PROJECTS FOR 2019-2020
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
New for 2018 – SPECTACLES FOR VISION AID
Once again our club are making a collection – this time it is old spectacles to raise money for Vision Aid
Vision Aid, recycle donated second hand glasses to provide sustainable and affordable eye care services across Africa. The glasses are recycled for their precious metal content (gold frames) and any retro or vintage glasses are sold on E bay. They also recycle plastic glasses frames and the income generated through the recycling process enables Vision Aid to deliver sustainable eye care services.
RING PULLS
The club are continuing to collect Ring Pulls from drink cans and tins for the Purple Community Fund, a charity which supports a variety of sustainable social enterprise programmes. They are supporting the most marginalised members of the community in the UK, the Philippines and other countries in Asia – those who have fallen through the cracks of society and some who have found themselves entangled in the criminal justice system. by making jewellery and handbags from ring pulls. Each of these ring pulls is worth 4p and we have collected over 40,000 so far – which equates to over £1600.
We would welcome any support offered in this latest of our “CANpaigns”
LOCAL PROJECTS
New for 2019 – SANDWICH ANGELS
The club are this year supporting “Sandwich Angels” who deliver food and toiletries to the homeless in Manchester City Centre. Tare a lot of homeless women who have no access to sanitary products and toiletries, so we are making a collection to help them. This will be an on-going project and we will also be sending tins of cooked meets and other sandwich fillers to the depot in Hyde where volunteers meet to make up the food parcels before delivering them twice weekly on Wednesday and Saturday evenings.
RED BOX COLLECTION
SI Ashton-under-Lyne are proud to be supporting REDBOX.ORG which is a nationwide charity working with local coordinators to end “period poverty” in schools across the country. Our local coordinator, Bev Bennett is in contact with schools in the Tameside area, providing FREE sanitary protection and underwear to girls who are missing out on their education each month due to the lack of proper sanitary protection during their periods.
Organisations such as us, will fill a box which will be left in a local school for teachers to distribute as necessary. Our club has promised to refill the boxes as and when needed. Collections are being made all over the country and many of the local areas have their own Facebook page.
More information can be found at redbox.org
FOODBANKS
Two of our club members have now attended training by The Trussel Trust which looks after three Foodbanks in Tameside East which is one of the the most well used. There is a lot of monitoring done by the Trust and a uniform approach is now being made at all three of these Foodbanks. A presentation which is made to all trainees has been viewed by all club members.
The club will continue with donations to the Foodbanks at various times in the year. Monetary donations have been found very useful to buy items for the Foodbanks which are in short supply and these could be anything from food stuffs to toilet rolls which many people forget are a necessity.
A further collection is planned for our June meeting
HAREBELL SUITE at Tameside General Hospital
The club will continue to support the Harebell Suite which supports mothers of still born babies. Emergency toilet bags are donated on a regular basis and a small working group also maintain the garden.
Items required for the toilet bags are:
Harebell Suite (travel size If possible)
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Shampoo
- Shower Gel
- Soap
- Flannel/body scrub
- Comb/brush
Treats-body lotion/talc
KNITTING PROJECTS
New for 2018
BABY HATS FOR ROYAL OLDHAM HOSPITAL
Oldham Care Organisation have developed a baby traffic light system on the Royal Oldham Hospital Post Natal Ward.
The initiative was introduced by Mel Wildman, with the colour of the bobble indicating the level of observations required. The red bobble indicates frequent observations required working down to green where less focus is required.
The hats are single use only and are lovely keepsakes for the new parents.
The knitters from our club are taking this project on board.
Click here for details of the knitting pattern. Knitting Pattern for Baby Bobby Hats
Poppies for British Legion
Our knitted poppies have been a great success over the last few years, so our knitters are taking a well earned rest this year, although I think there will be some contribution from our knitters to the wall of poppies planned for Remembrance Sunday to commemorate the end of the first world war.
(Click here for details of the poppy knitting pattern)Poppy Pattern 2016
Neo-Natal Knitters – a group meeting on Wednesday mornings at 11.00 am. to knit and crotchet items for Premature Babies in St. Mary’s Hospital neo-natal unit and also for the unit at Royal Oldham Hospital.
(click here for pattern of jackets and hats) hat Prem Baby Pattern
Click here for pattern of cotton pouch) Prem Baby Pouch
The club will also continue to knit Teddies for hospital units where babies are stillborn/ premature /die for the burial crib.
(Click here for details of knitting pattern) Tiny Bear
New Knitting Project – our keen and eager knitters have taken on a new project to knit “Twiddle Muffs” for people with dementia.
(Click here for details of knitting pattern)Twiddle Muffs
Knitted Christmas Decorations
Click here for knitting patterns for Christmas Decorations Scan-doucments
Education:
In 2014 – 2015 our main project was working together with Manchester Credit Union to produce a school’s resource around spending and saving and promoting Credit Union. We researched with young people in different areas before producing a Powerpoint presentation with teaching resources, one for Primary and one for Secondary. The resource has been distributed far and wide including Canada.
Copies of the resource can be obtained from: soroptimistashton@gmail.com
The club has also contributed to:-
Online petition to support Malala and the education of girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan
Online petition regarding FGM (Femal Genital Mutilation)
Online petition regarding violence against women
Online petitions regarding Social Care Review
Online petitions for Homeless women (free sanitary protection)
Online petitions for food wastage in Supermarkets
Online pettions for food education (to stop obesity)
