Presenting Projects and Trophies

SI South Lancashire’s autumn regional meetings featured a selection of presentations – Soroptimist projects and Soroptimist trophies.

Margaret Molyneux (Regional Programme Action Officer) announced the winner of the Programme Action Award – SI Ashton under Lyne. The club has a long-term project, in partnership with Manchester Credit Union, to educate young people in monetary issues. (Details in September 2014 ‘Leader’.) Norma Parry was delighted to accept the trophy on behalf of her club.

Four clubs gave presentations about current projects. SI Bolton has a friendship link with the club in Kathmandu. Margaret Baker outlined her club’s ongoing support of five disadvantaged girls through their schooling: this is a five-year commitment. The Nepalese Soroptimists, who themselves support the school, monitor progress to ensure best use of Bolton’s money. Funds for solar lamps (to enable the girls to study in the evening) and home-help (to relieve them of domestic chores that constrain study time) may follow.

Beryl Dowling (SI Bury) talked through her club’s health day, on cancer awareness. In partnership with NHS staff, members took over an empty shop in the town centre on a busy Saturday. The aim: to promote the early detection of cancer by providing an informal drop-in service. The Soroptimists took on ‘meet-and-greet’ roles; the health professionals answered the public’s questions or signposted to furtherinformation. Over 50 visitors dropped in.

SI Liverpool, represented by Eileen McCue and Dorothy Zack-Williams, has an ongoing club project to raise awareness about female genital mutilation (FGM). Publicity in the community is reaching schools, the police and healthcare professionals. There is hope of building more confidence in the community to resist FGM being carried out on young girls, and to educate parents on the legal position as regards taking girls abroad for FGM.

The final presentation was from Sue Doyle, Pat Child and Pauline Makin (SI Wigan) on their whole-club support for The BIG Project (Birthing in the Gambia). This included working with a local school’s key skills course for 15/16 year-olds. The students planned small businesses, raised capital, acquired goods, sold them and balanced the books. At an assembly Pauline spoke about the Gambia, the status of women there, and the impact of the money raised. Wigan Soroptimists also raised funds through their own social events. The final club total was over £1,600. 

At the Council meeting, Cherry Cadwalader of SI Cardiff (left) gave a presentation about the Diamond Education Grant charity. This grant-awarding body, long-established in our Soroptimist Federation, assists women to update or acquire employment skills. Recent grants have supported sign language interpreting, helicopter engineering and pharmaceutical science. Cherry urged clubs to add this SIGBI charity to their end-of-year disbursement lists.

Finally, Regional President Victoria Smerdon was delighted to announce the result of her Challenge for the Rose Bowl trophy. The winning club was SI Widnes for the many and varied ways in which they had publicised Soroptimism in the district.