Women serving the global community
Projects:
Members support local, national and international projects. They recognise special days in the international calendar, such as The International Day of Literacy, World Aids Day, Armistice Day, and The International Day of the Environment, and apply their efforts under the SI headings of 'Awareness', 'Advocacy' and 'Action'.
Local:
Members of the Barnstaple Club held a third "Cycle Fest and Easter Fayre" in the local Pannier Market with cyclists of all ages able to try their skills on 'crazy bikes'. The presence of stalls offering a wide range of goods for sale, in addition to the participants' enjoyment of 'The Cycle Circus', helped the members raise money that has been donated to the RNIB and The David Rundle Trust.
Members do not only run fund-raising events. They have just assisted the Devon and Cornwall Lupus Group by ensuring that every medical practice within the County of Devon receives a copy of their 'Lupus - Diagnosis and Treatment' publication. Systemis lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a disease that affects over 50,000 people in the UK, 90% of whom are women. Lupus causes the body's immune system to go into overdrive, and it starts to attack itself. Symptoms are many and varied, and the illness often seems to mimic other diseases, causing sufferers to be diagnosed as having ME or MS, with lupus often remaining undiagnosed for years.
Prior to that, recognising the problems of debt in the area, the members researched the free help available, designed an information leaflet, obtained sponsorship for the printing and distributed 5,000 copies in recognised areas of deprivation.
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