www.wroclaw.pl: What were your beginnings in Wroclaw?
Lucyna Schumacher, President of Wroclaw's Soroptimist International: "Wroclaw has always been full of women who share a powerful urge to help others. All we needed was a club to bring them together. I set it up in 2013 on the belief that the more people we have the more we can do. We've been helping other women both on a macro and a micro scale ever since."
How would you compare Soroptimist in Poland and internationally?
"Soroptimist members voice their concerns at various international organisations and champion women's cause globally by providing material assistance (e.g. clothing, food) and financial aid (grants). Polish clubs are mainly active locally, whereas abroad, for example in Germany, where we have more than several hundred branches, our members often collaborate on a nationwide scale. This is possible due to their sheer number and substantial means in the budget. Wroclaw has one club only. However, I would like to set up at least two more. The more members we have, the more we are capable of doing. That being said, we are already doing a lot to assist other women in Wroclaw."
Which of your activities do you take most pride in?
"Each of our campaigns champions the idea of "soroptimism", which we take most pride in. For instance, we organise our annual Charity Tennis Tournament for the Wroclaw Children's Hospice or the Między Niebem i Ziemią Foundation. We have also set up separate bank accounts for Anuszka from Nepal, who studies at Wroclaw's University of Life Sciences. Her family were running a school in Nepal, which was heavily affected by an earthquake. We also assist women who are ill and engage in health promotion campaigns.
Our hottest activity at the moment is a charity ball at the National Forum of Music, which is to be held on 29 January. The goal of the event is to promote and assist musically gifted artists. Each of us was a beginner one day. And we know how difficult it is to start. We want to make a difference with our solidarity, which is why we are collecting funds from tickets and auctions of the paintings by local artists to provide two grants for budding artists to develop their careers."
Have you chosen the winners yet?
"The Artistic Board, which gather representatives of the National Forum of Music, Wroclaw's Academy of Music and Soroptimist in Wroclaw, have selected sixteen-year-old violinist Sara Dragan from Legnica and Marcelina Beucher, a twenty-year-old singer from Wroclaw. They both have huge achievements and numerous awards under their belts. Despite extremely young age, their stories are that of success."
What do you need to do to join Soroptimist?
"For starters, I would like to invite you to our club to meet our members. We'll tell you more about our activity. Then we have a three-month trial period for new members, which is nine months shorter than at other clubs throughout the world. We work on the assumption that we need a lot of members, and we can't afford wasting time. Once the trial period is over, your membership is put to a vote by other club members. If you find our idea attractive, feel free to contact us on Facebook."
Thank you for the interview.
Established in 1921 in California, Soroptimist International has now ca. 90 thousand members in 125 countries and is present at UN agencies in New York, Geneva, Vienna, Rome, Nairobi and Paris. The name of the organisation combines two Latin terms: "soror" and "optimae", which is interpreted as "the best sister" or the best idea for women. Soroptimist is an apolitical and areligious non-governmental organisation. It creates a professional and social network by bringing together women with a similar outlook on the world. The ladies are happy to help both each other and other women as well to improve women's and girls' welfare throughout the world. Soroptimist members belong to four worldwide organisations. The European Federation, which has 35 thousand members in 1230 clubs in 60 countries, spends ca. 15 million EUR to carry out its projects annually. Poland's Soroptimist union was set up in 1995 and has 11 branches, including that of Wroclaw.
