On January 13, 2015 we received a Thank you Letter from St. Petersburg Charity Home for organization of children's visits to St. Petersburg theaters. Our collaboration with Charity Home is a 22-year-standing project. The goal of the project is the implementation of educational programs for children without parental care.

On July 2, 2014 the president of SI club St. Petersburg had a meeting with two SI clubs of Volos city (Greece) - Volos First Club and Volos Thetis. The meeting with clubs from Volos city was held in an atmosphere marked with classical Greek cordiality and warmth.

Programme Director of SI St. Petersburg was invited to Geneva, Switzerland to take part in the First Programme & Advocacy Seminar of SI/E.

We completed the joint project of SI Zagreb and SI St.Petersburg: organization of the competition of children's creative works in Applied Art and the exhibition of works of Croatian and Russian children «Water and Food» in St. Petersburg.

The exhibition took place in the ecologic-biological centre in St.Petersburg in the framework of the international seminar «Development of the system of lifelong ecological education».

We awarded Galina Zhukova the title «Girl of the Year - 2013». Being an excellent pianist, she received the title for for her great achievements in the field of concert activities, organization of master classes, educational activities at the faculty of Arts of St.Petersburg State University.

We successfully completed our international project «Bread calendar». It was a joint product of 12 SI Clubs from 3 SI Federations. We presented the calendar on 12-14 July in Berlin at the 20th SI/E Congress: «Visions of Paradise» - Soroptimists Go for Water and Food.

We organized the strabotomy operation of 6-year-old girl, Lada Shakh, from the Charity Home. The girl suffered from cross-eye and obviously had no future but studying in a special school. She went through the rehabilitation post-operation treatment also organized by the Club.

In April and May a club member, Elena Volkova, organized 2 excursions to the Museum of Transport and Elagin Island Museum of Art Glass for the children from the Charity Home. Children travelled by the old tram, listened to the history of our city and practised painting on the glass.

On February 14th, 2013 together with 20 members of Imatra club, Finland, and their husbands we visited the Charity Home presenting the children different developing board games, clothes and toys.

On Christmas Day, January 7th, our Club bought special soft models for the children of the Charity Home. These toys develop space awareness, size recognition and other necessary lifelong skills in smaller children of the age of 3 up to 7 years old. Children were extremely happy, especially the smaller ones.

The Charity Home had celebrations of the 20th anniversary of its foundation. We have been together for 20 years already - it is our oldest on-going project. There were a lot of guests - representatives of the city authorities, companies, centres and others. Our club presented a table soccer - a dream of the children. It turned out to be the biggest present of the event!

The female chamber choir Orpharion took part in the international competition «Canta al Mar» in Barcelona, Spain and received a Silver Diploma. The Club helped with the organization of the choir participation. Congratulations!

We are happy: the main project of 2012 is completed! We planted 15 bushes, 2 silver fir trees and perennial flowers in 3 flower beds in the inner yard of Hospice-3 and Hospice-6. The benches in the yard now have beautiful sunshade roofs. This creates a quiet and safe place for the patients who like spending their time under these roofs, even celebrate their birthdays!

On 18 - 21 of May three members of the Club were invited by SI of Imatra to take part in the annual meeting of the representatives of the Finnish SI Clubs.

About 2 hundred people attended the meeting where the president of the Club SI St Petersburg made a presentation about the ongoing and completed projects of the Club. The Club members were very warmly welcomed and they had a chance to discuss different matters in a friendly environment. The Club members were greatly impressed by the thoroughly planned meeting, enjoyed the Imatra Club hospitality and magnificent nature of the place.

On the 6th of April 2012 the Greek Institute of St Petersburg State University has received 32 valuable dictionaries and books for students who study New Greek language.

The event was the final step in completion of the joint project with two Clubs of Volos, Greece (FIRST and THETIS) with the participation of the Club FOUNDER, Athens. The reception was attended by Consul of Greece in St Petersburg, students and professors of the University and Club members.

On 2-4 December our club celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Charter in the company of 97 guests from 31 Soroptimist clubs of 9 European countries, with Immediate Past SI President Hanne Jensbo and SI/E President Kathy Kaaf among them.

Establishment of Friendship Link with SI of Bergen, Norway.

Svetlana Andrijanova has become the Girl of the Year 2011. Svetlana is a brilliant student of the school «Dante Alighieri» and the president of her school club «I love Italy». She has made a lot of successful presentations including «Comparison of the traditions of Italy and Russia», «Russian and Italian cuisine», «The largest cultural centers of Italy». Svetlana organized meetings with Italian students and professors.

8 club members planted 2 silver fir-trees, 15 bushes and 3 flowerbeds in the inner yard of
Hospice 3 to make a difference.

The club presented useful gifts to the young actors of the Drama studio of the Charity Home after watching the studio performance «The Blue Bird» by M. Maeterlinck.

On Easter each child in the orphanage received a special Easter cake from the club. There were organized 7 visits to the theatre performances for the children of the orphanage and an excursion for the participants of the Drama studio to the backstage of the Drama theatre named after V.Komissarzhevskaya.

Project «Meetings in the Charity Home». In March 2011 the club organized a meeting of the orphanage children with a famous actor Jury Kuznetsov. The children also watched some episodes from the films with Kuznetsov's participation.

Club member Nadezhda Zharkova organized 2 free excursions to the exhibition «The Sails of Hellas» in the Menshikov Palace for 40 workers of the Hospice number 3.

Our club awarded Arina Reznikova, a brilliant 4-year student of St.Petersburg State University, a title «Girl of the Year-2010». Arina became a winner in the «Best translation of Modern Greek poems competition» organized by our club and the university Modern Greek department. Two Soroptimist clubs of Volos, Greece sent to Arina their words of appraisal and support and wished great success in her professional future.

Project «Charity Home meetings». Meeting with the prominent goalkeeper of Zenit football team V.Malafeev in the Charity Home.

Project «Charity Home meetings». We decided to organize a number of meetings of the children with prominent persons of our country. Orphans lack good examples of successful people who achieved a lot in their lives through hard work, strong character and the ability to reach their goals. We give the children a good chance to meet these people face-to-face, communicate with them, and receive their advice.The first guest was the outstanding sportsman - two-timeworld champion in boxing N.Valuev.

Project «Image of water in music». We helped to organize a concert tour of the female chamber choir «Orpharion» in Prague, Vienna and Salzburg. Part of the programme was devoted to water and called «Water image in music». This tour had a double task:

• to raise money for the club project «Making a difference» - assistance to
  Hospice N 3 in St.Petersburg in redecorating the inner yard of the hospice and organizing
  special shelter over the benches to isolate the patients from direct sun rays
• promote Russian choir singing in Europe

At the Governors' Meeting in Ghent, Belgium our club received the «Best Practice Award - 2010» in 5th programme focus objective!

SI/E seminar «Train The Trainers» took place in St.Petersburg. Representatives of 5 Russian clubs and clubs from Estonia and Lithuania had an opportunity to meet each other, exchange the information about their projects, to speak about problems.

The club member V.Panina helped to find costumes for the drama studio of the orphanage to stage «The Betrothal» by M.Maeterlinck. We presented 25 big Easter cakes for Easter celebrations in the orphanage, organized a regular haircut for the children in a hairdressing studio.

Start of the Project «Making a difference». We visited Hospice number 3 of our city on its 15th anniversary with valuable presents, flowers for the staff and disposable diapers for patients. Together with the staff we made a plan of improvement of inner yard for patients to rest in summer.

Start of the project «Better world to children» - to give the children from the Charity home an opportunity to experience beauty of the world of arts, to be at the Children's New Year Party in the Mikhailovsky Castle, visit the Mariinsky Opera House to listen to W.A.Mozart's opera «The Magic Flute», have 3 excursions to see unforgettable authors' dolls in the Gallery of Dolls.

Start of the project «Getting closer»: New members of our club initiated the project to know each other better - our jobs, interests and hobbies. The club members make presentations about their jobs, invite us to exhibitions, concerts etc. Through this project we strengthen our relations.

Joint project with the club Bangor, Northern Ireland. Alexandra Roshchina, a postgraduate of ITT, Dublin, researcher in computer science, was chosen the «Girl of the Year - 2009» and awarded by two clubs for her successful professional and creative activities.

The club visited the orphanage on the day of its birthday and brought books, dictionaries, reference materials concerning different school subjects, and kitchen utensils bought with the help of club «Les Fagnes».

Participation of two members of the Club in the Congress «Soroptimists go for water» in Amsterdam. Friendly meeting with the Club of Rotterdam-Schieland, The Netherlands.

International Festival of Children and Young People's Cine and Video Creative Art «Petersburg Screen»

The authors of children and young people's films and groups of different types were invited to take part in the Festival. Film duration was from a minute to 10
minutes.

All the films presented were considered by the selection board that approves the film program for the final screening. The winners in nomination «Clean water» were awarded with memorable presents from the Club SI St.Petersburg.

In April 23-24, 2009 the Competition in computer graphics was held in St.Petersburg focusing on selection of IT gifted children and youth. The participants of the Competition taking part in nomination «Water freedom in our city» had to submit 2 works in the form of a cover for a book, magazine, reference book or album.

The Club SI St.Petersburg awarded the authors of the best works of this nomination by the Diplomas of 1-3 degrees and valuable presents as well.

In September 2008 the Club members visited 15 elderly people to celebrate the International day of the Elderly. Within the Joint project with the Belgian club «Les Fagnes» 3 Club members visited a non-state Home for the elderly with fruit and flowers. They presented gifts from the Belgian club - special cosmetics sets for the elderly - to 10 women at the age of 86-91.

Supporting talented children the International Women's Club «Soroptimist International St.Petersburg» became the sponsor of one-minute video film competition in order to increase environmental awareness of younger generation. Video films were shot by the children within one day directly during the time of the International Festival of Children and Young people's Cine and Video Creative Art «Petersburg screen» held in May 2008 in St.Petersburg, Russia. The International Women's Club «Soroptimist International St.Petersburg» within the framework of European project «Soroptimists go for water» presented award-winning works of one-minute video films competition winners, which demonstrated the significance of water for human life and the surrounding world.

Award-winning films:

• Little fairy
• Bridges of the worlds
• The Neva bolero

In April 2008 the Club had a meeting with an associate-professor of the general and military hygiene department of the Military medical academy Narykov Vladimir. There were 30 guests invited to the meeting organized by the Club member. The main theme was water - the important condition of human life, factors that influence the population health - quality of water purification in St.Petersburg, water cleaning up in home conditions. In April the Club organized excursion to St.Petersburg Museum of Water for the Club members and friends. In August the Russian Museum organized an exhibition called «Water power» visited by our Club members.

Visit to attend the traditional New Year festival in the Charity Home. Among the gifts were art books and albums of Russian art, DVD films for children, a large non-flammable curtain for their theatrics, scarves and sets of cosmetics for the staff and two calendars with reproductions of Lubov Kostenko's paintings.