Poole Soroptimists were out in force on Poole Quay on Dream Machine Evening on 27 May to collect for their Poole Quay Defibrillator Machine Appeal. The Quay was buzzing with a marvellous array of motorcycles and bikers and visitors were generous in their response to our appeal. Our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the evening’s total of £320. Download our information flyer here.

President Lynn, Past President Carol and Vice President Liz were proud to represent Poole Soroptimists at the 2014 Poole Civic Parade and Church Service on 18 May. This colourful event celebrated the start of the mayoral year for Councillor Peter Adams, the 766th Mayor Poole. President Lynn and the members of Soroptimist International Poole wish the Mayor and Mayoress a successful and happy year.

Poole Soroptimists’ hard work fund-raising throughout 2013 culminated in the presentation of donations to two local charities. Club members were delighted to give £1000 to Bournemouth-based charity, Chesthelp, which provides much needed support to local residents suffering from TB. A further donation of £250 was given to Poole Christmas Parcels Fund which provides a gift of food items to local elderly and vulnerable residents at Christmas-time.

In April, we did three environmental projects. One was in remembrance of WWI where we sowed poppy seeds in the garden of our housing association property, another involved us digging holes and planting native trees in Poole Park to form a native hedgerow, and a third assisted the Dorset Wildlife Trust beach clean at Worbarrow Bay.  

President Lynn and Liz Rodgers, together with Chris Rodgers and Sandra Bennett Walked 4 Water from Shell Bay to Swanage on Sunday 11 May. The walk took them along stunning Studland Beach to Studland Village and then up and over Ballard Down into Swanage. The proceeds from this 6 mile sponsored walk all go to Dorset WaterAid, the local group that fund-raises in support of WaterAid.

SI Poole’s wonderful Pauline Monk has achieved FINALIST in all three categories for which she was nominated in the Venus Business Awards – Lifetime Achievement, Inspirational Woman and Influential Woman. And pictured with Pauline is Alexandra Wiggins, former Poole Soroptimist, also through to the Influential Woman finals. Many congratulations to both Pauline and Alexandra.

President Lynn, Helen Kanolik, Pauline Monk, Liz Rodgers and Sheila Wilson represented SI Poole at the 2014 Awards Evening following the very successful Swimarathon event held earlier in the year. The Mayor of Poole, Councillor Philip Eades, presented the awards to the teams who achieved most laps and raised most sponsorship as well as awards to individuals and companies for their outstanding contribution to the event. He went on to praise the many hundreds of volunteers who underpin the very fabric of Poole and expressed his appreciation of the work done by service organisations such as Lions, Rotary and Soroptimist International. Soroptimist Pauline Monk gave the vote of thanks on behalf of the Purple Teardrop Campaign, one of the charities nominated to receive a donation as a result of the 2014 Swimarathon. Pauline explained the huge difference that the Purple Teardrop Campaign’s support makes to

Poole Soroptimist members and friends swam in aid of local charities as part of the 2014 Poole Lions Swimarathon. The event took place over the weekend of 8th and 9th March and hundreds of enthusiastic swimmers young and old took part. The Purple Teardrop Campaign, as one of the beneficiary charities, also entered a team. Poole Soroptimists helped organise and run the event which is aiming to raise over £30,000.

On Monday 10 March, Soroptimist International Poole hosted a very successful Employability Skills round table debate. As well as the SI Poole team, 20 guests participated, including local business owners, educators, council strategists, social services representatives and Rotarians. The evening kicked off with two excellent speakers on apprenticeships, Tony Moss from Bournemouth & Poole College and Liz Long from the National Trust, and the evening’s outcomes included 2 potential joint projects with local groups and a number of new member enquiries.

Soroptimists of Poole and the Purple Teardrop Campaign have chosen International Women’s Day on 8th March to launch their latest initiative to raise awareness of human trafficking in Poole. With the full support of aBorough of Poole and maintenance contractors Churchill Contract Services, anti-trafficking posters are being placed in all the borough’s public toilets – providing information on the signs of trafficking, and a telephone number to ring to report suspicions.  Churchill’s representative says “Churchill is proud to partner with our client, Borough of Poole, in an initiative to support the Purple Teardrop Campaign” with for further comment on http://www.churchillservices.com/news.aspx?id=125 A spokesperson for the Purple Teardrop Campaign and one of the instigators of the Posters into Toilets campaign says “It was Soroptimist Clubs in the North of England who first came up with the idea of displaying information in public toilets to both raise awareness of