Welcome to SI Crieff
Who We Are
Soroptimist International of Crieff held its first meeting in March 1958 when a formal Charter Dinner was held in what was then the George Hotel in Commissioner Street. Soroptimists from the Perth and Dundee clubs attended – these clubs are Crieff’s mother and grandmother clubs respectively, having been formed earlier and been instrumental in the establishment of Crieff.
On that day, S.I. of Crieff became one small, but significant, part in what is now a worldwide organisation with a membership of over 90,000 women.
The name ‘Soroptimist’ comes from the Latin words soror meaning sister and optima meaning best, which loosely translates as ‘best of sisters’ or ‘best of women’. It was founded in 1921 (by a man!) in Oakland, California and is now the world’s largest classified service organisation for women, who work through service projects to advance human rights and the status of women and girls.
Over the past 60 years the Crieff club has actively participated in many local, national and international projects, raising both awareness of issues such as cluster bombs, human trafficking, violence against women, and funds to help in the fight against poverty and deprivation, especially that suffered by women.
What We Do
Meetings are held twice monthly (on the first and third Thursday of each month) in the Strathearn Community Campus, Crieff at 7.00pm from September through to June with guest speakers at around half of these. It has been the custom of the club for the current President, who normally holds office for one year, to choose a particular charity for which various fundraising activities will be arranged. Nationally, a huge number of charities have benefitted from the club’s efforts – the Anthony Nolan Trust, the Woodland Trust, Guide Dogs and Talking Books for the Blind, the Children’s Hospice in Kinross, Erskine Homes, and internationally, Hope and Homes for Children, Sightsavers, and Landmine victims.
Members enjoy a number of purely social outing during the year and this has ranged from a Highland safari to an evening on a canal boat, from a visit to Pitlochry Theatre and a guided walk through the Explorers’ Garden, a night at Perth Theatre pantomime, a visit to the spectacular Enchanted Forest at Loch Faskally and a guided tour of the remarkable trees in Perthshire.
SI Crieff is part of Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI). The Clubs in the United Kingdom are grouped into regions, of which Scotland has two: Scotland North and Scotland South. Scotland North has 6 Clubs – Aberdeen, Crieff, Dundee, Easter Ross, Inverness & District and Perth..
Our federation, SIGBI, has clubs in the Caribbean, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Mauritius and the Seychelles.
SI Crieff has Friendship Links with four Clubs:
- SI Rehovet in Israel – started because one of their members is from Scotland.
- SI Skipton in Craven in Yorkshire.
- SI Ramsbottom in South Lancashire.
- SI Rhyl and District in Wales.
The photograph show our members enjoying what they do best having fun and raising money for good causes.
Anyone interested in learning more about Soroptimism and the Crieff club should contact our membership team leader, Heather Robertson on 07796 031510.
