President’s Message
Thank you very much everyone, and I’m very honoured and grateful to have this opportunity to be President in the 60th year of SI Poole.
These are difficult times for the UK, with economic problems and unemployment rising. Those who are working are more concerned with keeping their jobs than with joining service organisations, and those who aren’t in paid employment don’t know how they ever found time to work, so it isn’t easy to find people who are willing to commit a few hours each month to helping others. It seems that there are more charities and good causes than ever, all tugging at our heart-strings and purse-strings, and it’s essential to keep a clear head and vision of what we want to achieve. I think that’s a major strength of Soroptimism – it gives us a framework and guidance within which we can define our own objectives and work towards them, and a very supportive environment for our projects.
The coming year is going to be varied and interesting. As well as some fund-raising events, we have the 60th Anniversary weekend in October to look forward to, including the event to publicise the Source Directory. Speakers will include Sue Warr of the Dorset Older People’s Partnership, and DCI Sara Glen. Both of those talks will relate to the Advocacy and Guardianship project which I worked on last year, and it’s very satisfying to take it forward in this way.
The show which Aidan’s Angels, including Janice’s daughter Nikki, is putting on for us, is sure to be hugely enjoyable, and I know that we also enjoy serving teas at Wimborne St Giles, despite it being hard work.
There will be a Fashion Show to promote the Purple Teardrop Campaign. The last such show which we did with FabFrocks was great fun and very successful, and I’m sure this one will be just as good.
Our other Club ‘spin-off’, the Housing Association, is still going strong, and great work is done there by several of our members, year by year.
Of course, there is a little bit of déjà vu at play here, because it’s 10 years since I did this before. I’m glad to still be around and in SI Poole, and I know that the Club has achieved an amazing amount over the past 10 years.
We share our Diamond Jubilee with Her Majesty the Queen, and I think we’ve aged just as well as she has! Our celebrations may not be on quite the same scale, but I hope we will all have an enjoyable and rewarding year, and look forward to working with you all.
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 You can check us out on facebook and twitter too!
President – Helen Kanolik
May 2012