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Supporting Unchosen: Bristol stands against Sexual Exploitation

Supporting Unchosen: Bristol stands against Sexual Exploitation

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Following SI Bristol’s successful Gift Box hosting in 2014 to raise awareness of Human Trafficking, we have kept an avid interest in local charities who are seeking to eliminate slavery and exploitation within the UK and beyond. We were delighted to be invited by Bristol based charity Unchosen to have a stand at their event on 2nd March entitled “Bristol stands against Sexual Exploitation”. Unchosen believes that film is a powerful tool that explains Modern Slavery in ways words cannot. The event was a chance for SI Bristol to watch the films created by Unchosen to raise awareness of sexual exploitation, followed by a Q&A on sexual exploitation and the implications of the Modern Slavery Act. The films were introduced by Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens, an active partner and supporter of Unchosen and were well received by all as a realistic and moving portrayal of

Eden House Workshop

Eden House Workshop

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On the afternoon of December 8th Gish Hobbs and Denise Matthews visited Eden House to oversee a Christmas themed craft session. We had prepared a variety of activities including card making, a table decoration using fresh foliage, and a handmade tree decoration which involved a lot of glueing. We provided all the necessary materials and some simple advice on methods. Eight ladies attended ( as well as a member of Eden House staff) and all showed enthusiasm and interest in the ideas we presented.Most of the ladies completed two activities, seemed pleased with their efforts and in some cases showed remarkable ingenuity in problem solving ways of making the tree decorations stick together! There was constant conversation amongst everyone during the couple of hours we were there and it was generally an enjoyable afternoon.

Programme Action: Eden House Garden Diary 2015

Programme Action: Eden House Garden Diary 2015

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The vision for beginning an Allotment Project at Eden House came from SI Bristol brainstorming how they could best respond to 2015 being Bristol’s year as European Green Capital. A piece of land approximately 20ft by 10ft was identified as ideal for an allotment. It is an Eden House allotment – volunteers from SI Bristol work under the Client Lead’s direction and garden by way of support to the Clients. Week 1 – 7 April 2015 Four members of SI Bristol met with Penny, the Client Lead. Sue Oakey, a garden and allotment expert also came to advise on how best to plan the allotment and to give other useful gardening tips. The vision was to have a seated area under a tree planted with flowers, where Clients could sit and chat with their workers in confidence as well as plenty of fruit and vegetables that the women

Spend a Penny! – Toilet Twinning Success: Programme Action for 2015

Spend a Penny! – Toilet Twinning Success: Programme Action for 2015

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STOP PRESS SUCCESS STORY! Bristol Soroptimists have raised enough money through their Spend a Penny Campaign to fund the building of a whole school toilet block in Muyebe – an extremely poor rural village in Uganda. We’ve helped young girls, like Bridget below, be able to look forward to a much healthier future and with no disruption to their education. Find out more about Toilet Twinning at www.toilettwinning.org SI Bristol – Spend a Penny Campaign Aim:   By donating a coin or two every time we go to the loo, to raise enough funds to become a toilet twinned Soroptimist group in Bristol. What does this mean? By sponsoring and twinning a toilet (or toilet block) in a developing country, we’ll be providing basic sanitation, fresh water and hygiene education to a family or community who, at present, have none. Why support toilet twinning?   Lack of

Learning in Lima

Learning in Lima

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July saw the return of Sylva Von Bomsdorff for a short holiday from her home in Peru and we were delighted to hear news of the latest happenings at her small School in Lima. Due to the fact that Lima has been experiencing an unusual level of heavy, fine rain which the original flat roof was not designed to manage, it has been necessary to improve the slope and drainage for the roof, something outside their planned budget. However, a small increase to the salary has enabled the School to continue to employ the dedicated teaching team and pupil levels are almost at the maximum for the classrooms available, although only around 30% are able to pay their full fees. Income continues to be juggled by Sylva and her team to ensure education is available wherever possible for those with little income. An additional expense

SI Bristol showing support for Bristol Rotary Club –

SI Bristol showing support for Bristol Rotary Club –

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Sky Ride Bristol … Members of SI Bristol joined Bristol Rotary Club to help marshal Sky Ride Bristol on Sunday 21 June. Cycling fever hit Bristol as all types of riders and abilities rode through traffic-free city centre streets to raise funds for their favourite charities. A formidable pair of Soroptimists made sure that the route they were responsible for was kept clear for the cyclists! Induction of new Rotary President … The annual changeover of Presidents for Bristol Rotary took place on Monday 29 June. SI Bristol, who have a special relationship with Rotary, were represented at this annual event which began with a short church service in The Lord Mayor’s Chapel opposite College Green – a beautiful setting and building. The Revd Harold Clarke who conducted the service had been a Bristol Rotarian. He spoke of his recent trip to Sri Lanka where

Newspage

Newspage

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Members of SI Bristol at the Regional AGM held in St Austell on Saturday 20th June.  We were invited to display our Programme Action activities.   One of Bristol club’s members volunteered to take part in a Self Defence Demonstration, by James Turner, Regional Kick Boxing Champion   Afternoon Tea SI Bristol celebrated our 95th anniversary at the Marriott Royal Hotel with a sumptuous afternoon tea. We were delighted to host visiting dignitaries and members from across the region as well as members’ friends and relatives. The first meeting in 1920 was hosted in the same hotel.  It was then known as the Royal Hotel.                       SI Bristol have been working on a garden project with Eden House see Programme Action page for more information Soroptimists and Rotarians joined forces to marshal Sky Ride Bristol

Programme Action: On-going Activities

Programme Action: On-going Activities

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Learning in Lima & the Women’s Initiative                                                             SI Bristol have been supporting the Learning in Lima project since its inception in 2005. Sylva, a former member of SI Bristol, set up an infants school in Lima after seeing so many children going without basic education. We are proud to support Sylva in her work, through regular fundraising activities and she often pays us a visit when in the UK to keep us updated on the school’s progress. Recently we have contributed to funds to pay for a minibus for the school to assist them in day trips out. The school also supports the children’s mothers by offering them work helping out at the school providing an important community

Programme Action

Programme Action

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2015 – Eden House Garden Project SI Bristol have been working with Eden House Women’s Centre, as part of Bristol’s 2015 European Green Capital initiative. In March 2015, we teamed up with Eden House (a rehabilitative project for females at risk of offending behaviour) to help one of their Client Lead’s start a gardening project that will directly benefit the women who use the service. The project was launched on the 7th April with a talk by Sue Oakey, a prominent local Garden Designer, who advised us on garden planning and what plants to grow in the space available. Never ones to shy away from hard work, SI Bristol started digging and planting the following week! Now, a small herb garden has been planted alongside vegetables and fruit. The aim of the project is to grow food for the women to cook in their healthy

Tea for Special Friends Club

Tea for Special Friends Club

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Tea for Special Friends Club On 13th June we held a tea party, at St Mary Magdalene Church Rooms Stoke Bishop, for some of the families who belong to the Special Friends Club. Several families came with their children. It was an enjoyable afternoon and included crafts and singing, as well as a delicious tea supplied by members of SI Bristol. The families who came, wrote afterwards that they had had a “wonderful time”.   Voices Together Concert On Saturday 13th November Soroptimist International of Bristol held a very successful fund-raising evening at St. Mary Magdalene Church in aid of our President’s Charity ‘Special Friends Club’. The concert was attended by the Lord Mayor, Clare Campion Smith; the Vice Lord Lieutenant, Dr. Timothy Chambers and the High Sheriff, Dr. Rosalind Kennedy. It was indeed a concert of ‘Voices Together’ as we were entertained by two local