From a coffee group to a charitable foundation

The club's first meetings took place in 1989, when a group of foreign women in Sofia began gathering for coffee and mutual support. Many were spouses of diplomats or business people, and daily life could be isolating. Meeting at the Sheraton Hotel gave them a regular point of contact and a way to share the experience of living far from home.

1. 1989

   A small group of foreign women starts meeting for coffee and company in Sofia.

2. 1992

   The first newsletter is published with support from the Apple Center. Copies reach members through embassies and diplomatic apartment blocks.

3. 1993

   The club runs its first fund raiser, a tennis tournament.

4. 1994

   As Western businesses arrive in Bulgaria, membership grows to more than 160 women from 38 nationalities.

5. 1995

   A Christmas Bazaar and concert launches at the InterContinental, now the Kempinski. The Anglo American School takes part, and the proceeds are donated to the children's cancer hospital named for Tsaritsa Yoana.

6. 1996

   The bazaar moves to the National Palace of Culture. For the first time, countries host their own stalls; seven take part, including Austria, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Portugal and Turkey.

7. 1999

   The club registers its first website, reflecting a decade of rapid change in communications.

8. 2002

   The club introduces a new logo. The charity committee is registered as the Charity Foundation of the IWC, giving it the legal standing to accept business donations and issue receipts.

9. 2007

   Bulgaria joins the European Union, changing the working lives and composition of the international community in Sofia.

10. Today

    The Annual Charity Bazaar remains the club's largest fund raiser and a meeting point for the international community.

Why the history matters

The club's story is not only a list of dates. It shows how a social group found a purpose and built structures to carry it: a newsletter, a legal foundation, a bazaar team, and a grant process. Each generation of members has added something that the next could use.