Welcome to the web page of SI Wallasey

Wallasey is located on the north east corner of the Wirral peninsula, bordered by the Irish Sea and the Mersey River estuary. In his book ‘The Wirral Peninsula,’ Norman Ellison (1958) states that the name Wallasey is originally from the Norse word ‘Wealase-ey’, the island of the Welshman or strangers’ (p7).Although Wallasey was never strictly an island as there was some land linking it to the rest of Wirral, it was a fairly isolated settlement for a Celtic tribe.

Wallasey has a chequered history with tales of ship wrecking and smuggling on its shores, often attributed to the settlement of the Noresman (Danes) – the Vikings (Sea Kings) (Ellison 1958), and this even continued up until the early 19th century.

The most well known area of Wallasey is New Brighton. Once a thriving seaside resort, the decline of the late 20th century is now being reversed. A new theatre, The Floral Pavillion, rose like ‘a phoenix’ from the site of the old building. A new supermarket is well on it’s way to completion and there are plans for a waterside hotel. With efficient trains, busses, the Mersey ferry, Kingsway tunnel to Liverpool and motorway network, Wallasey readily links with the rest of Wirral, Liverpool and the UK.

Club meetings

Although a small club we are very friendly and productive. We enjoy social gatherings and outings, often with other clubs.  Our meetings are twice a month at the Hollins Hey Hotel New Brighton: one buisness meeting on the 2nd Tuesday; one dinner and social event on the 4th Tuesday of the month, often with an after dinner speaker. President Stella has some interesting plans for the coming year; including a talk about antiques and collectables and an August garden party. We welcome both visitors and prospective members at our monthly dinners and other social events. For further information contact one of the following:

President: Stella (see presidents’ page for details of her aims for the year) and contact page to send an email

Membership Officer: Jenny

Press Officer: Helen 

Club activities

Although we are a small club our local, national and international activities are diverse.  Not every member is involved in everything as Club members engage in activities that they find of interest and that they find they can manage in busy lives. Below is just a sample of some of varied things we are involved in – some fun, some service, some fundraising – hopefully helping others in many ways.

Friendship link

Solihull club is our friendship link which is going from strength to strength. We have enjoyed some very pleasant get togethers, sometimes involving an overnight stay. Wallasey members even enjoyed afternoon tea with the mayor of Solihull in his chambers on one visit. Each Club has helped in fundraising activities (see ‘Bags of Effort’ below).

 

Care of the environment

 

Recycling

Members are keen collectors for recycling to meet Objective 6, whilst supporting various charities. Items include spectacles, stamps, ink cartridges, wool, mobile phones, tools, shoes and school vouchers. Then of course we have an annual charity shop for a week during May. Here members and their families and friends are able to recycle unwanted items including books, bric-a-brac, and clothes enabling local residents to benefit from very affordable goods. Money made during this week boosts the Club’s Helping Fund enabling donations to be made, for example to the Uganda Learn4LIfe project (see below). (see news item for further information)

Beach watch

In 2005 the Club adopted a section of beach in New Brighton as part of the scheme organised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). Every 3 months a group of members, led by Barbara, collect litter on the 120metre section of beach, log the type of material and then bag it. Results are notified to the MCS to be collated with results from around the country. Barbara and the team featured on page 8 of the Liverpool Echo newspaper on Monday June 9th 2008. The follwing week they were featured on national television on Sunday’s Politics show. Barbara was additionally featured on Granda Reports on 8th April 2009.  

 

 Led by Barbara, members of the Club were filmed (above) for ITV’s Granada Reports as they cleared a section of New Brighton beach of non-natural waste on 21^st April 2011 . Plastic materials continue to form a high percentage of items washed in by the tide, in particular cotton bud sticks which pass through the sewage system. During the news programme a representative of the Marine Conservation Society urged the public not to flush cotton buds, sanitary wear and disposable nappies into the sewage system. These non-biodegradable items are a significant danger to marine life.

 Wallasey member Barbara is the local spokesperson for the Society and was interviewed by Kate Giffard for the Granada Reports news programme.  Although a mention of Soroptimism was not screened, Barbara was wearing her blue sweatshirt with the Soroptimist logo. Earlier in the day Barbara had also been interviewed for BBC Radio Merseyside’s breakfast show.

A visit from Eric the barn owl

As Club members are keen on environmental issues, we were thrilled to have a visit from Eric the barn owl during one of our dinner and social meetings. Eric brought along his handler who is a member of the Wirral Barn Owl Trust. Club members enjoyed an interesting talk with pictures and sounds of barn owls and other UK owls. Eric was reared in captivity and is very comfortable with people as he attends many such educational talks, particularly with children. He is very friendly enabling those members who wished to stroke him to do so – a truly delightful experience.

The Wirral Barn Owl Trust is a registered conservation charity aiming to encourage a viable population of breeding wild barn owls on the Wirral peninsula. This work goes some way towards improving the national barn owl population that has been on the decline for many years. Further information and pictures can be obtained from the Trust’s website on www.wirralbarnowltrust.org and with further still pictures and video clips available on www.wirral-mbc.gov.uk

 

Support for international projects

 

‘Bags of effort’

Two projects related to this topic can be linked to Programme Objectives 1, 2 and 9.  We have sold £250 worth of high quality handmade shopping bags made by members of our Friendship Link SI Solihull. The bags were embellished by attractively decorated empty tea bags made by children in South Africa. Funds raised support Solihull’s project, the Sithibile Child and Youth Centre in South Africa in order to improve the young peoples’ social and educational chances. Three members of SI Solihull pictured here on the right below and front left met with Jenny (rear left) and Stella (behind the camera) to pass on the bags for us to sell. 

 Our second project is local and is on-going. Welcome bags have been handmade and stocked with a soft toy and other items, e.g. torches, colouring books and pencils, for children entering the local Women’s and Children’s Centre with their mothers. The bags give the children something just for them to help ease the stressful situation. Feedback from the Centre staff indicates that these have been greatly appreciated by the children.

 ’Bangles, beads and pencils galore’

Objectives 1 and 9 were met when Club member Lotys went to Uganda again. She called in at Mama Jane’s orphanage for victimes of war and HIV/AIDS visited on previous trips.  On her previous visit Lotys had returned with a large volume of bangles and necklaces made by the children. Beads are individually made and highly decorated. The jewellery proved very popular when taken to both Soroptimist meetings and other events. Funds raised, over £100 so far, provide much needed support for the children’s welfare.

During her visit to Uganda Lotys also visited the school where the Cheshire based chairty Uganda Learn4Life actively promotes the school development. Lotys was able to see the solar panels on the girls dormitory funded by the Club’s £600 donation. These panels provide light to enable the girls to do their homework in their own accommodation rather than go to the boys’ dormitory.  Lotys had not gone out to Uganda empty handed but went loaded with many items donated by Club members, and Lotys’ friends and work colleagues. She took out over 1,000 pencils, as well as other writing materials, numerous items of clothing, and some sweets. All were shared between the children in both places and were much appreciated. Below is a picture of Lotys (R) with children at the orphanage.

 

‘Wine flowing for water’

A very successful cheese and wine evening was attended at a Club member’s home in support of Water Aid for a water and sanitation project in Bangladesh. The aim of the evening was to raise £75 to meet the challenge by SIGBI’s president to celebrate the 75 years of Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) was achieved. Everyone had a most enjoyable evening.

Aquabox

Club members have sent off two Aquaboxes during the last year. A charitable organisation run by the Rotary Club collect and warehouse these life saving boxes. The boxes are filled with essential items required by families who have experienced a natural or man-made disaster e.g. floods. A list arrives with the box and includes items such as some basic tools, cooking pans and baby clothes. When the family receives the plastic box it will also contain water sterilizing tablets; so the box is not only used to transport the contents collected, but can be filled with water which is made safe to drink with the tablets. Jenny and Lotys packed the box – below are some pictures of Lotys with the items packed and the box itself which you can see is strong enough to be used as a table or even a seat as demonstrated! The number on the boxes enables them to be tracked so the Club could find out where the boxes are eventually sent.

 Support for local projects

Volunteering ‘down on the farm’

Linked to Objective 9, this local service project involves Wirral’s Tam O’Shanter Urban Farm. Run as a charity, this small farm provides free entry to a valuable place where local children can see small farm animals and learn about the wider world. The Farm team put on educational and fun activities and events for the children on a regular basis. Wallasey Soroptimist members support the farm with a rota system to serve in the gift shop that contributes much needed funds to help keep the project and events going.  Below is a picture of Stella (L) and Sue behind the counter of the gift shop. 

 

Women and Children’s Aid Centre

Our Club supports the Wirral Women and Children’s Aid Centre, not only with gift bags for the children, but with funds for supermarket vouchers; toiletries; and other much needed basics. Our most recent activity involved filling buckets with essential household items, e.g. cleaning products, dustpan & brush and toilet rolls. When a woman leaves the Centre to go to her new home she is provided with a bucket as a starter kit.

 Supporting local church fundraising

Club members combined the 2010 Christmas season with an Awareness exercise by taking part in a local Christmas tree festival.  St. Nicholas Church, Wallasey, was host to 50 four foot high fresh Christmas trees each sponsored and decorated by a local organisation/school/business.  Wallasey Club chose to decorate their tree in Soroptimist colours using gold baubles and blue lights.  The result was very effective.  The Festival opened with a gala sell-out concert on the Friday night and was open to the public, with carol singing and light refreshments during the following week.  Any proceeds from the event will be put towards a stained glass window to celebrate the church’s centenary.

For the first time this year SI Cheshire, North Wales and Wirral have been present at the Cheshire Show. Wallasey President Stella and members Sue and Jenny attended the first day to help with ‘meeting and greeting’ people and to offer items for sale to raise funds for Club charities.