Glasgow City Club
.
Soroptimist International of Glasgow City
Our Club and its place in Soroptimism
Our club was chartered on 5th December 2010, the result of a merger between two existing clubs – Glasgow Central and Glasgow West.
Since that time members have joined us from the former SI Glasgow South.
SI Glasgow City meet on the first and third Wednesday each month with breaks in December, July and August. We have a mix of virtual and in person meetings.
Our Website is www.sigbi.org/Glasgow-city
Our current (2023/24) Executive Officers are:
President vacant
President Elect vacant
Vice President vacant
Immediate Past President Beth Diamond and Ruth Liggat
Secretary Vanessa Herder/Liz Jamieson/Tahitia McCabe
Treasurer Bernadette Campbell
Our current (2023/24) Conveners are:
Programme Action Convener Caroline Norwood
Membership Convener Madeline Campbell-Jewett
Social & Fundraising Convener Moira Ord
Syllabus Fiona Murphy
IT and Website Tahitia McCabe
Minute Secretaries Club – May McCallum and Executive – rota
SI Scotland South Region delegates – Liz Jamieson and Fiona Murphy
Finance
Our main source of income is our subscriptions. Each member pays £115 in April. Members who join in the middle of the year pay a pro rata amount of £50. Some of this goes to SIGBI, some to SSR and the rest to our own club. We make a small income from our book and talent table, from the sale of home made goods such as jam, home grown vegetables etc. This goes into our charity account.
Friendship Links
Belonging to an international organisation brings many opportunities to make friends with Soroptimists around the globe. Friendship Links share Soroptimist work, e.g. a joint project in their communities and in times of disaster, come together (e.g. the Philippines). We come together on projects with the 3 E’s: Educate, Empower & Enable. In this way Friendship Links are woven into Programme Action. SI Glasgow City has ladies who correspond with:
- SI Newcastle on Tyne and SI Norwich – England
- SI Bangor – Nothern Ireland
- SI Antwerpen – Belgium
- SI Calgary – Canada
- SI Mornington & SI Perth – Australia
Our Federation’s Friendship Links officer is Nisha Gosh, a member of SI Pune Metro in India. Her current aim is to increase partnership in projects. SI Glasgow City has taken the decision to nominate SI Newcastle and SI Antwerp to be ‘project partners’ as and when opportunities arise.
Our Purpose
Throughout Soroptimist International the following statements describe our purpose:
Our Vision…
That women and girls will achieve their individual and collective potential, realise aspirations and have an equal voice in creating strong, peaceful communities worldwide.
Our Mission…
Soroptimists transform the lives and status of women and girls through education, empowerment and enabling opportunities.
Our Principles…
- The advancement of the status of women;
- High ethical standards;
- Human rights for all;
- Equality, development and peace; and
- The advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace.
Our Region – Scotland South
Scotland South Region (SSR) is one of the regions within Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI), in turn one of the four Federations.
Scotland South Region consists of 10 clubs:
Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow City, Girvan and District, Hamilton, Kirkcaldy, Kirkintilloch & District, Paisley, West Lothian
SSR’s Vision and Mission are:
SSR will be a collective voice for generating action to enhance the lives of women and girls:
- Raising the profile of the Region
- Partnership with other organisations on major issues affecting women and girls
- Educate, empower and enable membership to achieve meaningful change in the lives of women and girls locally and globally
There are four meetings in the Regional President’s year, to which all members from the 10 clubs in the region are invited. Attending region meetings allows members to engage with and learn of the wider activities of other clubs, underpinned by information gained through Programme Action and membership discussions. Also, often clubs hold ‘Open Evenings’ and invite other clubs along when they feel that their speaker and their subject worth sharing.
The region from time to time will undertake region wide activities that all members from every club is invited to attend, assist with. One recent event was done with Scotland North Region (SNR), where, on the opening day of the Commonwealth Games, several members ‘manned’ two of the four UNICEF boxes in Glasgow to highlight modern day slavery.
Number 63 – Soroptimist’s bed and breakfast hotel in London open to all
Number 63 was built between 1865 and 1870 and for most of its first seven decades of existence, it was a private address.In 1948, it became the the Soroptimist ‘home’ in central London. Now it is open to all and offers 16 bedrooms and a state of the art meeting room. The hotel is the proud holder of a ‘gold three star’ guest accommodation rating and was shortlisted for Friendliest B&B in London in 2016. It is a lovely Victorian building with beautiful views over Kensington Gardens. To learn more and to book a room, visit the Number 63 website.
What is Soroptimist International?
Founded in 1921, Soroptimist International is a global volunteer movement working together to transform the lives of women and girls. It is the largest classified service organisation for women. It has General Consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and special relations with United Nations agencies and the World Health Organisation.
Our network of around 72,000 club members in 121 countries and territories works at a local, national and international level to educate, empower and enable opportunities for women and girls. There are over 3000 Soroptimist International clubs in 121 countries and territories.
Soroptimists come from a wide diversity of cultures and circumstances, but are united by a passion for improving the lives of women and girls in their community and beyond.
In 2016-17, Soroptimists supported, carried out or financed 1,939 projects, raising £655,000 and benefiting 139,000 women and girls.
SI Glasgow City is proud that a previous Soroptimist International President Ann Garvie is a member of our club.
Federations
Each Soroptimist International club belongs to one of four federations:
- Soroptimist International of the Americas
- Soroptimist International of Europe
- Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland
- Soroptimist International South West Pacific.
Our federation, Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI), also includes clubs from the Caribbean, Malta, Asia, Africa and India. These areas tend to be less well developed, but the clubs in them are very active within the organisation. Each year SIGBI holds a conference in late October/early November in varying conference venues which are usually held around the United Kingdom (https://sigbi.org/conferences/), while an International Convention takes place every four years. The 23rd annual International Convention will take place on a cruise to Alaska, USA in 2026.