Soroptimist Rose
Thames Valley Charity
Links to Other Soroptimist Sites Programme
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Pink Walk
The word "soroptimist" is derived from the two Latin words: "soror" meaning sister, and "optima" meaning best. We interpret Soroptimist as "the best of
sisters", because we "do the best for our sisters".
►the advancement of the status of women; ►high ethical standards; ►human rights for all; ►equality, development and peace
through International Goodwill and Understanding and Friendship Soroptimist International is committed to: ►service to local, national and international communities ►active participation in decision-making at all levels of society
Membership used to be by invitation only, each member is still chosen to represent her category of work, as well as for her individual qualities. In every club there is a wide variety of membership from different professional and managerial spheres.
1983-1987: provided safe water for many villages in Senegal
1987-1991: helped the poorest women and children in the highlands of Peru
1991-1995: helped set up a network of under-fives clinics in Bangladesh giving special emphasis to blindness prevention
1995-1999: in collaboration with the Population & Community Development Association in Thailand, SIAM (Soroptimist International AIDS Mediation) will develop and implement income-generating projects in villages to dissuade young women from entering the commercial sex industry
1999-2003: In partnership with the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC), Soroptimist International (SI) is supporting a four-year project
to provide prostheses for landmine victims.
The aims
2003 - 2007: Project Independence: Women Survivors of War - Our exciting new international project aims to help women who have suffered the traumas of war, genocide and other horrors, to reclaim their lives. 2007 - 2011: Project Sierra (with Hope & Homes for Children)
From the above, it will be seen that Soroptimists seek to become an active
influence for positive change in society. We do this through Awareness, Advocacy & Action in Twelve Critical Areas of concern, via Six Themes.
The world of Soroptimism is divided into four federations: The Americas, Europe, Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI), and the South West Pacific.
Within SIGBI, there are more than 400 clubs, spanning 30 countries as diverse as the Cameroons, India, islands in the West Indies, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa
Soroptimist International, a worldwide service organisation for women in management and the professions, is a global voice for women through Awareness, Advocacy and Action, and its objects
shall be to strive for:
To be eligible for active membership, a woman must be actively engaged in a management or professional capacity, in the private or public sector, or in an occupation with comparable status or comparable responsibilities.
The first Soroptimist club was formed in 1921 by a group of 80 women in Oakland, Alameda County, California. The first Soroptimist club in the United Kingdom was Chartered in London in 1924. Four years earlier the Bristol Club had been chartered as a Venture Club. The two organisations, which were almost identical, amalgamated in 1930.
Soroptimist International was formed in 1948 from three Federations which were in existence.
Every 4 years, Soroptimist International adopts an International Quadrennial Project:
This
project was chosen at the 2005 SIGBI Conference and we are very proud that
Alison Sutherland, a member of our Region, was one of the presenters. It was
approved by the SI Board of Directors at their 13-15 August 2006 meeting in Windsor.
This project involves fund raising to increase the number of adoptions of orphaned children in
Sierra Leone.
Soroptimist Rose
Thames Valley Charity
Links to Other Soroptimist Sites Programme
Home Page
Pink Walk