We are not a social club – but we are sociable. Those who wish join up with like-minded Soroptimists and, from time-to-time, these groups work to the benefit of our charities.
Practical Group. A group of club members employ their not inconsiderable handicraft skills to make goods, both useful and decorative, to be sold in aid of charity. Sales of handmade cards and other home craft items are a regular feature of our fundraising stalls. Meetings are informal and held when the need arises.
We also make washable sanitary products and cotton dresses as part of our support for the Kori Project, a charity working in rural Sierra Leone. Those who are able to knit make cardigans, jumpers, hats and blankets which are given out when mothers bring their babies for vaccinations thus helping in the uptake. One of our members has been lucky enough to visit the project and see first hand the difference we are making.
Book Club. This meets monthly and provides an ideal format for discussing all things literary. Entirely social it is an opportunity to chat to fellow Soroptimists as friends and forget the SI Constitution and all that sails with it. We benefit from an excellent local library service that provides up to 15 copies of the same book free of charge. Recognising the value of this we therefore collect money each month to provide books for those less fortunate than ourselves. If we enjoy a book we pay a pound into the kitty; if we don’t then it is £2.00; and those that do not get round to read the book at all put £3.00 in the pot. By this rather arbitrary system we collect money’s send it to Book Aid International.