Nine members of SI Poole enjoyed a superb visit of the Houses of Parliament, thanks to Annette Brooke MP. Mrs Brooke included her personal insights in our tour which took in the Terrace and the Undercroft Chapel as well as the Commons and Lords. A Q&A session rounded off our visit, all on the day the Modern Slavery Bill Report was discussed in the Lords.

The members of SI Poole were very pleased to have an update on the work of Out of Afrika, a Kenya-based charity long-supported by them. Desmond and Kerry joined Poole Soroptimists at their January meeting and took members through the work of the charity over the past two years. Out of Afrika’s main aim is to reduce poverty and they achieve this through: Sponsoring children through their education Running a vocational skills college They have an impressive 90% employment success rate with students working across a wide range of industries both in Kenya and further afield. Locally, the college’s fire training programme has been a huge success and has been called upon to put out fires in the vicinity whilst agricultural and health projects have also enjoyed acclaim. Sourcing equipment is ongoing and Out of Afrika is currently in need of: Unwanted laptops Unwanted catering

Santa rode in his colourful Christmas Train around the streets in Creekmoor on 19th December. Delighted children came out to see him and generous residents donated over £400 when Poole Soroptimists did a door-to-door collection for local charities.  

Poole Soroptimists celebrated Christmas in style over a delicious American supper. After a busy year, it was good to chat and eat. Food, friendship and fun are things SI Poole members excel at! Merry Christmas everyone.

November saw two great fund raisers for local charities. On 20th November, Soroptimists and friends were amongst the audience who enjoyed Broadstone Players’ ‘Educating Rita’ at Broadstone Memorial Hall. The performance was excellent and the evening’s proceeds, £145, are for the Montacute School’s Monty’s Appeal, supported by Soroptimist International Poole. And on the following evening, over 80 guests gathered in St Ambrose Church Hall in Westbourne for a fund-raising quiz. Quiz master Peter Thomas had formulated some challenging questions for the quiz teams and he also entertained guests with his magic. The evening, including a raffle with star prize from Brittany Ferries, raised a brilliant £578 for Gully’s Place at Poole Hospital.

President Lynn, just returned from the SI Great Britain and Ireland conference in Harrogate, took members and guests through an action-packed evening. She was delighted to welcome Ray Kressinger from Poole Lions. Ray organises the annual Poole Lions Swimarathon when hundreds of swimmers swim thousands of lengths at the Dolphin Pool in the town centre in order to raise funds for local charities. Poole Soroptimists have supported the Swimarathon for the past five years, providing administrative help, working at the Swimarathon on the day and of course entering a swimming team. Ray is pictured here presenting the Poole Lions Swimarathon donation of £2000 to President Lynn Butterworth and Vice President Liz Rodgers. Our November meeting speaker was Lindsay Shepherd who gave a fascinating insight into hypnotherapy and its use in modern medicine and the evening rounded off in celebration as the club welcomed its newest

President Lynn and Poole Soroptimists welcomed guests to Poole’s Hotel du Vin venue to celebrate the club’s 62 years of local, national and international work to help transform the lives of women and girls. The evening’s highlights included inducting three new members into the Poole team which is continuing to prove very attractive to Poole business women wishing to contribute to social projects and network with like-minded women. To close the evening, two inspirational ladies from BCHA spoke about their work supporting human trafficking victims and Poole Soroptimist Juanita Byrne-Quinn presented her donation to BCHA’s Miles for Hope Appeal, having water skied 12 miles and raised over £1600. A tribute to the world’s human trafficking victims in Anti Slavery Week. ‘It was fantastic to bring together some of Poole’s key citizens, sister Soroptimists and family and friends for an informal and informed evening of celebration,

SI Poole’s newest members have quickly risen to the challenge of developing and nurturing the club. Amber Haines has taken up the role of welfare officer, keeping an eye on the well being of our members, and Lauren Clayton has joined Pauline Monk and Lynn Butterworth in working on SI Poole’s business partnership programme to forge closer, meaningful ties with businesses in Poole. Congratulations, thanks and good luck to both Amber and Lauren.

Ten Poole Soroptimists joined Southern Region colleagues at the region’s AGM in the beautiful setting of Merley House near Wimborne on Saturday 20 September. The busy day comprised not only the AGM and council meeting but two terrific speakers – Anne Millman from the RNLI and member of Poole Lifeboat Crew and Sue Stone who is author of ‘Live Life, Love Life’ and a positive thinking coach. Pictured here are our club members who attended and our newest member Lauren Clayton who modelled RNLI crew kit.

Poole Soroptimists welcomed representatives from Gullys Place at their September meeting. Gullys Place is a local charity that provides palliative care for children and provides family support within Poole Hospital. As such, the charity is unique within the UK. Gullys Place is one of the charities SI Poole is supporting this year and is at at time when the charity is extending into other service areas and further into Dorset. The work of Gullys Place is remarkable and their volunteer team incredibly dedicated.