Soroptimists Perth have raised £1,300 for Women’s Aid after realising the organisation was “struggling” to provide Christmas gifts to service users.
Despite being unable to hold their usual Christmas lunch and raffle amid Covid uncertainty, the Soroptimists decided to host the event online.
And volunteer members reached out to family and friends to sell raffle tickets to support the worthy cause.
They raised the funds in just weeks.
The Soroptimists were driven to support Women’s Aid after two of their members met with its manager and realised the challenges they faced in allocating the usual gifts.
The funds reached Women’s Aid earlier this month.
And the support will allow the organisation to distribute food vouchers to service users.
Food vouchers for families
The raffle was held over Zoom in December, with members enjoying wine and mince pies during the event.
The Soroptimists support Women’s Aid, RASAC and Starter Packs throughout the year.
But they wanted to go even further during the festive period.
Alison Harrison of Soroptimist Perth said: “It was really heart-warming to achieve the figure of £1,300 from a virtual raffle for a local cause and we are grateful to our members, friends and families for supporting our endeavours.
“Following a meeting between two of our members and the Women’s Aid manager, it was discovered the organisation was struggling to provide Christmas gifts for their clients, in the form of food and toy vouchers.
The proceeds will be used by Women’s Aid to purchase food vouchers for the families that they are assisting.”
Alison Harrison.
“Naturally, although it was disappointing not to be able to hold our annual Christmas lunch and share friendships face-to-face, we have embraced technology throughout the pandemic.
“And we are continuing to hold Zoom meetings twice monthly for the time being.
“Although the cheque was posted before Christmas, due to postal delays and the Christmas break, it was not actually received until January.
“So the proceeds will be used by Women’s Aid to purchase food vouchers for the families that they are assisting.”
Who are the Soroptimists?
Soroptimist International is a global volunteer movement working to transform the lives of women and girls.
It has almost 80,000 members in 124 countries, with 16 clubs across Scotland.
Clubs work to empower women and girls at a local, national and international level.
