Epsom and District Soroptimists in Action
Programme Action Report for the Club’s AGM (May 2008 - April 2009)
The decision to support the Club’s Programme Action work with a committee, rather than leaving it to a solitary officer, was very sound. This year, working as a group, we have been able to achieve much more than would have otherwise been possible. The members working with me were Joyce Boorman, June Mills, Elizabeth Webster, Jean Bilton and a very welcome recent addition, Janet Head. Everyone in the team has proved to be really committed to Programme Action and this is shown by the high level of activity in the past 12 months.
We began the year by looking at the Soroptimist UKPAC objectives and although we knew that we couldn’t possibly ‘tick all the boxes’, we felt that we should attempt to address a range of the identified issues. We also decided that we should look at attainable short term projects and also those that would be long term and/or ongoing. Some initiatives would be practical and hands on, whilst others would use our research and lobbying skills.
Knife crime was one of the first things that we discussed. Joyce Boorman took up the challenge of researching what the police and education authorities were doing to stem the worrying escalation in young people carrying knives for self protection or to attack and kill one another. Although some information was gleaned for the appropriate authorities and Joyce had written a report, the horrific events in the summer of 2008 meant that knife crime became a national concern of the highest order. We decided that our small research project had been overtaken by events and therefore put to one side.
Our proposals to help the Sutton Refugee Network service users came to nothing because of difficulties within the project itself, but we hope that one day, when the time is right, we will be able to help in some way.
However, there have been some resounding successes………..
Supported by club members’ generosity, June Mills has been able to fill and hand over 15 hygiene packs to Janet Head, to be carried on the Red Cross FESS vehicle. Often when we collect things and send them off, we never hear another word, so it is an extra bonus for us to hear from Janet that women have been delighted to receive the sponge bags full of toiletries – something meeting their needs, clean and new and indeed ‘something’ to call their own after other belongings have been lost.
When we decided to support the Meerut Schools Project we set ourselves the challenge of raising £150 pounds – the cost of 12 month’s education in this area in India. We didn’t quite make that amount at the Christmas Table-top Sale at Trinity Church Sutton, that Jean, Joyce and I ran, but with the club’s agreement the extra few pounds were added from Club funds and the children are sure of a further year’s education. Again, it was lovely to get feed-back from Iqbal, the Methodist Minister involved in the project. He was so very appreciative of our financial help and wrote to us with his thanks.
An SI Regional meeting last summer raised the issue of abandoned NHS equipment, such as wheelchairs and crutches that were no longer needed by patients and unwanted by the issuing agency. The PAC committee decided, with Elizabeth’s encouragement, that we should do something constructive to deal with the matter locally. We were lucky enough to find that the charity ‘Wheels for the World’ collects such equipment, sends it to Broadmoor prison for refurbishment and from there it is shipped by the charity to identified recipients – mostly in Africa and Eastern Europe. We plan to set up a ‘cull’ in September and are going to approach Sainsbury’s in Kiln Lane for permission to use space in their car park.
A new initiative in our ongoing support for Mid-Surrey Young Carers has been the setting up of an ‘Education Support Fund for Young Women (Mid Surrey Young Carers)’. Terms of reference have been drawn up and a list of possible recipients received from the Young Carers’ Support Workers. The purpose of the fund is ‘to give
financial support to young women and girls in the Mid Surrey Young Carers project, to assist them in their continued education/training’. It may be possible to retrieve existing designated funds from Surrey Clubs for Young People, but even if this doesn’t happen, we have monies kept to one side in club funds that we might use and future fundraising events will take place. Meetings will take place very soon to identify girls who could benefit from the scheme.
So to sum up….
We have researched, fundraised, worked on practical projects, raised awareness of issues and set up an ongoing project. We have addressed most of the Soroptimist objectives – supporting education, economic and social development, health and international goodwill and understanding. The Club’s support for Project SIerra has helped promote human rights and the status of women.
We have also discussed our plans for the near future. We will be fundraising before the end of September for Mamelodi Village, an SOS Children’s Villages Association of South Africa facility for AIDS-affected children. Next month, Joyce and I will be going to an Amnesty conference about trafficking, prior to planning what we think appropriate for this club in and attempt to play a part in reducing what can only be called a modern day ‘slave trade’.
The PAC committee would also like to know what members do as individuals to support local projects and charities. And in the same vein, what projects are being undertaken by our Friendship Link sister clubs?
I would just like to finish by firstly saying a big thank you to the team. We’ve been busy, but the year has flown by – a sure indicator of a harmonious and successful working group. And secondly, a big thank you to you members, for your ongoing support and encouragement.
Barbara Watts (Programme Action Lead)
20th April 2009
STOP PRESS
Over £400 was raised for our ‘Educational Support Fund for Young Women Carers’ at the Ashtead Bridge Drive on Wednesday 29th April
Epsom Hospital Neo-Natal Unit
The club is delighted that every year it is invited to provide refreshments and run a raffle for a Bridge Drive in Ashtead, with all profits going to a charity of our choice. Thanks to the generosity of the players, we were able to donate £659 towards new equipment for the Epsom Hospital Neo-Natal Unit.
Cafe Wednesday
We were delighted to donate £145.00 to this local MENCAP project and help pay for new equipment in the Cafe in Cheam Village.
