On the 13th of May Sandton Ladies Circle had its first business meeting for the year, after its 2nd AGM, which was very productive. We felt honored to have Twaambo Chirwa join our meeting and introduce us to new traditions. She has been part of Ladies Circle for many years and it was very special when she lit the friendship candle, as we could really feel the love and friendship. She was also kind enough to fine us for our good behavior as Sergeant at Arms for the evening, thanks Twaambo!
On the 15th May Amanda Melanie and Susan went to One Small Act of Kindness to sort out their art cupboard and to label shelves for them (after they made an appeal to the community for assistance). One small act of kindness really can make the worlds difference! We’ll be going back to sort out more cupboards soon!
The LCSA AGM took place on the 21st – 23rd May. Amanda and Susan represented Sandton Ladies Circle. There were many fun activities over the weekend and it was an opportunity to meet many amazing ladies who are all working towards the common goal of friendship and service. The ladies really felt inspired after the weekend, as it gave them an opportunity to take a step back and come up with many new ideas in our own circle and to make a difference in our own community. The New National Executive Board was elected and the National President, Cheslyn Dunlop, really captured her motto for the year, as the general feeling the ladies had after the AGM was that of being inspired. Thank you to the Edenvale Ladies 6 for hosting the weekend, you ladies did such an amazing job! Next year Sandton Ladies Circle hopes to have all their circlers attend the AGM.
On 27th May Melanie made bracelets for Grade 6 Students from Infinity College to wear to show their support for World Menstrual Hygiene Day and the fight against period poverty (a project that was coordinated by Doorway to Dignity), well done Mel!
Linda is also taking on the fight against period poverty and is busy preparing to climb Kilimanjaro and summit on the 18th of July on Mandela Day. She is raising funds for Caring4Girls with Trek4Mandela on Mandela Day. You can join in supporting her cause by making a donation here: https://www.givengain.com/ap/linda-reddy-raising-funds-for-imbumba-foundation/#timeline. To say we are inspired would be an understatement, we are utterly in awe of Linda, and have branded her as our #WCW (Women Crush Wednesday).
On the 29th of May we supported Charity Begins with Me with its project to sell cupcakes to raise funds for a lady named Sam. Sam had lost her means of an income earlier in the year through a fire and Charity begins with Me was helping her by raising funds so she could study to be a nail technician. The ladies baked delicious cupcakes that were sold at the Fairland Market. Charity Begins with Me raised R16 000 with their project and received cupcakes from numerous donations. We too find this absolutely inspiring!
On the 12th of June we continued with our Frozen Meals Project. Amanda, Melanie, Nicola, Nolene and Susan made 54 warm soups and packed 65 soup jars for Doorway to Dignity, who have a close connection with those who need meals. All warms soups are frozen and stored until someone needs it. The dry soup packs are handed to those who need a meal. The soup jar ingredients can easily be made into a meal (even if someone just has a kettle).
Nicola and Susan attended the Midrand Car Boot sale on the 26th of June to raise funds for the causes that are close to our hearts. We sell pre-loved items that have been donated to us to sell. We raised R1 230 by selling these goods. This is a project that keeps on giving and making a difference in so many ways, as a lot of our customers are poor and really appreciate the good quality clothing and household items they can buy. It gives you the warm and fuzzy feeling all round.
For International Social Media Day on the 30th of June, our PRO Guru Nicola came up with the campaign of #movingforcharity by embracing friendship and service and having fun while doing it! We celebrated by being more visible on different forms of social media platforms with the goal in mind of reaching out to more communities and we went out of our comfort zone by making our first Tiktok video, while doing our cooking for our Frozen Meals project. Social media can be fun and used for charity causes, so we are #movingforcharity. You can find our Tiktok account here: http://vm.tiktok.com/ZSJ48Xh6o/ where we uploaded our first Tiktok.
This year might be challenging, but it is also an opportunity for growth. Each day is a new day to be thankful for what a person has and to pay it forward to others, either with time, donations or just an elbow hug. There are friends, there is family and then there are friends that become family and this is what we are inspired by…