SI Bristol was awarded a medal by The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Jos Clark, for their outstanding contribution to the City of Bristol during the coronavirus pandemic.
Over 1,000 knitted teddy bears (10 for each of the 100 years of the Club’s existence) were distributed to emergency services, Children’s Services, Social Services, and several charities. Many knitted pairs of hearts for patients on Children and dementia wards and drawstring bags for scrubs, theatre hats and masks for staff were given to the local hospitals. Drawstring bags for survivors of Slavery in Safe Houses run by Unseen were made from discontinued fabric samples from Hillarys and donated along with gift 
vouchers and art supplies for use by the survivors. Fundraising included two members walking over 100 miles a month (one for 6-months and one for 12-months) for the Club’s annual charities. To date, nearly £5,000 has been thusly raised. A virtual Porridge Day event and donations raised £1,590 for Mary’s Meals, which was doubled by the UK government’s ‘Double the Love’ campaign; allowing 200 children to be fed a meal a day for an entire school year. Donations were also given to ‘Empowering Girls
in Nepal’, North West Food Bank, Caring at Bristol for the Homeless, Unseen, the British Red Cross, Royal British Legion Poppy Day Appeal and Vision Aid.
Actions to care for the environment included a socially-distanced Litter Pick, planting an oak tree in the Muller Road Recreation Ground through ‘One Tree Per Child Bristol to make Bristol greener’ and 32 trees (one for each Club member) through the Forest of Avon Trust.
Thus, even as the coronavirus had us in its grips, members continued their century-long tradition of providing service to underprivileged. SI Bristol was one of only seven organisations to receive this honour.