►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.

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:

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

• to restore human dignity to the victims of landmines
• to help them become mobile again and reintegrate them into society
• to enable children to return to school and play once more like all the other children the world over
• to allow women to again lead a viable family life

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)
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.

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.

To find out the answers to frequently asked questions, visit The Bedford Site

To be put in touch with your nearest club, please contact: Soroptimist International Federation Office, 127 Wellington Road South, Stockport SK1 3TS        Telephone: 0161 480 7686

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