The Bray & District Club is a very busy and vibrant club. There are many activities held throughout the year.

Business Meetings: The Bray & District Club hold its business meetings on the second Monday of each month in the Bray & District Chamber of Commerce, Prince of Wales Tce, Bray.

Programme Action: Soroptimists International is a globla voice for women, working through awareness, advocacy and action. It is through Programme Action that Soroptimists International provides services to others while encouraging its members to be an active influence for postitive change in society at local, national and international levels. Programme areas covered include:- Social & Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health, International Understanding, Human Rights and the Status of Women. It is broken down under the following activities.

Human Rights & The Status of Women: To endorse Soroptimists International campaign for Women Survivors of War, the Bray and District Club helpled fund a trip to Ireland by Mary Akarmi, Director of Afghan Womens Skills Development Centre in Kabul. This was the first time an Afghan lady, head of an Afghan Womens NGO had the opportunity to speak in Ireland, up to this point no Afghan woman spoke on womens issues. While in Ireland meetings were set up with The National Womens Council, Trocaire, and the Government Committee on Foreign Affairs. The trip proved to be hughly successful creating important awareness and media attention.

Fundraising: This has become one of the primary functions of Soroptisim in Bray. Each year a local fundraising programme is devised to assist charities in the community. At the end of the year a number of cheques are handed over to local charities. There have been many beneficiaries to date which have included:- Bray Cancer Support, The Order of Malta,The Five Loaves Soup Kitchen, Open Door Day Care Centre, The Womens Refuge, Barnardos, Bray Carers, Meals on Wheels, Enable Ireland and many more. The fundraising diary consists of things like, Harvest Fair, Ladies Luncheons, Fashion Shows, Golf Classics, Table quizzes and the annual Ladies Mini Marthon. To become involved in any of these fundraisers please email: soroptimists@eircom.net.

The Carers Programme: Entitled Caring for Carers this programme was set up in 1988 by well known local business women Mary Savage. It aims to promote the health, well being and quality of life of carers and those they care for by promoting recognition of their role, providing respite care, information, training and advocacy to promote social inclusion. If you would like to become involved in this programme please contact: soroptimists@eircom.net

Education: Each year Soroptimists run a National Public Speaking Competition. There are three levels to the competition, local, regional and National. It targets girls in secondary schools, encouraging them to play a more prominent part in public life, while improving the art of communciation. If you would like your school or daughter to participate please contact: soroptimists@eircom.net.

Bray & District Soroptimists support World Literacy Day by organising a poetry evening. The aim of this is to bring poetry to the public in a fun and entertaining way. The public along with members participate by reciting their own work or that of their favourite poet.

Environment: The Bray & District Club promote awareness of important environmental issues. This year the focus was on World Water Day, promoting water conservation and World Food Day under the heading Nutricuticals. Our research and development team headed by Yvonne Mc Brinn came up with and implemented ideas in the form of local surveys. The findings are then released to the local media creating public awarness.

Social Involvement: Throughout the year a number of social events are included in the diary. These range from concerts, parties and other social celebrations. This keeps the social element of the club alive, which is essential for any club to thrive.

Friendship Links: The Bray & District Club is currently linked to Enniskillen and Antwerp. Weekend trips are organised to these clubs, who are in turn invited back to Bray. The host clubs provides accommodation and food for those visitng. This is an important part of forming friendships around the world.