Welcome to SI Downpatrick and District.
My name is Melanie Douglas and I am President of the club. Let me introduce you to our executive.
- Melanie Douglas – President
- Andrea Reid – President Elect
- Ann Kerrin – Secretary
- Theresa Leavy – Treasurer
- Catherine Milhench – PAC Officer
- Patricia Kean – Membership
If you ask our members for a few words to describe our club you will definitely hear first and foremost “friendship” as we pride ourselves on being a group of friends with a caring and positive ethos. We welcome visitors and prospective members with warmth and sincerity. Another word you will hear is “fun”. We believe that the best volunteers are the happiest ones so we strive to strike a keen balance between our work and our fun activities. Our members would say that we are “effective”. We work hard to raise our profile in local community and in local press, we work hard to raise awareness of our organisation and of the issues facing women and girls and finally we work hard to help those who are in need whether that be through signposting, fundraising or service.
We have had a very proactive and fun few years with a wide range of activities. Here are some of our highlights and photos…
- Visit to Aras an Uachtaran for a Garden Party in recognition of our services to Peace and Reconciliation.
- An Art Therapy workshop with local MH Charity LCCL.
- Organisation of a Jingle Charity Ball to raise money for local charities.
- Social Night on the Bar Bike in Belfast.
- Attendance at conferences – Killarney and Liverpool
- Working in partnership with local Mental Health charities ALPS and PIPS to raise awareness and fundraise for their work.
- Hosted Regional Public Speaking Final, 2009.
We meet once per month for meetings and invited speakers but we do lots of other activities during the month. All members understand that they give as much or as little time as they want and there’s no pressure from anyone – its not who we are (although we love to see each other). If you are interested in our club and want to find out more please contact me via email; douglasmelanie@hotmail.com
We look forward to seeing you
Melanie Douglas
CLUB ARCHIVE
Downpatrick & District Soroptimists meet on the third Tuesday of each month, at 7.30 p.m in the Denvir Hotel, during the year with a summer recess. Each member works “on the ground” in her own club to accomplish local and global goals many of them related to human rights. Soroptimists work in partnership with governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organisations and through the media to raise awareness and to advocate for human rights.
