A big thanks to everyone who attended our AGM last week. It was great to meet new faces and share the work we have been doing. We welcomed Marianne as our new Chair, our existing Treasurer, Ali, was re-elected and our previous Chair, Laura, stepped into the role of Secretary. With the formalities done, we are now super excited to be heading into the New Year with a shiny New Strategy and big ambitions for our next chapter.

New Strategy

Our New Strategy sees a revamp of Women Action Network Dorset’s (WAND) mission, values and aims. We are taking on a new perspective – coming from a place of recognition and celebration of the strengths of women in Dorset and being steeped in core values that will guide us in the work that we do. We will have three priority focus areas – working with charities and partners to raise funds and awareness of, and for, the women most in need in our county and we will be building networks that bring people together to connect, to grow and to heal. We will listen to Women’s stories and honour them by sharing them with people who need to hear them and giving allyship to the challenges they face. 

To read more about our new strategy head to our website here.

#WANDThreeQuestions

We will head into the New Year with a campaign to listen to the voices of women across Dorset as they answer three big questions. We want to hear from YOU! And every woman you know. Please give us your answers by completing this short online questionnaire (It’s only 3 questions!), by recording a short video or by doing a work of art. Send videos and masterpieces to us by email WANDDorset@gmail.com or tag us in our social media @DorsetWomen (We are on Facebook and Twitter currently – watch this space to see us arrive on Instagram and LinkedIn soon). Use the hashtag #WANDThreeQuestions

Please share the link to the questionnaire as widely as you can – share our posts on social media, email to your friends, pop it into all your WhatsApp groups. The more women we can hear from, the quicker we can start to look at the themes and get to work on the important issues.

#WANDWith

Also in the New Year we will be doing  a series of interviews with high profile women in Dorset to hear things that affect Women from their perspective. We will share our chats on our social media so follow us now @DorsetWomen so that you don’t miss out. We will be asking them who they are, what they see as the big issues for women in the county, what they think needs to change, and how we (that’s us and You!) can do to tackle the big issues.

We need Volunteers

To get our Strategy off the ground with gusto in the new year we need your help. We are seeking volunteers to help us get some very specific jobs done. We need someone who is a whizz with websites to give us a few hours a month to make ours more snazzy and to keep it up to date. We need someone who knows their way around social media to help us to build our followers, share our brilliant new content and work with us to honour the stories of women on our existing and new platforms. We need someone who has some free time to spare to help us smarten up our brand image. We know what we want, we just need someone to help us put it together. And finally we need lots of people to help us start to build our networks, share our new strategy and get more and more women as excited about our new aims as we are

Could any of these roles be you? If you’re interested to know more, hot foot over to our website here to read more about what’s involved. While you’re there, why not complete your #WANDThreeQuestions and send it round to your contacts. 

New Year New Look

During the first few months of 2022 we will looking at the constitution of WAND as an organisation and giving ourselves a facelift. Our new strategy is ambitious and we need to be fit for purpose for many years to come. 

In due course we will be seeking new Ambassadors, Directors and Committee Members. Could this be you? We have some brief info on our website now to give you an idea of what’s involved. In the next few weeks we will have more detail. While you’re nibbling on your mince pies and turkey, why not have a think about whether you’re interested in a more formal role with us and drop us an email for a chat if you’d like to know more WANDDorset@gmail.com 

We need our organisation to be diverse and inclusive so that we are upholding our values from the very core of what we do. So we are particularly interested in hearing from you if your heritage or background is of a minority nature. So if you, or anyone you know, is from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, are LGBTQI+ , have a disability or Long Term Condition, live with a mental health condition, have experienced gender-based violence or come from (or work with) a minority community of Dorset where women experience specific challenges, then please get in touch. 

We Wish You a Joyful and Restful Christmas

And finally, we wish you all a very Happy Christmas and hope that you are able to spend it in a way that gives you joy and rest. In this troublesome climate we find ourselves in, that may not be possible for everyone. So we send you our heartfelt wishes that wherever you are, and whatever your situation, you are able to find some time to rest and some moments of joy. We look forward to working with you in the New Year.

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