Soroptimist International of Carlisle

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

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Our next meeting will be on Thursday 24th November 7.00 for 7.30 p.m. This will be a business meeting with visitors from Penrith who will report on the recent Federation Conference in Brighton. Ladies please feel free to join us or contact us by email to find out more about what we do. Watch this space for details of what we are planning for the future or check out our Programme of Events page.

Welcome

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Welcome to the website for Soroptimist International of Carlisle.

We are part of a worldwide movement for women, who join clubs to give service to others.
This service operates on a number of levels:

· At club level to provide support and friendship for members.
· At local level to serve the community here in Carlisle and the surrounding area.
· At national level to address larger social issues.
· At international level to strive for human rights for all people
and foster understanding and goodwill.

Past President, Ann Durrant (right) hands the chain of office to
new President, Jan Jeffery

We have clubs on every continent and are currently the largest service organisation for women in the world. There are several hundred clubs in the UK and 95,000 members worldwide in 126 countries. Our club SI Carlisle was established in 1941 and currently has 27 members.

Vision

Soroptimist International is a vibrant, dynamic organisation for today’s woman. We are committed to a world where women and girls together achieve their individual and collective potential, realise aspirations and have an equal voice in creating strong and peaceful communities worldwide.

Mission

Through international partnerships and a global network of members, Soroptimists inspire action and create opportunities to transform the lives of women and girls by:

· Advocating equity and equality.
· Creating safe and healthy environments.
· Increasing access to education.
· Developing leadership and practical skills for a sustainable future.

Soroptimist International has direct access to the United Nations and works with many non-governmental organisations to alleviate suffering and promote goodwill.

Programme of Events

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24/11/2011 Business Meeting Conference Report

1/12/2011    World Aids Day
10/12/2011 Human Rights Day
13/12/2011 Christmas Dinner & International President's Appeal

10/1/2012    Programme Action/Business/Members Talk
26/1/2012   Anne-Marie Taylor - Gap Year for Adults
14/2/2012   Membership Evening
23/2/2012   Fair Trade Event & Beetle Drive

3/3/2012    Saturday of Service
8/3/2012    Talk to mark International Women's Day
13/3/2012  Business/PA/Social Evening
29/3/2012   Water Aid Speaker

10/4/2012   AGM/Final Reports
26/4/2012   Change of Insignia

OUR MOST RECENT PROJECTS

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Remembrance Sunday was celebrated once again this year
with the laying of a wreath at the War Memorial in Carlisle City Centre.

Once again we've been knitting little woollen hats to go on the top of Innocent Smoothie bottles. This year's challenge was to knit 1,000! Here are some of the knitters with the end results. Jess Sinclair pictured centre knitted the majority of the hats. Innocent pay 25p for each hat to Age UK (Carlisle).

This year our club celebrated its 70th Anniversary and we had a walk in the newly re-landscaped Chance's Park and members took part in a quiz about the park before having a celebratory meal together. Shown here are some of the participants with President Jan cutting the Birthday cake.
A display of club memorabilia was on show and caused much discussion and amusement.

                        Once again we collected for Marie Curie

Cancer Care and did extremely
well raising over £1,100

despite there being a recession!

Our thanks go to everyone who donated

in locals shops and businesses.

On 7th November the club held a Charity Luncheon and Fashion Show at the Shepherds Inn in Aid of Eden Valley Hospice. We raised £1,800 for the charity. It was a great success, everyone enjoyed the day and our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who was involved and attended.

In October the club collected funds for SAFETY NET by filling Smartie tubes with 20p pieces (having eaten the Smarties first!). We raised £160.00 which will help Safety Net towards essential refurbishments.

We celebrated International Literacy Day (8th September) by presenting story sacks to the children and staff of the Eden Valley Children's Hospice. Members of the club used their needleworking skills and put together all the ingredients for ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?'. A popular story for nursery age children. Story sacks encourage youngsters to enjoy reading as and to participate in an active way with stories. The Soroptimists also gave a story sack to Inglewood School.

Immediate Past President, Daphne Roberts

and President Elect, Jan Jeffery, took part

in the 2010 Carlisle Midnight Walk on 25

June to raise money for Eden Valley Hospice. Together they raised almost £200.

Anglers will be delighted to know that several members went Himalayan Balsalm Pulling on the banks of the River Petteril near Calthwaite with Eden Rivers Trust on 12 June.

Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) is an introduced plant which has escaped from gardens and is rapidly colonising river banks and other areas of damp ground. It is an annual plant which grows to about 2 m with purplish-pink slipper shaped flowers in June - August. When the seed pods are mature, they explode when touched, scattering the seed. It is likely that the seeds are further spread by water movements. Himalayan Balsam forms dense stands which suppress the growth of grasses and native British plants leaving the banks bare of vegetation in autumn and winter and liable to erosion. Because Himalayan Balsam regrows annually from seed, any form of control carried out after the seed pods have formed will have no long-term benefit. This is the second year we have helped the Trust with Balsalm Pulling. (Photo courtesy of Eden Rivers Trust).

On Saturday 5th June (World Environment Day) members bag packed at Morrison's Supermarket and raised £254.61 towards our target for our nominated charity, Eden Valley Hospice. Reducing the environmental impact of carrier bag use is one element of Morrison's policies to prevent waste through a sustainable waste management strategy that focuses on reduction, reuse and recycling.

On Saturday 8th May members of the club attended a Fashion Show at Carlisle Cathedral where Casualty and Hollyoaks actor James Redmond presented the event which featured well-known Fairtrade brands and ethically-sourced items from High Street stores.

President Ann Durrant and Past President Daphne Roberts

held a stall to promote Soroptimism.

President Daphne Roberts gave a cheque for £1,000 to Hospice at Home on 9 March 2010.

On 25 February 2010 we held an evening to mark Fairtrade Fortnight. Ruth Taylor from the Shared Interest Society Ltd gave an enlightening talk on their work as a co-operative lending society that aims to reduce poverty in the world by providing fair and just financial services. We also held a raffle and put on a display of Fairtrade items available locally.

SI of Carlisle

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Great News! Not only was SI Carlisle awarded First Prize for Programme Action in the Northern Region (SINE) for 2009/2010, but we were also been awarded an international award for supporting programmes and policies that eliminate HIV/Aids.

2009/2010 President Daphne Roberts (left), Jo Chexal (PA Officer, SINE),
Jess Sinclair (right)

Carlisle Club is one of 14 in Northern England. You can find out more about them here .

Soroptimist International has 95,000 members in over 3000 clubs in 126 countries worldwide. These are divided into four Federations and those in England are part of Soroptimist International of Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI) which has ten and a half thousand members in 365 clubs in 28 countries. The countries are listed on the website.

The UK Programme Action Committee helps all the clubs in Britain with their service to the community and fund raising projects. This makes it easy to share ideas and work together.

Contact us

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If you think you would like to join us in helping to make a difference or would like to know more about Soroptimism please get in touch.

For further information you may email us at:

soroptimist.carlisle@gmail.com

We’d be very pleased to hear from you and meet you.

Carlisle Soroptimists meet at Morton Manor Community Centre, Wigton Road, Carlisle, at 7.00pm on the 2nd Tuesday and last Thursday of the month from September till July unless otherwise indicated on our Programme of Events.

Friendship & Fun

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A very special 'lady', Lilly the police dog, joined us for one of our meetings in October.

Lilly came with her handler Simon to tell us about their work and the relationship between police dogs adn their handlers.

In September a group of ladies from SI of Harrogate visited Carlisle and we had the pleasure of joining them for coffee at the Hallmark Hotel.

The Club celebrated it's 69th Charter Dinner with friends and guests at the Auctioneer on 3rd July.
Guest speaker was Moira Swan, Director of Childrens' Education and guests included numerous SI Presidents, the Deputy Mayoress, President of Carlisle Rotary and his wife and our own Regional President, Dorothy Thomson. A splendid night was had by all!

Our speaker on 27th May was Janet Ferguson, Chief Executive of EDEN VALLEY HOSPICE.
Eden Valley Hospice is our nominate charity for 2010-2012. Janet talked about her work at the hospice, the services it provides and how Soroptomists can help.

On Saturday 15 May 2010 members of the Carlisle Club attended the Regional Conference at Darlington Football Stadium.

The theme for the day was 'Little Actions.. Big Differences'.

Speakers included Bee Keepers, someone from the Understand Centre and a whole bunch of Brownies and their Leaders.

In February 2010 our Regional President,

Dorothy Thomson (pictured right)

came to speak at our club.

We had a great evening and were

joined by members of SI of Penrith.

In 2009 our Christmas Dinner was held at Talkin' Tarn, where a lovely evening was spent in excellent company.

Our big initiative for 2009 was a charity lunch on 15 November. The event was an excellent opportunity for socialising as well as raising money for Hospice and Home and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Our fundraising events are usually enjoyable social occasions as well. For example, we recently hosted the Cumbria Clubs meeting (see below).

In the summer we took an educational stroll around the grounds of Morton Manor where we meet.

SI Carlisle is part of two networks of clubs. We belong to the Northern Region with 13 other clubs, who meet 3 to 4 times a year to hear interesting speakers and exchange ideas.
Cumbrian Clubs also meet on a regular basis. Members visit other clubs both for Charter Dinners and special events which provide opportunities to meet a wide variety of like minded women.

We have friendship links with clubs in Scotland, Poland and Australia with whom we correspond and meet occasionally.

Programme Action

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Our service to the community, which we call Programme Action, involves lobbying, raising awareness and fundraising, locally, nationally and internationally on human rights, the status of women and various economic and environmental issues.

It is often said that organisations are judged by what they accomplish.
Our successes range from international to local achievements.

During the last 18 months we have:

Supported Fair Trade Fortnight 28 February 2011 - 13 March 2011

Age Concern Lunch Club members at Burnside Court and St Michaels in Carlisle did their bit to help the Fair Trade Foundation’s attempt to break the world record for the longest continual piece of bunting.

Helped by Age Concern Volunteers who are members of SI Carlisle, the ladies and gents attending the Lunch Clubs decorated almost 100 ‘flags’ to add to the bid for the world record.

Sponsored our Immediate Past President, Daphne Roberts and President Elect, Jan Jeffery to take part in the Carlisle Midnight Walk to raise money for Eden Valley Hospice.

Pulled Himalayan Balsalm from the banks of the

River Petteril near Calthwaite with Eden Rivers Trust.

Bag packed at Morrison's Supermarket and raised £254.61 towards our target for our nominated charity, Eden Valley Hospice. Reducing the environmental impact of carrier bag use is one element of Morrison's policies to prevent waste through a sustainable waste management strategy that focuses on reduction, reuse and recycling.

Raised over £150.00 for Water Aid by collecting small change in jars
over the period of Lent.

884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. Roughly one in eight of the world's population.
2.5 billion people in the world do not have access to adequate sanitation, this is almost two fifths of the world's population.
1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. Around 5000 deaths a day.
WaterAid projects providing safe water, sanitation and hygiene education cost just £15 per head.
The simple act of washing hands with soap and water can reduce diarrhoeal diseases by over 40%.

Held a stall at the Fartrade Fashion Show hosted in Carlisle Cathedral.

Marked Fairtrade Fortnight at Morton Manor when a guest Speaker from the

Share Interest Society gave an enlightening talk on their work.

We also held a raffle and a display of Fairtrade items available locally.

Raised over £1,000 for each of our 2009 nominated charities:

Helped with the Flimby Beach Clean and Survey. This is an ongoing project, instigated by another club, in which we have helped for the past few years. Rubbish is collected and logged to determine the extend of polution and waste in the area.

Celebrated International Literacy Day (8th September) by presenting story sacks to the children and staff at Little Gems Nursery. Members of the club used their needleworking skills and put together all the ingredients for ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. A popular story for nursery age children. Story sacks encourage youngsters to enjoy reading as and to participate in an active way with stories. The Soroptimists also gave a story sack to Impact Housing Association.

In the afternoon members visited Inglewood Infant School to join in with storytime. Several members of the club read to pupils as they finished their day at school. Helen Horne, past president of the organisation, said ‘we all feel it is important to get young people started as early as possible enjoying stories and wanting to read. Stories are the stuff of life. They stimulate the imagination. Our organisation is committed to service. What better service can you do than encourage children to love reading.

In colaborations with Amnesty International of Carlisle, held a Peace Vigil outside Carlisle Cathedral on the International Day of Peace.

Sponsored our President Elect and her dog to do the Armathwaite Challenge 2009. The Challenge is a walk of varying distances between Carlisle, Armathwaite and Talkin Tarn, Brampton. Ann Durrant and Dee (the dog) walked ten miles and raised over £110.00 in aid of the British Heart Foundation and a charity that supports the abolition of land mines.

Held a display in Carlisle Library to promote the Abolition of Land Mines and Cluster Munitions between September 14 and 26. This display tied in with the International Day of Peace and aimed to raise awarenesss at the long-lasting damage done by these terrible weapons.

Assisted the Brownies and Girl Guides when they held their 100th Anniversary Celebrations
in September

Soroptimists from all over the country helped with the Celebrations and aided in the management of these huge events.

Helped pull out Himalayan Balsam on the banks of the River Irthing
opposite Lanercost Priory on Saturday 4 July to markWorld Environment Day
Himalayan Balsam is an invasive plant which damages river environments, it was introduced into this country in 1839 from the Himalayas as an ornamental plant for gardens. Unfortunately our climate suited it well and it escaped from gardens and spread rapidly throughout the country, especially along waterways. Its aggressive nature means that it wipes out native plants along river banks and forms dense stands, and in autumn when the plants die back it leaves banks bare of vegetation and vulnerable to erosion.

The event was organised by Eden Rivers Trust, .the conservation charity aimed at protecting the wildlife of the River Eden and its tributaries. http://www.edenriverstrust.org.uk/

Presented Storysacks to the local Womens' Refuge
and a local Nursery School to encourage young children to read

Pictured here are some of the Soroptimists who helped compile the 'Kipper's Toybox' story sack. The sacks contain a popular children's story book and accompanying toys to encourage children to interact with the characters in the book and with the person helping them to read.

Helped raise funds for Marie Curie nurses
for the Great Daffodil Appeal

Ran the Race for Life. One of our members, Jan Jeffery (pictured right) convinced family and friends to run with her and raise funds for breast cancer.

Attended the 'Tears for Fears' Regional Conference at Durham

Several club members took part in discussions about the abolition of People Trafficking, Prostitution and Domestic Violence. The resolutions agreed on 25 April 2009 will be implemented throughout the region as part of our Programme Action.

Supported and attended a Fairtrade Conference in Carlisle Civic Centre
in Fairtrade Fortnight

The club raised money through a beetle Drive to help to sponsor a conference in Carlisle, held at the Civic Centre on 27th February 2009. The conference was promoted by the, then, Mayor, Councillor J Geddes, who is Carlisle’s Fairtrade Champion, and by the Fairtrade City Steering Group. Aimed at the local business community, its intention, in this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight, was to bring producers and suppliers of Fairtrade products together with local companies in the hope of increasing knowledge about, and use of, Fairtrade. Speakers at the morning session were George Alagiah, Patron of the Fairtrade Foundation, Julia Clark, Head of Marketing at Tate & Lyle Sugars Europe, Jo Human, Cumbria Fairtrade Network and Rajah Bannerjee, a tea producer in Darjeeling. After a Fairtrade buffet lunch, there were workshops on procurement, the hospitality and catering sector, Fairtrade in the workplace, the retail and wholesale sector and non-food items, with the option to attend two. The afternoon ended with feedback from the leaders of the workshops.

Two members of the Carlisle Club attended the conference and had a ‘trade stand’ which showcased the club’s work over the last 12 to 18 months.

The stand generated a good deal of interest and several brochures and invitations to the club’s Open Evening on 10th March 2009 were handed out The whole day was very enjoyable and we made some useful contacts. We brought Soroptimism to the notice of many people who had not previously heard of it, or who only had a vague idea. As a Club we made a good contribution to spreading the word about Fairtrade, a movement which directly benefits poor people in many parts of the world, and makes a real difference to the conditions of women and children.

Helped staff a stall in Carlisle city centre to raise awareness of AIDS

For several years Soroptimist International of Carlisle has collected money and helped give out comemorative ribbons in the town centre on World Aids Day. The work raises awareness of the disease and encourages openness.

In addition to a delicious meal, guests enjoyed the tombola, a raffle, a fabulous craft stall and a whole host of traders stalls. The event raised £2,000 which was divided equally between Project SIerra and West Cumbria Rape Crisis.

Every four years, Soroptimist International adopts a joint service project
which involves all clubs worldwide.

From 2003 till 2007 it was Project Independence to support Women Survivors of War in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Rwanda to reclaim their lives after suffering the traumas of war and genocide. Over the four years 1.7 million US dollars were raised. SI Carlisle organized a sponsored walk round Talkin Tarn and was able to send £830 to the project. This sum was very much in excess of what we expected. Many members, friends and pets enjoyed the walk on a lovely day as well as the friendship and of course the exercise!

Our current international project is Project SIerra in Sierra Leone, West Africa, where we hope to support women caring for children in extreme poverty, also children who are alone or at risk of abandonment. Sierra Leone has the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world with a life expectancy for women of just 42 years and nearly a third of children die before their fifth birthday. For more information go to http://www.projectsierra.org/.

Filled jars with loose change to raise funds for Water Aid.
Collected toiletries, and other useful items, for the local Women’s Refuge.
Provided a team, on a seven week rota, to produce the Talking Newspaper for visually impaired people in Carlisle and the surrounding area. Contributed to the Pyramid of Shoes at the Federation
Carlisle Soroptimists have launched an awareness and fund raising initiative named ‘Count your Blessings’. The form lists seventeen blessings to count, for example: ‘are the members of your family over five years of age worth 5p each?’ This idea is now being adopted by clubs all over the north of England. It has spread to other clubs throughout the UK and has recently gone global. We have had encouraging feedback from Europe and Australia.LADIES, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN HELPING TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETY,
PLEASE COME ALONG TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER MEETING AS DETAILED ON FORTHCOMING EVENTS.

More about us

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About SI

Soroptimist International is a worldwide organisation for women in management and the professions, working through service projects to advance human rights and the status of women. The word Soroptimist comes from the Latin words soror meaning “sister” and optima meaning “best”, and loosely translates as “best for women”.

SI History

Soroptimist International was founded in 1921, when eighty women formed the first Soroptimist club in Oakland, California. Since then, membership has grown to over 90,000 women across the world. This makes us the world’s largest classified service organisation for women.

SI Structure

Each Soroptimist International club is based in a geographical area, such as a town or city. Club members meet locally on a regular basis. These clubs are grouped into Regions or National Associations, and grouped further into the four Federations. These Federations are Great Britain and Ireland, the Americas, Europe, and the South West Pacific.