Welcome to SI North West England and the Isle of Man

Our President's Message

A very warm welcome to the web page of the North West England and the Isle of Man Region of Soroptimist International. We have a very exciting time ahead of us! We have new Programme Focus Goals, a new SI Quadrennial Project – Project Sierra (Hope and Homes), a new Federation President – Marguerite Woodstock-Riley from Barbados and of course a newly installed Regional team comprising experienced and enthusiastic members.

I am very proud to be representing the Region and I look forward to working with the 18 Clubs I represent to raise the profile of our wonderful organisation. My theme for the year is “Looking to the Future; Learning from the Past – Working Together” – a bit of a mouthful I know, but hopefully encompassing all we may achieve over the next Soroptimist year. I am hoping to raise awareness of two local charities during my year – Deafway based in Preston and NW Cancer Research – both of whom do exceptional work in their field. During the year there will be several events for all to attend and these are listed separately within this website – I do hope there is something there for everyone.

My background is mainly recruitment, but during my 14 years as a Soroptimist I have done so much that I would never have had the opportunity to do through my career alone. Also, I have made many friends who, like me, wanted to be part of a business women’s organisation that makes a difference to people’s lives throughout the world – so that they have the opportunity to enjoy education, food, clean water and shelter – everything we take so much for granted. These Soroptimist friends are from all walks of life and it is that very essence of being a Soroptimist that makes the organisation such a great one to be a part of. Work is done by working as teams, or organising partnerships, as well as fundraising and it is the hands-on service work that brings the most satisfaction.

Those of you who are just browsing the web, but may wish to have more details about being a Soroptimist, please take the opportunity to contact a Club near you. You will find details within this website. Now for more about our plans for the year.

Regional Meetings

We hold four Regional meetings during the year and the meetings during 2008 are scheduled for 8 March, 21 June (also the AGM), 13 September and 29 November. The Council meetings will be held during the morning and at these meetings we shall endeavour to deal with Regional and Federation business with debate on various issues, and also have exciting speakers from Federation or organisations we wish to know more about or assist. Programme Action meetings will be held during the afternoons and again will bring some exciting and interesting speakers to the Region. Soroptimists must, by definition, not be worried by change – it is our main remit to change the lives of women and children for the better – therefore we slowly will change the format of our meetings to ensure that all members benefit from attending and taking part.

Other Meetings/Get-togethers

During the year the Region will be holding several meetings regarding Membership, Press and Publicity, Programme Action - ideas and planning for the future. There will also be get-togethers for new members, incoming Presidents, Club Officers and we invite as many members as possible to join in with suggestions and ideas to take our organisation forward.

Regional Friendship Link/Project

We shall also embark on assisting our Regional Friendship Link in the Cameroon during this year and also promote a Regional Project. We have asked members to put suggestions forward for this and should be able to produce a plan for the March regional meeting.


Finally, I look forward to celebrating each Club’s successes at their various charter dinners and lunches and to meet with members at meetings and social events. Our club members continue to assist with many projects throughout the Region, help with Contact Centres, support Life Education, to name but one or two, and I shall enjoy hearing about all their work. I also am excited about our Joint Regional Conference with South Lancashire in May – a chance for us to work together and renew old/forge new friendships.

Looking forward to a very happy and successful year for all throughout the Region.

In friendship

Linda Beddows

Mrs Linda Beddows

Our Officers

These club pages were last updated on: 8 May 2008
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