Welcome to SI Nantwich and District

Our President's Message

Welcome to the S.I. Nantwich and District Web site. I am very proud to have been elected as the 59th President of what is a very active, friendly and progressive club. We have a long tradition in all aspects of Soroptimism and our members enjoy working together to complete our programme of service known as Programme Action. We meet twice monthly in the evenings, with alternate business and dinner meetings where we have an invited speaker. We also hold a special lunch in June each year to mark the anniversary of our Charter, and a New Year lunch in January.

I have chosen St Luke’s Cheshire Hospice as the local charity which the club will support during my year of office. I have been a supporter of the hospice movement for many years. My family has experienced first-hand the deaths of loved ones who benefited tremendously from the support and care that only the Hospice can provide. SI Nantwich & District are organising ‘An evening of Fashion & Beauty’ at Macdonald Portal Hotel Golf & Spa, Tarporley in October 2008, in aid of St Lukes Cheshire Hospice. Several of our members have signed up to do the St Lukes sponsored ‘Midnight Walk’ in June and we will help the hospice in other ways on our ‘Saturday of Service’.

One major project we are currently conducting is "Where have all the chairs gone?" The project was suggested by one of our members when she realized the necessity and significance of having chairs in shops; both with her own illness at the time and in supporting her elderly father on his shopping trips. So many elderly people are trapped in their homes because there is nowhere for them to rest on their walk to the shops, or indeed, once in the shops. The lack of places to sit also affects disabled people, pregnant women, parents with young children and in fact anyone who is feeling tired or unwell. Our project has been adopted by our region of Cheshire North Wales and Wirral. We have conducted surveys across the region and the results have been collated and a leaflet published. We have found that there are certain areas where provision of seating is poor. We now intend to use the data to lobby for the provision of more seating in shops and in public areas and to work in partnership with other agencies such as Age Concern and Sure-start. We are to hold a coffee morning in June in support of Age Concern.

We also lobby on issues such as landmine clearance, the abolition of cluster munitions, the trafficking of women and children, and cuts in health care. Our club continues to support our local women’s refuge and works to alleviate violence against women. We hold a special event in March each year to mark International Women’s Day.

At the International Convention in Glasgow last July our new International Quadrennial Project was launched by a member from our region, Project SIerra. This is a four year partnership between Soroptimist International and Hope and Homes for Children which aims to raise over £1 million ($2 million USD) to transform the lives of some of the most deprived women and children in the world. Sierra Leone is a country which still remains devastated by war and faces the massive challenge of reconstruction. Soroptimist clubs around the world will be finding all sorts of ways to raise money for this worthwhile cause over the next four years. We are to hold a garden party in May in support of Project Sierra.

We do balance our serious activities with a number of social activities such as trips to the theatre, the races, places of interest, and visiting the Soroptimist Club in London for a few days of fun and culture! We also like travelling together and members have attended conferences all over the world. Fourteen of us went to the SIGBI Federation Conference in Harrogate at the beginning of November 2007. The conference was both entertaining and informative and the excellent keynote speakers left us with a great deal to think about concerning moral, health and environmental issues. We are very proud of two of our club members who have been elected onto the SI Federation Board. Most of us also managed to squeeze in a bit of shopping as well as the obligatory visit to Betty’s Tea Rooms over the three days we were in Harrogate!
Several of our members have already booked tickets for the next Federation Conference in Barbados in November. In February next year we are arranging a visit to London and to Paris by Eurostar.
We also take part in the excellent study days and workshops organized by UKPAC (United Kingdom Programme Action Committee). The next one is in July at the University of Lancaster.

We pride ourselves on being a very friendly club and give any visitors a warm welcome, so if you would like to come along to a meeting and "try us out", we would love to meet you. Just fill in the contact form on the website and our membership officer will contact you to arrange an invitation to one of our meetings.

Sue Wells April 2008


Soroptimist International is a vibrant, dynamic organisation for today's professional and business women. 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.

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

Sue Wells

Our Officers

These club pages were last updated on: 30 April 2008
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