Joint Presidents – Diane and Kay

 

It is with great honour and pleasure that we have become joint presidents of SI St Austell & District for 2024/25.

Being part of the wide world of Soroptimist International, SIGBI, our region of South West and Channel Islands, and following on from our own Club’s 46 years of achievements, we have such a great foundation from which to start our year of further helping to improve the lives of women and girls.

Our Club membership is strong with each and every one of our members bringing their unique personality, knowledge, skills and experience which enables us to successfully achieve our Vision and Mission.

We are delighted to announce our theme for the year … Soroptimist Sisters are different flowers from the same garden  … working together ..) to improve the lives of women and girls. An analogy between Flowers and Soroptimist Sisters.

Flowers of course come from different seeds, they grow in different conditions, different temperatures, some are easy to grow, some more difficult (!) and they all look different and have different names but, when put together, they make a wonderful impact and bring joy to those who receive them.

Soroptimists also come from different backgrounds, different ages, we look different, different personalities, different skills and characters, yet when put together in a room, we are remarkable and we make an impact locally, nationally and internationally as we work to make our projects ‘flourish’.

So maybe you can see why we thought this theme would be appropriate for our year…Diane and Kay hope to keep the Soroptimist garden well-tended, to nurture the growth of our newer seedlings as well as care for our more ‘established’ plants. We aim to keep all things ‘rosy’ in our Soroptimist garden … (and to keep an eye out for any potential weeds!) xx

We have put together what we hope to be a varied and interesting programme for the year.

Over the course of the year we will fundraising for:

• The Women’s Centre Cornwall is based in Bodmin – The Centre offers support to women affected by stalking, harassment, female genital mutilation/cutting, forced marriage, so-called ‘honour-based’ abuse and exploitation.  Their services are focused on supporting women to recognise their strength. The Centre says that there are a lot of women who feel isolated and unheard because of the inequality and discrimination in of our society.  They take action to make sure that women can access their services and that they feel included, celebrated and valued.  The website gives the helpline number and hours. The woman who answers your call will listen to you, believe you and accept you just as you are. The caller will be told, ‘If we can’t support you in the way you need, we will help find someone who can’.
• St Petrocs. This charity is already close to the heart of our Club through our late and founder member, Shirley Mathieson.  St Petrocs continue to work towards their aim of ending homelessness in Cornwall.  They have resource centres in Truro and Penzance that provide services such as advice, support, showers, laundry, clothing, food, WIFI/charging, counselling and health care (including for pets).  They also provide an outreach service for those who cannot get to a resource centre.  Also, vocational support and accommodation across different properties as well as emergency winter housing support.
• The Mermaid Centre – The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Breast Unit provides comprehensive breast care to more than 12,000 patients each year. Their unit is the largest in the southwest, and one of the few units in the country offering Oncoplastic surgery. They strive to deliver the highest standard of care to all patients and remain at the forefront of diagnosis, treatment, research and training in breast disease. To achieve this The Mermaid Centre actively support and encourage patients to participate in nationally and internationally run trials so that they can explore new frontiers in preventing, diagnosing and treating breast cancer. The Mermaid Centre is home to the Cornwall Breast Screening Programme (NHS BSP) and the Oncoplastic Breast Unit. They monitor patients with a family history that maybe at higher risk of developing breast cancer.  All fundraising monies go toward new/updated equipment, specialist training for Consultants & Nurses to keep abreast with research, surgical and treatment advancements and for continual replacement of clinic gowns, cubicle curtains etc. It has also enabled them to make vital, costly construction changes to increase the number of clinic rooms and screening rooms – an undertaking still in progress.

(We hope to have a representative from each of these charities to come to talk to us about their work at future meetings and events).

We will also have some other fundraising opportunities such as a Wine and Cheese raising money for Mummy Star, a charity supporting women who find they have cancer when pregnant, a brunch raising money specifically for St Petroc’s in memory of Shirley Mathieson and the Autumn Fayre raising money for Look Good Feel Better, (a charity which organises beauty workshops for women and girls who may need help with the physical and mental effects of cancer treatment).  Our Club has supported this charity for 7 years and we are recognised as one of their main supporters.

Together as a Club of Soroptimist Sisters we look forward to another year of successful achievements to be proud of.     We now have excellent social media coverage which I am sure is the envy of many clubs.   This allows us to showcase our achievements and gain further support for our endeavours.