Events – April 2008

Wednesday 28th April President’s report AGM 2008

My original aims for the year were to encourage personal service, to not be too busy, and to avoid the need to constantly put our hands in our pockets. I'm not sure how successful I was but I must let you, the members, be the judge of that!

So a quick recoup of the year's events; my theme for the year has been 'Caring for the Environment'. I hope everyone enjoyed the lectures and learnt a little more about this wide-ranging and, at times, controversial subject. The effects of our lifestyles were brought home most vividly by the lecture on Marine Conservation and I was delighted that the club members agreed to adopt a beach, resulting in three quarterly beach cleans so far at Swanbridge, and I hope we will continue to supported this venture.

This was followed by lectures on Waste Management, Renewable Energy and Climate Change by experts in their field. Then, broadening the interpretation of our Environment to personal matters, we had talks on Yoga, Jewellery and Precious Stones, Naturopathic Nutrition and Financial Matters.

My chosen charities for the year were Fairbridge Cymru, for which we had a talk followed by a very successful fund-raising event, Jazz at Brazz, raising £1000; and Cardiff Institute for the Blind, with a talk and a superb concert by Serendipity and Cantorion at St Germans Church, raising £1500. Both these events were strongly supported by non-club members.

Other fund-raising events have included Roath Park Open Day; a garden party and a coffee morning to support the Cape Verde Education Trust; and coffee at The Lighthouse. The club has continued to support Ty Celyn, led by Maureen Ash; Rhymney Valley (now Caerphilly) Women's Aid; Barnardos Marlborough Road Project; and Ipse Mauritius. We have also supported World Water Day by funding a compound water supply in The Gambia, and will be raising the funds (already spent!) at a pool party in June.

The Soroptimist Housing Association prize, donated annually by Cadwyn Housing Association, has been awarded this year (2007) to Lauren Davies, a student from the City Planning Department of Cardiff University. The prize is to acknowledge the handover of houses previously owned by the club to Cadwyn, and Lauren used the funding to help her achieve a Masters degree in Housing.

At Regional level it has been an honour to have the Regional President in our midst and I applaud the club for the support given to Anne Dunne. This has involved fundraising for the regional charity, Licking Lassa Fever, commencing with a sponsored walk in Pontcanna Fields, which we arranged with our sister club Barry, raising about £500, and including other events such as coffee mornings, a wine & cheese evening, and the collection of jewellery and Smartie tubes. In addition our intrepid walker, Cherry Wright, made an impressive personal contribution with a solo sponsored walk.

The annual conference at Harrogate was well supported and a party was given for our in-coming Regional President, well attended by all the South Wales clubs. Latterly the Regional Study Weekend at Miskin Manor was extremely successful, emphasizing the importance of friendship links. As President I have also attended a number of club functions throughout the region, including amongst others Llanelli, Barry, Cardigan and Abergavenny. The Travel Club had a very enjoyable trip to Prague in April and social events included a tour of the Millennium Centre in December.

So in conclusion I hope it has been an enjoyable and worthwhile year. I'd like to thank everyone who sent me messages of support and my hard-working 'Executive Team', particularly Margaret Davies, our long-suffering Secretary, to whom I am giving a small token of thanks.

It has been my privilege and pleasure to serve the club; thank you all most sincerely for your support and my very best wishes to our new President Jill for the coming year.

President Enid’s report to the 2008 AGM

Sunday 25th April 2008

President Enid’s annual dinner was a successful and happy event enjoyed by many. We were honoured to welcome the Lord Mayor of Cardiff Rt Hon Cllr Jill Bird pictured (left) with President Enid (second left)

Saturday 4th - Sunday 5th April

Regional President Anne Dunne (a member of SI Cardiff & District) held her Friendship Weekend on 4th/5th April at the Miskin Manor Hotel. Her theme was International Goodwill and Understanding. Over 60 soroptimists from Wales South region enjoyed a splendid dinner on the Friday evening. The guest speaker was Lynfa Phillips. Her theme was A Welsh Woman in a Japanese Man’s World. She spoke about her import business which she inherited from a Japanese friend.

On the Saturday, President Anne followed the international theme including work undertaken with street children in the Philippines, landmine action and the banning of cluster bombs and work with children in Afghanistan.