Soroptimist North Shore

24/08/2026

🌿 Made from scraps – ready to brighten up your garden! 🌿

We've been putting some of scrap fabric to good use and have made a small batch of colourful handmade bunting – each one a little different. 💛🧡💜💙

Rather than letting those leftover pieces of fabric go to waste, they’ve been given a new life as cheerful decorations for gardens, parties, celebrations and outdoor spaces.

We've made just half a dozen to bring along to our Sustainable Fashion & Wellness Day on Saturday 12 September, so if you love a bit of colour and handmade charm, come along and take one home!

♻️ Use what we have. Make something useful. Keep textiles out of landfill.

Come along and discover lots of ways we can make more sustainable choices – from fashion and textiles to wellbeing and support our national project 'Heal the Teal' Reduce the Impact of Ovarian Cancer on New Zealand Women.

📅 Saturday 12 September
📍 Rothesay Bay Community Hall
⏰ 11am - 3pm

NorthShore

14/08/2026

🧵 We're delighted to welcome Thread Lightly to our Sustainable Fashion & Wellness Day!

Thread Lightly hosts community events where people can donate, swap, and take fabric and craft supplies. They also work with charities and community groups to ensure donated materials are passed on to people who can use them, helping keep valuable textiles out of landfill.

On the day, Thread Lightly will be hosting a Fabric & Craft Supply Giveaway Table. Browse a wonderful selection of donated fabrics, sewing notions, yarn, and other craft supplies - perfect for topping up your stash or inspiring your next creative project!

Donations of fabric and craft supplies are welcome but not essential. Come along, have a browse, and discover how creativity and sustainability can go hand in hand.

Together, we're helping reduce textile waste, supporting our community, and giving quality materials a second life. ♻️💚

03/08/2026

💛 Can you help make our day a success?
We're looking for community support to help bring our Sustainable Fashion & Wellness Day to life. Whether you can volunteer for a few hours on the day, donate good-quality women's clothing and accessories, or lend us clothing racks, full-length mirrors, or a folding screen/room divider for a changing area, we'd love to hear from you. Every contribution—big or small—will help create a welcoming event while raising funds for our national Heal the Teal ovarian cancer project. If you'd like to get involved or know someone who can help, please send us a message. Together, we can make a real difference! We're particularly seeking clean, good-quality women's clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories that someone else would love to wear.

21/07/2026

Something exciting is coming this September!

We're planning a Sustainable Fashion & Wellness Day, and we'd love your help to make it a success!

Have you got quality women's clothing, shoes or accessories sitting in your wardrobe that deserve a second life? Instead of letting them gather dust, why not help someone else discover a new favourite outfit?

We're looking for donations of:
✨ Clean, good-quality women's clothing
👠 Shoes
👜 Handbags
💍 Accessories

Your pre-loved items will become part of our community Clothing Swap, helping reduce textile waste while raising funds for Heal the Teal, Soroptimist International New Zealand's national project supporting ovarian cancer awareness and research.

More details about how the Clothing Swap will work are coming soon, but for now we'd love you to start sorting through your wardrobe!

📅 Sustainable Fashion & Wellness Day
📍 September – venue and date to be announced

Together we can Refresh. Rewear. Reduce Waste. Support Women's Health.

Follow us for updates and start saving those fabulous finds! 💙

16/07/2026

Could you help us inspire women to feel confident in their clothes?

Soroptimist International North Shore is planning a Sustainable Fashion & Wellness Day in September to raise funds for our national ovarian cancer project, Heal the Teal.

We're looking for someone with experience or a passion for:
👗 Personal styling
🎨 Colour analysis
👚 Wardrobe planning
♻️ Sustainable fashion

If you enjoy helping people discover the colours and styles that suit them, we'd love to hear from you.

This is a community event designed to encourage sustainable fashion choices, boost confidence, and support a worthwhile cause. Whether you're a professional, recently trained, or simply have expertise to share, we'd love to chat.

If this sounds like you, or you know someone who would be interested, please send us a message. If you are able to donate your their we'll acknowledge your business on our event publicity and social media.

Together we can help women feel great, shop more sustainably, and raise funds to support women affected by ovarian cancer.

13/07/2026

Another Sewn Up Success at Takapuna Library!

Last Thursday we celebrated the completion of our second Sewn Up Upcycling Sewing Course at Takapuna Library.

Over six weeks, participants learned practical sewing skills while exploring how repairing, altering, and upcycling clothing can help reduce textile waste and encourage more sustainable fashion choices.

One of the greatest rewards has been seeing confidence grow with every class. As new techniques were mastered and projects took shape, participants discovered that sewing is a skill for life.

Here's what two of our participants had to say:

"The sewing class instructed by Sylvia is a great opportunity for anyone who is keen on expanding their knowledge of sewing or someone who is completely new. We had structured lessons every week going over a certain skill or task and were given time to practice and gain confidence. I would highly recommend this course to anyone and will keep an eye out for the next one! Thank you to Soroptimist International North Shore for providing this life skill and for sharing valuable knowledge. My confidence on the sewing machine has certainly grown."
— Leish Wehi

"I really enjoyed the conversations and opportunity to learn new techniques with garment and bag construction. Sylvia is a patient teacher with a great skill set and knowledge of sewing and is generous with sharing her wonderful knowledge. It was a pleasure attending each class. Thank you to Takapuna Library and Soroptimist International North Shore for making the classes available."
— Anita Stevenson

A heartfelt thank you to Takapuna Library for partnering with Soroptimist International North Shore to make these community learning opportunities possible.

We are proud to support lifelong learning, build confidence through practical skills, and encourage sustainable choices, one stitch at a time.

05/07/2026

Did you know?
One woman dies every 48 hours from Ovarian Cancer in New Zealand. Soroptimist International National Project 'Heal the Teal' is raising awareness of the early symptoms of ovarian cancer and raising funds for an early diagnostic tool. Please support the purchase of Phoenix Theatre's Glide Time tickets at the Pump House, Sunday 20th September and enjoy a great afternoon of entertainment whilst helping to raise awareness of early symptoms and funds for this vital research. 🙂

23/06/2026

22/06/2026

Celebrating Our Rangatahi Upcycling Sewing Course. Over the past four weeks, Soroptimist International North Shore has been delighted to deliver a beginner upcycling sewing course for local young participants at East Coast Bays Library.
We began the course with 11 registrations and, while not everyone was able to continue, five dedicated young people completed the programme and developed new skills, confidence, and creativity along the way.
Throughout the course, participants learned how to:
• Measure and cut use simple patterns
• Operate sewing machines safely
• Upcycle and repurpose clothing and fabric
• Solve problems and develop practical sewing skills
• Support and learn from one another
As part of the programme, the students were also challenged to explore wider issues affecting our communities and environment. They researched and shared information about:
• Textile waste and its impact on the planet
• The effects of fast fashion
• The work of Soroptimist International and our commitment to improving the lives of women and girls. These discussions helped connect their sewing projects to the bigger picture, showing how repairing, altering, and upcycling clothing can help reduce waste and support a more sustainable future.

The participants showed great determination as they measured, cut, pinned, sewed, unpicked, and tried again, discovering that learning a new skill takes patience, perseverance, and practice.

We are incredibly proud of what they achieved and the unique items they created. Most importantly, we hope they leave the course knowing that they can make a difference through both their skills and their choices.

A special thank you to East Coast Bays Library for supporting this initiative and providing a welcoming space for learning and the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board for supplying the sewing machines to the Library.
Congratulations to our wonderful graduates. We hope this is just the beginning of their sewing journey!

13/06/2026

Brilliant

🚨Calling all Soroptimist SIGBI members – we’re on Good Morning Britain today!

Following the relaunch of our Railway Station Safety Survey, the findings were shared LIVE on GMB this morning as we prepare to publish the full report online from 10am onwards.

We couldn’t be prouder to see decades of work reaching a national audience and helping raise vital awareness about making rail travel safer for women and girls.

The report provides an in-depth look at safety at railway stations across the UK – highlighting what has improved and, crucially, what still needs to change since our original Future of the Railways investigation in 1996.

It also sets out clear recommendations for rail operators, Network Rail, the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail and Road on the action needed next.

A huge thank you to our Programme Director Lindsay Green for leading on collating the results, and to every SIGBI member who contributed, whether in 1996 or today. Your commitment continues to drive real change.

📺 Watch GMB here (featured in 6am/7am news): https://www.itv.com/watch/good-morning-britain/2a3211

🔗 Learn more about the Relaunch of the Railway Station Safety Survey here: https://sigbi.org/2024/railway-safety-project/

More updates will be shared throughout the day – please keep an eye on our channels.