His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Dorset invited the secretary of our club along with a member of what was SI Poole, Purbeck and District to meet with the Queen during a royal visit to Blandford Forum on July 16th. Michael Dooley LVO organised the event to showcase successful charities in Dorset that contribute to his ‘Creating Health and Harmony in the Community’ initiative. He has been struck by the important work local Soroptimist clubs do around violence against women and girls, having attended our Art Exhibition for the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence as well as providing a preface for the SIPPD Fresh Thoughts booklet. With approximately 3.8 million people experiencing domestic abuse each year in the UK, any initiative that reduces prevalence and impact can only help to build harmony.
The visit was very successful; the Queen expressed interest in our work and took away a pack of information that included a resume of the SIB projects in VAWG over the years as well as the Fresh Thoughts booklet. Her sister, who was also in attendance, similarly expressed interest and took away literature as well. An excellent result.
If you are interested in this and would like to come along to a Soroptimist International Bournemouth meeting to find out more, please email us at sigbibournemouth@hotmail.co.uk.