Dr Safeeya Mohammed
guardian.wemagazine@gmail.com
Soroptimist International Newtown Trinidad (SI Newtown) was established in November 2010 as a volunteer organisation of professional women, all working together to improve the lives of women and girls in our community.
SI Newtown is continuously engaged in projects aimed at providing women and girls with resources and opportunities to achieve their full potential and the proceeds from the fundraisers fuel these projects.
“Coming out of the pandemic last year we realised that the brunch concept was an emerging trend globally and so we decided to capitalise on that for fundraising purposes,” says Marissa Bubb, president, SI Newtown Trinidad.
“Our club has, in our first three years, hosted social mixers to get like-minded people together while simultaneously raising funds for our projects. We thought that a brunch would be a nice way to get back to those origins,” and from that, SI Newtown Trinidad’s Boozy Brunch fundraiser was launched.
Patrons were greeted at the door with complimentary Sangria cocktails and dined on a tasty menu of both breakfast and lunch items. The event also gave the women from sister Soroptimist clubs across Trinidad, friends and guests a chance to network, socialise and win door prizes. After brunch came the festivities, where the dance floor was cleared and the patrons enjoyed the musical selections of a popular local DJ.
RISE! To meet the Challenge
One project that benefited from Boozy Brunch fundraiser was the SI Newtown “RISE! to meet the Challenge”–Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign which tackled the stigma attached to mammograms–an early detection mechanism that is proven to save lives. The club simultaneously launched an aggressive social media campaign to educate women on the importance of early detection and screening.
The campaign consisted of multiple videos focused on the stories of women who have been affected by breast cancer. A breast cancer survivor’s story of diagnosis, surgery and healing, as well as the heartbreak of a daughter who lost her mother to breast cancer and who urged viewers to get tested early, were amongst those featured.
One of the club’s members also allowed herself to be filmed getting her first mammogram, allowing the sisters of SI Newtown a first-hand view of the process. These efforts impacted positively and empowered women to rise to the challenge and be screened.
Blue Skies, Clear Eyes
Another project, ‘Blue Skies Clear Eyes’ was a partnership between SI Newtown and an optician company that facilitated the vision examination of 12 young ladies from St Jude’s Home for Girls, five of whom required and were fitted with eyeglasses.
The project resulted in the improvement of the lives of these young ladies through their access to corrective lenses which not only boosted their self-confidence but enhanced their chances of success in their academic and career endeavours.
SI Newtown’s Christmas Caravan
In the true spirit of the Yuletide season, SI Newtown’s Christmas Caravan aims to make this year just a bit brighter by providing single-mother households with substantial food items, cleaning and hygiene products, fresh fruits and vegetables to help them navigate through the Christmas season.
Gratitude is a must
All these projects and more are primarily funded by the club with the Boozy Brunch initiative bringing a substantial chunk of the funding. The ladies of SI Newtown are grateful to all those who generously supported and contributed to making this year’s Boozy Brunch an absolute success.
SI Newtown also invites women with a passion for volunteerism to reach out via our social media handles to find out how you can be a part of making a difference in the lives of young girls and women in T&T.
Feel free to visit their social media platforms:
FB: www.facebook.com/SINewtown/
IG: www.instagram.com/sinewtown/