On 17th March Marion and Yvonne, and on 23rd June Liz N and Marion helped to raise money for the Lord Mayor of Bristol Children’s fund by packing bags at food counters at Marks and Spencer, Broadmead. Respectively, the amount collected was £180.88 and £362.86. The amount collected in March was low because there were only enough volunteers to cover four hours. In June, Barclays Bank supported the activity by matching the amount collected via their £4£ scheme. Thus, as a result of these two events, a total of £806.60 was raised for this appeal. The Lord Mayor of Bristol’s Children Appeal helps disadvantaged children under the age of 16 (or 18 if disabled) who reside within the Bristol city boundary to have a better Christmas by providing vouchers that can be exchanged for food, clothes and toys. Recipients are nominated by the Children and

Programme Action has developed a list of information related to recycling and reduced use of plastic. The idea is to support places and shops that make an effort to reduce the use of plastic and to take individual responsibility for recycling and being aware of using plastics. Hopefully, this list is just a beginning and Liz N encourages anyone with further knowledge to contact her so the list may be kept up-to-date and relevant. Good Practice – National Trust now uses biodegradable wrapping for their magazine. They are made from potato starch. – City Hall sells reusable cups in their canteen. – Waitrose to plan to get rid of plastic cups by Autumn 2018. – A Swindon firm ‘Recycling Technology’ has developed a process to recycle previously non-recyclable plastic items. – Ann Garvie is producing a document “Sustainable Development Goals – What we can do”.

SI Bristol responded to the request by SIGBI to conduct a survey. The purpose was to obtain data about the level of understanding the public has regarding human trafficking and modern slavery. The survey was conducted by SI Clubs throughout UK. Club members encouraged people to complete the survey (online or on paper) between 1st and 7th October 2017. On 7th October, a team of SI Bristol volunteers (Carol, Liz N, Lizzie, Helen, Hilary B, Pat I, Sue P and Yvonne) conducted surveys at Southmead Hospital lobby.  The number of online submissions is unknown; 111 paper surveys were submitted (80 from Southmead Hospital and 31 others) from a diverse range of respondents. A total of 552 Forms were submitted from SIGBI (which consists of 17 Clubs). This means that SI Bristol’s activity contributed a fifth of the paper surveys. Responses provided valuable information to the

Mend the Gap is a registered charity based in Bristol which runs projects in Eastern Africa that aim to eradicate poverty and advance education. When two independent schools in Bristol merged in 2017, Bristol Soroptimists were able to acquire supplies of new and nearly new school uniform which needed a good home. In many African countries, children without school uniform are not allowed to attend school and many such children often drop out of education altogether and miss out on life’s chances and a way to break out of the circle of poverty. Recycling these uniforms to schools supported by Mend the Gap in Bochoroke, Kenya, has made a big difference. Not all children in the village can afford to go to school, so to wear a uniform is a visible sign of school membership. Hard-wearing school clothes are important as they will be passed