SI Solihull and District Projects
Each Soroptimist International club identifies the needs of its community, then establishes specific projects to address these needs. All our projects relate to one or more of the six Programme Focus Areas: Economic and Social Development, Education, Environment, Health, Human Rights and the Status of Women, and International Goodwill and Understanding.
More information is available in the Our Work pages, where you can read more about the current Programme Focus aims and the Quadrennial Project, supported by all clubs in the Federation.
The projects listed below include some of the local and international issues we research and support in SI Solihull and District:
Domestic Violence
The club has continued to support victims of Domestic Violence:
Solihull now has "Specialist Domestic Violence Status", (which we believe is granted by the Home Office). This is due to all the hard work and training from a Multi-Agency approach we have in our Borough.
The opening of the Refuge in Solihull in September 2006 was a huge milestone. The Refuge has recently received some funding for outdoor playing activity equipment for the children who are also victims of Domestic Violence. The Refuge has been grateful for all the donations of toiletries, household goods and toys etc. from our club and we hope to continue to support them
The Domestic Abuse Helpline that was launched last year continues to receive a steady supply of calls and in January and February; it met its target of 15 calls a month. Volunteers continue to be recruited and ongoing publicity is needed to ensure that people who need the Helpline know where it is available. Pens advertising the telephone number and the opening hours are being distributed in places such as libraries.
Recently, Solihull Magistrates Court has produced a DVD for witnesses coming to Court; this is to explain the Court procedures and what will happen on the day that they go to court to give evidence.
The Police in Solihull Borough have a Domestic Violence Unit with specially trained officers and personnel. Headcams (Head mounted cameras) are being used to photograph evidence at the scenes witnessed by the Police when they have been called out to an incident of domestic violence. ( A smashed-up home can easily be tidied-up before a Scene of Crime Officer visits! ).
Not such good news is the fact that the MABL trust (Make A Better Life) has only secured funding for the next Financial Year.
Because funding isn't secure, a sub-committee is being set up and our member Jan R has agreed to be a member of it and the club will continue to offer support.
Aqua Box
During the summer of 2006, club members filled an Aqua Box supplied by Solihull Rotary Club. Rotary clubs send thousands of Emergency boxes to areas of disaster all over the world.
We paid £50 for the large plastic ‘tidy box’ which contained a water filter and a plastic ground sheet and a list of items which a family struck by disaster could use. The filled box contained a variety of items for an ‘average‘ family to keep them warm and to provide shelter and safe water. The box was packed and dispatched at the end of September to a war torn region in Siera Leone.
This is the second year that the club has contributed to the Aqua Box project.
Operation Christmas Child
Since 1990 Operation Christmas Child has collected and shipped nearly 46 million boxes to children in more than 120 countries - 1.5 million from the UK alone.
Every year since the club was chartered in year 2000 members have enjoyed being involved in ‘Operation Christmas Child’- by wrapping and packing Christmas gift filled shoe - boxes for needy children in Eastern Europe and Africa.
In 2006, Club members and their friends and family wrapped and filled 76 boxes, making a total of 396 boxes so far.
The target for 2007 is to make enough boxes to take us to a total of 500 boxes.
Festival 06
The annual Solihull Festival, a joint initiative with Solihull Rotary clubs, took place in September with a week’s day and evening activities arranged throughout the Solihull borough.
SI Solihull organised an Art Exhibition in the Manor House, including a display of Soroptimist projects over the years and Solihull Arts Society sold paintings and ceramics; the exhibition was visited by the Mayor of Solihull. SI Solihull also organised the organ recital in Fentham Hall successfully raising £552. Members manned a display in Brueton park during a ‘family’ day and again collected on ‘Tin Shake’ day.
The Festival raised £34,500, with £2,500 being given to charities specifically nominated by SI Solihull.
Plans for Festival 07 are well underway.
Solihull Business Woman of the Year Award
2005 saw the club launch and successfully run the first Solihull Business Woman of the Year Award.
The scheme was set up to give an award to encourage a Business Woman in Solihull who had been successful in setting up her own small business. This supports one of the Objects of Soroptimism which is to ‘Advance the Status of Women’.
The winner of the 2005 award was Karen Tirebuck, Tirebuck Career Solutions, Knowle.
Caroline Spelman MP presented the award at an Awards Dinner on September 16th 2005 at the Moat House Solihull (now the Holiday Inn). She was very supportive of the award, and the award gave the club an excellent opportunity to promote itself within the Borough and the event gained a lot of publicity.
The committee looked at options for future awards but, due to difficulty in obtaining the necessary sponsorship, the decision has been taken not to run the award again at this time.
It is anticipated that when the time is right this high profile award will run again.
Fireside Centre
Fireside is a drop-in centre in the heart of Birmingham and SI Solihull members help out on Sundays by serving food, talking to visitors and donating clothing and bedding.
Nine members, on a rota basis, regularly help serve food every Sunday to 80-90 visitors. The times have changed recently and help is now provided between 10am and 1pm, and individuals usually assist approximately once every two months.
We have also continued to provide clothing, toiletries and bedding which has been gratefully received. At Christmas 2006 Soroptimists gave 60 parcels of toiletries / socks which were gratefully received.
It is clear to the helpers just what an effective job The Fireside does.
Sister Sabina who runs the Fireside Centre came to one of our Supper Meetings where she amazed us all present with her tales of superhuman efforts raising funds to keep the centre open. An amazing lady!
Adoption of Widney Manor Station
Saturday 4th March 2006, Soroptimist International Day of Service, saw the launch of a new Environment Project. SI Solihull has become the first local group to ’Adopt a Station’ .
The Widney Manor Station Environmental Project is now in its second year. The Project is financed with an award of £500 from Central Trains, and links have been established with Solihull Council to obtain additional summer planting.
In July 2006, the Project was included as an example of an initiative to improve the community environment in Solihull Council’s successful bid to obtain a Britain in Bloom Award. The station was inspected by a team of judges and 2 members of the Club were invited to a lunch with other entrants. We have been invited to participate again this year.
Intensive bulb planting in the autumn has resulted in a fine show of spring flowers. Much of the initial planting carried out last year has flourished and will be used as a basis for summer displays. The team continues to be mindful of health and safety aspects necessary at a railway station, and is also considering some environmentally friendly projects such as water conservation, and shrubs that may attract more wildlife to the area
At present approximately 8 members of the Club participate in the Project, working in 3 teams on a monthly basis. Feedback from both Central Trains and station users has been extremely positive.
Sri Lanka
Since the Tsunami disaster in December 2005, the club was looking for a project in an affected area where we could help in some way and found a contact, a teacher who worked in London for many years, and who has now retired to her home in Sri Lanka.
In December 2005, £500 was sent to refurbish the toilets and washing facilities at the School for Deaf and Blind, in Ratlana in Colombo. The Ceylon Schools for the Deaf and Blind have two institutions run by the Diocese of Colombo with 200 pupils in each school. The school buildings are about 90 years old so are in desperate need of updating.
Our donation has paid for materials used to refurbish the girls toilet block. We were delighted to see the before and after photos.
Sightsavers
Since we discovered that a small sum of money can often save the sight of people in some of the poorest countries, we save our pennies and two pence’s, which are collected at meetings.
To date, we have raised more than £500 to help eradicate ‘River Blindness’ – an easily curable disease. Collection boxes are available at every meeting this.
Empilwenni Garden Project, Johannesburg
At the Gateshead Federation Conference in October 2006 the Empilwenni Garden Project, Johannesberg was awarded Finalist in the Best Practices Award in the Environment Category, an International Soroptimist Award.
Marjorie received a Certificate from the International President, Lyn Dunning.
The Ceylon Schools for the Deaf and Blind, Sri Lanka
Following the donation of £500 to the school in Colombo in December 2005, photographs of the completed were received in June 2006.
This showed successful use of our money which improved the bathrooms / toilet facilities at the school. A small amount of money certainly went a long way.