Thank you for taking time to visit our site. \u00a0Your contact is especially welcome, as very soon we will be celebrating our 60th birthday!<\/p>\n
We’re a small group of like-minded women at SI Epsom who believe that through practical means and by raising awareness of issues that effect women and their families around the world, we can make a difference. \u00a0We cover a large area and although we are based in the Borough of Epsom and Ewell, the London Borough of Sutton and\u00a0Mole Valley are in our ‘patch’.<\/p>\n
We endeavour to make our meetings ‘user friendly’ and keep business to a minimum. \u00a0We enjoy presentations by speakers from various local and international organisations and talks by specialists in a wide range of occupations. \u00a0But we go back to the statement made at a recent SIGBI conference, “Programme Action (the ‘doing’ part of our programme<\/em>) is not just an item on the agenda, it IS the agenda!”.<\/p>\n Our continued financial support for \u2018our Grace\u2019 in Malawi is something of which we are justifiably proud.\u00a0Sponsoring this youngster through secondary education is what we Soroptimists believe in and we know that every scrap of learning that she can benefit from, will give her a better chance in the future. \u00a0We will continue to help the work of African<\/em> Vision Malawi<\/em> through fundraising activities, as well as East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services (ESDAS), True Honour<\/em> and My Time for Young Carers<\/em>. \u00a0Members have been really generous with their support for Stripey Stork<\/em>, a local charity that collects ‘pre-loved’ babies’ and childrens’ wear, toys and equipment for families in need.<\/p>\n We have always cared about carers.\u00a0 In 1998 we set up Mid-Surrey Young Carers<\/em>, because young people with caring responsibilities were largely ignored.\u00a0 In 2012,\u00a0when that initiative was taken\u00a0over by another charity, members rallied around to replace the regular club\u00a0and holiday activities that had been lost.\u00a0 ‘My Time for Young Carers’<\/em> was born – a practical example of how we can make a difference. \u00a0In 2013, My Time<\/em> achieved\u00a0charitable status and are working closely with other statutory and voluntary sector organisations that support young people. \u00a0The project has grown! \u00a0In 2012, 8 young carers attended the first meeting in Ewell, with 10 volunteer drivers and helpers. \u00a0The charity now runs 11 sessions per month in 5 locations. \u00a0Approximately 100 young people are members and over 40 volunteers help deliver activities and provide transport. \u00a0At first, the project worked with children in the 8 to 12 age range in Ewell and Dorking, but as they grew older, so did the\u00a0age limit. \u00a0Now secondary school carers are catered for in My Time+ groups in Ewell, Dorking and Fetcham. \u00a0A more recent devlopment is the launch of a weekly after-school club at Trinity School, Leatherhead.<\/p>\n With the last twelve months bringing a greater awareness of equality and the need to end violence against women and girls, members have been pro-active in their support for ESDAS<\/em> and True Honour<\/em>. \u00a0We are in the middle of a campaign that targets local companies, asking that they make available to their staff contact details for\u00a0ESDAS<\/em> and leaflets that make clear the indicators of an abusive relationship. \u00a0The charity True\u00a0<\/em><\/span>Honour<\/em> strives to expunge violence within various clutures – Female Genital Mutilation, ‘Honour Killings’, Forced Marriage and Modern-day Slavery. \u00a0We fund-raise for the organisation and aim to bring about a greater understanding of the these\u00a0crimes within the general public and especially amongst politicians and lawmakers.<\/span><\/p>\n All Soroptimist clubs have Friendship Links around the world. \u00a0We value the opportunity to engage with them. \u00a0Our V<\/strong>olunteering I<\/strong>n P<\/strong>retoria <\/em>project links us with SI Pretoria Tshwane and we work together to deliver a volunteering project. VIP offers an opportunity to two young women to spend six months as interns in that area, working in schools and a support centre for vunerable girls and women. \u00a0We have also helped at an event in London that raised funds for an orphanage supported by SI Lviv. \u00a0Epsom members attended a dinner in aid of the children’s home and were able to explain our connection with Lviv and what Soroptimism is all about. Funds raised have been transferred to our friends in the Ukraine to support their work with the orphanage.<\/p>\n If you wish, you can view our programme on this site and if you are tempted to visit, we promise that you will be made very welcome. \u00a0See you soon, we hope.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thank you for taking time to visit our site. \u00a0Your contact is especially welcome, as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n