About our Club

March 2012 – Club Members celebrate Audrey’s 90th Birthday on International Women’s Day

Soroptimist International of Norwich was chartered on 10th October 1952. We have 31 members and meet twice a month at the Alec Bussey Scout Centre , Rowington Road , Norwich. The first Monday in the month is a speaker meeting starting at 7pm and on the third Monday we hold our business meeting.

Recent Projects supporting women and girls :

Overseas:

Khomas Trust in Namibia (which was set up by one of our former members), the Wulugu Project in Northern Ghana, and Water Aid in Ethiopia. We have been supporting Project SIerra, Soroptimist International’s 4 year fundraising campaign working with Hope and Homes for Children in Sierra Leone. Two years ago we have raised money for equipment and our past president, as an audiologist, helped with the training of deaf girls in Suryapur West Bengal.

At Home:

McMillan Cancer Care, “We care 2000″, Salvation Army, St Martin’s Housing Trust, Magdalen Group, Rethink, East Anglia Air Ambulance, Priscilla Bacon Lodge, ThaliaTheatre Co., EACH (East Anglia Children’s Hospices.), Keeping Abreast , Breast Cancer reconstruction Support Group, Leeway Women’s Refuge , the Hamlet Centre Trust and the Rosemary Group.

We also have had representation on the Norwich City Council’s Voices Against Violence Forum and take an active role in the local Primary Health Trusts with latterly several hard working members of LINk,  the Norwich Third Sector Forum( for voluntary organisations), CAB, WEA,  PPIRes  and ageuk.

Additionally we work with a local primary school e.g.. a Bee project raised pupils’ awareness, we offer prizes for attendance and help collect litter on a local walk /cycle pathway. We collect toiletries for a local women’s refuge and had a trolley dash for the Norwich Night shelter at Christmas.

2012/2013

We will be fundraising for the Rosemary Group in Norwich which supports women with secondary cancer and for Young Carers in Norwich

Social

We enjoy a variety of social events (many of them involve food), often meeting at member’s homes. In addition there are walks , a plant sale, fashion show and theatre trips -often combining fundraising with social activities.

Friendship Links:

Some of our members joined SI Noordoostpolder, Netherlands, in June 2008 to help celebrate their 40th Charter Year . Six Dutch members visited Norwich in 2010 and toured the city , walked round Sheringham Park and had a visit to BBC Radio Norfolk and ate heartily !.

SI Hana-Karkur, Israel, from which a member visited our club a few years ago.We keep in touch with regular letters .

SI Vandalia, Illinois, USA. One of our members visited and was most graciously entertained. They email us their news and it is good to hear about different approaches to work in the community.

SI Glasgow City was newly formed in 2010 merging two Glasgow clubs and members keep in touch and exchange visits.

SI Ilkley, many long lasting friendships have been made between members of both clubs.

SI Cuxhaven, Germany. This is our newest friendship link formalised only in 2008. 13 of us had a very busy and enjoyable visit in May 2009 to help celebrate their 20th Anniversary. Six of them in turn visited Norwich and North Norfolk in 2011.