clothes, underwear, toiletries and sweets. A group of members gathered to sort and pack all the donated goodies into the donated backpacks – 21 for women and 20 for men. [12/23]
Fundraising at Harewood House
Three members spent an enjoyable and productive morning at a fund raising event at Harewood House, Plympton and raised over £76 for project funds. Visitors to the stand included former Lord Mayor Terri Beer and local Councillor Rebecca Smith. [12/23]
We ‘Oranged’ Plymouth!
Thankfully we were blessed with a lovely sunny day for our Orange walk through Plymouth city centre on 25th November to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls and all gender based violence. Around 100 men, women and children, as well as a few dogs, joined us on our way up to Plymouth Hoe. The deputy Lord Mayor Kathy Watkin started the walk and Alexis Bowater OBE closed it at the statue of Nancy Astor on the Hoe. Many walkers wore orange and landmarks around the city displayed orange lighting including Smeaton’s Tower on the Hoe. Plymouth Citybus ‘Spiking’ bus, which is dedicated to highlighting the dangers of drink spiking, met the group outside the Theatre Royal. At various points on the route speakers including our President Elle, talked about the horrifying statistics relating to violence against women with almost 7,000 incidents reported in our city alone in 2022. We were very pleased to be joined on the walk by women from Trevi House, Sunflower Centre and the Daffodil Family Assessment Unit. Britvic kindly provided cans of Tango which were handed to passers by which gave an opportunity for our members to tell them about the event. [11/23]
Christmas cheer heading to Ukrainian children
A team of 10 members packed 50 Christmas decorated shoe boxes destined for Ukrainian children in orphanages, hospitals and shelters. The boxes, labelled with age range and suitability for girls or boys, contain toys, sweets, toiletries, hats, scarves and gloves – all of which were donated by members and friends. PUMA (Plymouth Ukraine Medical Aid) will be delivering the Christmas shoe boxes, knitted teddies, warm clothes for babies and toddlers and a bag of medicines to Ukraine in the next few weeks. Our Plymouth club will also be giving a cash donation to PUMA towards the transportation costs [11/23]
Ivybridge ‘Orange Cafe’
Member Gabrielle organised an orange themed drop in event at The Watermark in Ivybridge to highlight the need to eliminate violence against women and girls. Staff at The Watermark fully embraced the idea by wearing orange and producing orange cakes and decorations, orange being the colour used to highlight this initiative. A team of members, also wearing orange, welcomed visitors and told them all about the international campaign to stamp out violence against women and girls.
Plympton Lamb Feast fundraiser
Over £1,000 was raised at Plympton’s historic Lamb Feast in June, thanks in large part to the generosity of local companies and individuals who kindly donated prizes. Plymouth Soroptimist Sue (along with other members) was very successful in sourcing magnificent prizes from businesses including the Duke of Cornwall Hotel, Brittany Ferries, Bedford Hotel, Peter Goord Travel and Delta Force Paintball to name just a few. Sue also thought of everything to ensure a successful event, right down to ensuring there were water bowls for passing dogs!
A team of members worked hard in the heat throughout the event attracting visitors to the stand, inviting them to take part in the tombola and raffle.
Sue said: “We’re so grateful to everyone who donated prizes, especially in the current difficult financial climate. Our thanks also go to all those who very generously bought raffle and tombola tickets. It was amazing to raise over £1,000 for our project funds which will support local, national and international charities helping women and girls.” [06/23]
Drink Spiking
Thanks to an amazing effort by a Plymouth Soroptimist, a teaching module focussed on educating students on the dangers of ‘spiking’ in support of Violence Against Women and Girls is now a formal part of City College Plymouth’s Public Services course.
The project is designed to develop a safe space, a platform (whether that is a website or an app), that will focus on various modules and be part of each new cohort’s learning on the course. We have initially focussed on the ‘5 x S’s’, Spiking, Safe Streets and Space, Stalking, Sexual Abuse and Sexting. The first module is for the students to design and develop the platform and the initial content relating to Spiking. The students will learn skills in leadership, communication, project management and stakeholder management. They will then have the chance to showcase their final designs in a Dragon’s Den setting, with the winning team’s design being the agreed platform that will be used over years to come.
Liam Stevens, Public Services and Sports Program Manager at City College said: “We are thrilled to join forces with the city’s Soroptimist project, embarking on this impactful initiative together. As the learning destination of choice, we are committed to empowering young minds, and this ongoing project aligns perfectly with our goals. By raising awareness and empowering the youth, we strive to make a significant difference in our community.”
School Lego Challenge
Three members were delighted to be involved as judges and referees for this year’s school Lego challenge at City College Plymouth. The FIRST® LEGO® League introduces science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to children aged 6-16 through fun, exciting hands-on learning. They gain real-world problem-solving experience through a guided, global robotics programme. The project this year was renewable energy, with teams showing how their Lego robot could generate green energy, moving to complete specific tasks for the challenge.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable event for everyone involved and in the coming months Plymouth Soroptimists will be reaching out to primary schools in a bid to support them in this challenge and/or offer subscription to the League and purchase of the Lego kit.
Dress a Girl Around the World – stand at Exeter Westpoint
A small team of Plymouth members did a sterling job over three days in March at the Westpoint Craft4Crafters promoting our club and showcasing the Dress a Girl Around the World project. We have already contributed 100 dress to this international charity and more are being produced ready for the next shipment to developing countries. The dresses are made from a range of fabrics including duvet covers, curtains and pillowcases. Not only are the girls delighted to receive probably the first brand new dress they will ever have been given, they are also protected from predators because of the Dress a Girl label sewn on to the front which indicates that there is an organisation is looking after them. [03/23]
Pamper Day celebrating International Women’s Day 2023
Another successful pamper day at Plymouth’s Sunflower Women’s Centre saw almost 50 ladies receiving top to toe treatments including haircuts, manicures, pedicures and facials. The event was organised by Plymouth Soroptimists to mark International Women’s Day and is the fourth annual pamper day to date. The invitation to attend the pamper day was extended to women at the Plymouth Refuge and the women that access the services at Sunflower Women’s Centre.
All the beauty treatments were given by a team of volunteers from GHQ salon and training centre in Plymouth and Greenhouse Spa, with Soroptimists pitching in to help out. Tea and coffee were provided throughout the day with a packed lunch supplied for everyone. Lunch donations were kindly provided by Morrisons Plymstock store and the Co-op at Crownhill.
Organiser Sue Miller said: “This was a real Soroptimist team effort in the planning and delivery of the pamper day. We are extremely grateful for everyone that provided support and products on the day with particular thanks to GHQ without whom we could not have held the event. Also we owe thanks to Morrisons, the Co-op and Greenhouse Spa. The ladies who attended had a wonderful pampering experience and really enjoyed the day, some commenting that it was the best day ever.” [03/23]
