Events & Fundraising
Saturday 24th May 2025
Time to get those dancing shoes on! We are so excited to announce a Dinner and Dance evening that has been organised by two wonderful women within the Dorset community and will support our cause.
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Susana Baltar Quintana and Bev Blandamer decided to host this amazing party night in honour of their very special friend Pilar, who sadly left this world too soon. This evening will be held to celebrate her life whilst raising funds for Dorset Menopause Support.
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Pilar was very prominent on the local dance scene, so both Susana and Bev felt this would be the ultimate party in memory of their friend. DJ Susana will be playing a wide variety of music to cater for everyone, dancers and non dancers alike! The fantastic Lily's Cuisine Co. will be caterer for the evening and Emerald Bar 1 will be in attendance to supply alcohol and soft drinks.
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This event being held at the Herrison Hall, Charlton Down, near Dorchester DT2 9UA.
Tickets can be purchased for £40 per person.
If you would like to attend please contact Susana Baltar Quintana or Bev Blandamer directly via Facebook messenger to book your ticket and receive BAC details.
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This event is for everyone to enjoy! We all look forward to seeing you there!
Snowdrop Skincare & Coffee Morning Saturday 22nd February 2025
Thank you to everyone who popped by to support us at our Snowdrop Skincare Coffee Morning and to Jo Pitman, a Tropic Ambassador who volunteered her time and expertise to give her amazing mini facial treatments and donated some really special prizes for the raffle.
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Another 'Thank You' must go to Helen Blunn from Shaftesbury Lidl who provided cakes, scones and jam, and prizes for the raffle and Blackmore Vale Dairy for providing the clotted cream for refreshments.
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We have done a little totalling up from the fundraising event and we raised £102.55. Thank you again to everyone who supported us, enjoyed a facial, ate some cake and purchased some raffle tickets!
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To put this into context, £100 will unable us to purchase 200 Understanding Menopause booklets or around 350 factsheets on Women's Health. Both of these resources are handed out for free to all women who attend information meetings, one to one consultations, health events or talks, and can be a lifeline for many.
Strength and Conditioning Programme
Beginning 3rd February 2025
A wonderful opportunity for women to participate in a fully funded 12 week programme to improve muscle strength and tone, enhancing bone health, which is so important as we age from midlife and into older age. Helping to maintain independent living, reducing risk of Osteoporosis and frailty in the longer term.
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This programme will also improve mobility, stamina, fitness, metabolism, cardiovascular health and mental wellbeing. It is run by senior employees of RiversMeet Active Centre in Gillingham, and as well as being experienced instructors, they have undertaken specialist training in Menopause Movement.
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Fully funded for three 12 week programmes throughout 2025 by Locality Community Benefit Fund with Magna Housing.
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To be eligible for this opportunity, women need to attend at least 2 information and support evenings to gain knowledge and understanding around holistic menopause care and nutrition. Email dorsetmenopause@gmail.com to register.
New Year Event 2025
Tuesday 28th January
Vita Skin Spa in Gillingham hosted this social and fundraising event for Dorset Menopause Support. A huge thank you to the lovely team of beauty therapists and hair stylist who work there for making this such an enjoyable event.
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We had a fabulous morning with the team, meeting new and familiar ladies requiring menopause information, with hair demonstrations, free skin care consultations, hand and arm massages and coffee with homemade cake!
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Vita Skin Spa also held a raffle with some incredibly generous prizes and raised £105 for Dorset Menopause Support! Thank you!
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Christmas Dinner and Prize Draw Fundraising & Social Event 2024
What a fabulous evening! A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to and supported our Christmas Dinner social evening and fundraising prize draw on 11th December.
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The atmosphere was amazing and it seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves with lots of banter and laughter amongst the fabulous food. Many went home with some of the great prizes that were generously donated by local businesses and individuals. All winners of prizes who weren't in attendance on the night, you have been contacted, so please check your emails or phone messages.
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The total funds raised from the prize draw is over £570! AMAZING! Thank you all so much for your support. You are helping to create a better future and care for women experiencing difficulties during perimenopause, menopause and post menopause, and education for everyone to raise more awareness and create greater knowledge and understanding.
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Special mention to all those who donated prizes;
*Neals Yard Remedies
*Orchard park Garden Centre
*Rutters Solicitors
*Tropic Skincare
*Jo Pitman Facial
*Roots Hairdresser
*Utopia Hairdressing
*Devas Hairdresser
*Dorothy Rose Nails & Beauty
*Fusion Massage
*Vita Skin Spa
*Dikes Supermarket
*Tesco, Asda and Lidl
*Crockers
*Sweet Treats of Poole
*Many Kind Individuals
Autumn Fundraising Event
Thank you to all of you lovely ladies (and gentlemen) who came to support and enjoy our fundraising afternoon focusing on the changes in skin around midlife, the issues that can occur and skincare that may help with these.
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We had such a lovely time enjoying sharing skincare tips and the facials and hand massages were a big hit!
The cream tea allowed time for relaxing, chatting about menopause, catching up with friends and general banter and laughter.
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A big thank you to;
Lidl in Shaftesbury for the scones
Asda in Gillingham for the tea and jam
Blackmore Vale Dairy for the cream .....which was all delicious!
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An even bigger thank you to Jo Pitman from Tropic Skincare, as without her volunteering her time and support this event would not have happened.
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We have raised more awareness of the support available for menopausal women in the community, had a lovely afternoon and raised £175 for Dorset Menopause Support CIC. Thank you everyone.
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Congratulations to Anita Miles who won the Tropic Skincare raffle prize of £30 worth of Tropic vouchers.
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Exciting News! Easyfundraising!
Did you know that you can now support Dorset Menopause Support CIC every time you shop online? We're excited to announce that we have registered with Easyfundraising, a fantastic online platform that enables you to raise free donations with every purchase you make.
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With over 8000 participating retailers, ranging from your weekly food shop at Tesco, booking a holiday with Booking.com, Friday night takeaway with JustEat, ordering goods from Amazon or Etsy, and even taking out insurance on Compare the Market, there's something for everyone!
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It only takes a minute to sign up and make a difference. Join us here at www.easyfundraising.org.uk or use the QR code to take you straight to our cause page.​​
Summer Fundraising Event 2024
Wow! What a weekend that was! We had a great day for Dorset Menopause Support CIC fundraising event at Marnull Festival.
It was a fabulous day, welcoming new faces and meeting up with friends and ladies that are supported by us. Thank you to everyone who visited our stall and took home some cake!
a huge 'Thank You' to all the generous individuals who donated their time and baked us so many wonderful cakes to sell. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
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We were also sponsored by;
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Dike and Sons in Stalbridge
Lidl in Shaftesbury
Tesco in Shaftesbury
Asda in Gillingham
Waitrose in Gillingham
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who all donated some amazing cakes, biscuits and baked goods for our event. We are truly grateful for your continued support.
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My special thanks goes to my dedicated committee members who volunteer their time to help make all of this happen, and their enthusiasm and energy kept me going after a few very busy weeks! You are all amazing and helping to improve the future of women's health care and education in Menopause for generations of women in the future. Claire Stone, Alison Tytheridge, Rebecca Stalker, Vix Gillet, Emily Tytheridge and Jess Carroll, you are wonderful women!
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We raised a grand total of £465.90 which is absolutely fantastic!
If you were unable to support us on the day of the event, you can still help by making a small donation to our JustGiving page.
Prize Draw and Pub Night Fundraiser 2024
Thank you to all those who supported our prize draw, and to all who ventured out to join us for the live draw at The Stapleton Arms in Buckhorn Weston on Saturday 10th February. Some of you have discovered this great little pub for the first time and made new friends, and some lucky winners went home with some fabulous prizes!
Dorset Menopause Support CIC raised a massive £594!
It was a fabulous evening and we owe huge gratitude to the generosity of many local businesses…
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*Emily Tytheridge Artist
*Rutters Solicitors in Sturminster Newton
*Look Good Feel Good Beautician
*Vito Skin Spa in Shaftesbury
*Devas Hairdresser in Gillingham
*Tesco in Shaftesbury
*Lidl in Shaftesbury
*Asda in Gillingham
*Crockers Hardware in Gillingham
*Sweet Treats of Poole
*Virginia Hayward Hampers in Shaftesbury
*Neal’s Yard Remedies in Gillingham
*Orchard Park Garden Centre in Gillingham
*Mole Country Stores in Gillingham
*The Stapleton Arms, Buckhorn Weston
*And kind donations from individuals
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We are planning another similar fundraiser later this year, so please support us if you can. Look out for further notifications!
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News on Cream Tea Fundraising Event 2023
A massive thank you to all who attended Augusts fabulous fundraising event!
It was a huge success with around 60 people coming to support the future of Dorset Menopause Support, and raise awareness in the community of the support available.
With your amazing donations and sales of raffle tickets we raised a whopping £758!
Absolutely fantastic and with some other extremely generous donations on the JustGiving page, this week alone has raised £1,308.00 you are all amazing!
Donations are still coming in and the JustGiving page is still open, so if you couldn't come and would like to help you can still donate...every little counts and gets us that bit closer to a Menopause Centre of Care with specialist treatment in our community.
Alternatively, perhaps you'd like to purchase a T shirt to help raise funds. By doing this you support BooBs - Breast Cancer Awareness as well as Dorset Menopause Support.
A huge thank you to the sponsors of the event, Shaftesbury Lidl and Blackmore Vale Dairy and to my lovely friends who made cakes Ellie Portnell, Jude Portnell, Judes mum, Norma Amlot, Jacqueline Rooke, Tracy Fennell and Jane Milliken-Smith.
A big thank you to all who donated prizes for the raffle including Asda Crockers of Gillingham, Waitrose, Hawtree & Sons Riverside Garage, Nicola Green Consultancy, Karen Janes, Sweet treats of Poole, Ruth Dresman Glass and many more friends and neighbours! Thank you all! The raffle alone raised over £330 and we did have some fabulous gifts.
Finally a massive thank you to my wonderful friends who helped run the event. It couldn't have happened without your help or run as well as it did, especially Amanda Edmonds who's crazy idea it was in the first place! turns out it was a brilliant idea! Tracy Fennell, Debbie Carroll, Helen Blunn, Jacqueline Rooke, Jane Milliken-Smith and Pat Ludlow . Your help was invaluable, especially at the end of a very long day!
Special mention to Fifehead Magdalen village hall who let me borrow all their tables and chairs, and to Dee and Thomas Trevor who not only lent me their brand new gazebo but put it up and helped me take it down as well also to Beverley Goulding and Jane Parker for the tea urns.
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The future of the CIC
I have been offering support, guidance and education on menopause locally, to all residents, small businesses, ortganisations and health care professionals to raise awareness and help early diagnosis.
From January 2024 'Dorset Menopause Support' has become a Community Interest Company, so it can further benefit the communities within Dorset, South Somerset and South Wiltshire.
I would like to develop a Menopause Centre of care in the form of converting one of my outbuildings into a designated space, so I can continue to offer support in a secluded and peaceful setting. With the opportunity to apply more widely for funding this would also include a bursary fund for women who need to access Menopause Specialist advice and treatment quickly.
I realise only too well that many women are still struggling to receive the treatment and care they need. The current waiting times after a referral to a Menopause Specialist Clinic on the NHS are between 16 months and 2 years. I find this unacceptable, as some women develop intrusive or suicidal thoughts, so felt the need to act.
Developing a Menopause Centre of care will also enable more group meetings to take place, and it would accommodate visits from other therapists providing a fully holistic approach to menopause care.
