Poole Soroptimists are supporting SI Stafford which is conducting a petition to highlight five areas of concern in relation to women and girls, including Modern Day Slavery and the Sex Trade. The petition reads: ‘I call on Government to ensure that the perpetrators of Violence Against Women are brought to Justice’ The aim is: To keep ‘Violence Against Women’ high on the Government’s agenda; to ensure that the guidelines, statutory regulations, and policies accompanying legislation to protect women and girls are developed and robustly applied, and to regularly assess the effectiveness of the guidance by monitoring and reporting on referrals and outcomes. Here are the relevant documents: – The petition – A suggested lobbying letter to MPs – A summary statement Please feel free to download. Please return signed forms to SI Stafford by 1st March 2014. SI Stafford will be presenting the petition to 10 Downing Street on 6th

Pauline Monk, SI Poole has been nominated for the Dorset Venus Awards, category: Lifetime Achievement Award. Pauline’s nomination is for her tireless work helping the causes of women and girls and most recently for all the excellent work she has implemented in the fight against Human Trafficking. If you too feel she deserves this award, and she does, please feel free to offer your support by also nominating her for this award and category. via http://vala.venusawards.co.uk thank you.

Our swimmers are getting ready for their relay on Sunday 9th March to raise funds for local causes. Poole Lions Swimarathon raises money for charities in and around Poole and this year the Lions are asking local residents to dig deep and help raise £30,000 for six causes including Forest Holme, Christmas Parcels and the Purple Teardrop Campaign. To sponsor our enthusiastic swimmers, just email enquiries@sipoole.org.uk with your full name, address, phone number and your sponsorship amount. Please also let us know if you can gift aid.

For Poole Soroptimists, Christmas was a particularly busy time. Members helped street collect nearly £900 for Poole Christmas Parcels and on 16 December braved the wet n windy weather to accompany the Poole Rotary Christmas train, collecting nearly £350. Our Christmas party secret Santa auction raised £120 whilst the party itself was great fun. On the social front, members enjoyed the BSO performance of The Messiah and Poole Rotary’s Christmas Concert at St James Church, again raising money for the Christmas Parcels fund in Poole.