President’s Message
A warm welcome to the web pages of Soroptimist International (SI) Poole. Chartered in 1952, our Club has been active in the community of Poole for the last 57 years. It has a wide catchment area and members come from as far afield as Dorchester and Wimborne as well as from Poole itself.
The focus for our activities this year is caring for a diverse community reflecting the aims of Soroptimism, the diverse projects that we are involved in and the charities that we are raising funds for.
My chosen charities are MOSAIC and the Arthritis Research Campaign. MOSAIC is a local charity which provides bereavement support for children and young people, and which works with the whole family to help them come to terms with their loss. The Arthritis Research Campaign is a national charity which funds projects to find new answers to both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. With two new knees and one new hip, I have a vested interest in helping to find new treatments that will prevent the need for such major surgery.
We will continue to raise awareness of the plight of victims of human trafficking through our Purple Teardrop Campaign, selling teardrop pin-badges and working in partnership with other organisations with complementary objectives. Our Purple Teardrop Campaign patron, Louis de Bernieres, helps us to raise the profile of our project and achieve our objectives.
We have started a new project to support one of our friendship links, SI Kandy in Sri Lanka, who provides provide school lunches for 75 children each day to help them through their studies. Our club will also continue to raise funds for Project SIerra, keeping the issues of women and children in Sierra Leone in the public domain.
Fund-raising this year will be a challenge given the current financial climate but our social committee has planned a busy and exciting calendar of events that will allow us to have fun and also raise much needed money. All our welcome to our afternoon teas at Wimborne St Giles on Sunday, 23 August.
To find out more about Soroptimist International Poole, keep reading and if you are interested in becoming a member or would like to support one or more of our events, please contact us as enquiries@sipoole.org.uk
President Janice Gosby
SI Poole, April 2009
Updated June 2009