Soroptimist International of Salisbury is the local Club of the international women's organisation which has 80,000 members across more than 100 countries of the world.
Soroptimist International of Salisbury (SI Salisbury) meets at 7pm on the fourth Monday of the month, outside of pandemic at the Red Lion, Milford Street, Salisbury, but currently on Webex.
Club members work in project teams to deliver a variety of different activities and we encourage every member to get involved in at least one of them. Examples include:
Her Salisbury Story is a National Lottery Heritage funded project which aims to bring Salisbury’s heritage alive through the exploration of previously hidden women’s narratives, celebrating the lives of Salisbury’s women past and present. 2020 marks the 800th anniversary of Salisbury’s foundation. The aim of the project is to ‘write in’ women’s experiences of Salisbury, ensuring women’s contributions are seen and valued as intrinsic to the city and its development.
The Salisbury STEM Challenge for girls in local schools now in its fourth year, trying to raise awareness of the inspiring career opportunities there are within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Our challenge to the year 8&9 girls was to research, design and develop a sustainable prototype for a solution to improve life for people living in poverty in the developing world.
We hold an annual quiz in support of our local Women’s Refuge – funds raised last year were used to repair and upgrade one of the bathrooms at the refuge. This event also allows to continue our sponsorship of a girl’s club at a Tanzanian school through local charity EdUKaid. The club has been set up as part of the Heshima Project menstrual health programme with the aim of educating and empowering girls to improving their life chances.
Each year we collect pre-loved bras for distribution to women in Africa through Smalls for All. They tell us that wearing a bra gives a woman dignity and can protect her from rape and sexual assault. We sort, fold and pack the bras we collect for transportation to the charity at a fun summer ‘Bras and Bubbly’ event.
We regularly collect and donate bags of overnight toiletries to the Durrington Ward of Salisbury District Hospital to make a woman’s unexpected stay in hospital a little less uncomfortable.
We have been planning a march and rally on Sunday 29 November 2020 to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – or ‘Orange the World’. If that can't go ahead, we have a Plan B.
We have recently formed a Friendship Link with SI Chisinau in Moldova, defined as the poorest country in Europe, and we are planning a joint project with members of the Club to work in support of elderly women.