SI Sutton Coldfield 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 Sutton Coldfield:
EMBO
Virtually a whole generation of black South African parents has been wiped out by HIV/AIDS leaving behind many thousands of orphaned children. The EMBO project aims to help these children and their carers by giving them a safe, clean living environment
Our Kyoto Friendship Link has now joined with us in supporting the Embo Project through our Durban Friendship Link. Biennially our major fundraising is shared between Embo and our local Hospice and we have recently sent out £1200 to the project.
St Giles' Hospice
St Giles Hospice, is a local registered charity offering high-quality specialist medical and nursing care for people with cancer and other serious illnesses as well as providing support for their families and helpers.
SISC raises funds for St Giles on a biennial basis, and are currently supporting the day hospice project in Sutton Coldfield which enables Sutton Coldfield residents to receive day care in their local area without having to travel. Our fund raising efforts therefore have a special edge for us.
Longmoor School & Residential Unit
Longmoor provides education for pupils with severe learning difficulties, aged 2 to 11. Its residential unit provides out of school education Monday to Friday during term time.
SI Sutton Coldfield has adopted this excellent local facility as a service project. Club volunteers help in school with swimming, hydrotherapy and assisting in the sensory room. One member is about to start helping with a new inclusion link involving a group of mainstream Reception children working with the younger children at Longmoor, and two Club members act as Child Advocates for the children in the residential unit.
On the Soroptimist Saturday of Service ten Club members helped to tidy the Sensory Garden and add plants and one member is continuing to work there.
Chernobyl Children's Care
Chernobyl Children's Care was set up in 1995 to provide support to children suffering from illnesses resulting from the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. Each summer it provides recuperative holidays in the UK for about 400 children from Belarus.
Chernobyl Children Care now operates solely to bring children over to this country for holidays. Separately, the Aid going out is organised by Chernobyl Affected Children Charities (CAC Charities). Club continues to give support to this charity and also send out shoe boxes for children and adults (male and female) in time for Christmas. In November 2006 we sent out 300 boxes. We also send money to help towards the cost of transport which now costs £2500 per container.