23 January saw us holding our planning meeting to look back at what we have achieved in 2020 and to look forward and plan for 2021. And what a year we have had. The pandemic has not stopped us. Just click on the following to see what we have been up to SI MK 2020 Achievements
Back in the first lockdown, in 2020, our link officer with the Women’s Refuge (MK Act) asked how they were coping and if they needed anything. The manager there said the women and children were finding it hard to cope with the restrictions, so we asked how we could help and were told cakes would be lovely to boost both the families and staff morale. And so, the grand cake making begun. Volunteers came forward and we were organised into two teams and a weekly rota was set up. Cakes were baked and delivered to our link officer one day. And the following day the Women’s Refuge manager would pick them up and take them in the next day and distribute them to the families. After a couple of weeks, we asked were they enjoying the cakes and received a big thumbs up and please
November and December were busy months for us. We were stitching and sewing for our linked charities (MK Act – Women’s Refuge, YMCA Milton Keynes, British Red Cross MK and Works for us). We made lots of Christmas sacks and filled them with toys and sweets to give to the families staying at the Women’s Refuge and of the families with The British Red Cross to help them celebrate Christmas, especially this year, in these difficult times. Below are just a few examples of what we have been up to. In fact, the manager of the Women’s refugee asked us where we had bought the lovely sacks as she wanted to get some more and was very impressed when we said our members had made them all. And whilst we could not cook our usual annual Christmas meal at the new YMCA facility, instead, out
2019/20 resulted in the achievement of our most significant and biggest project undertaken to-date. SI:MK raised £2,605 to sponsor a room at the new YMCA facility in Central Milton Keynes and made 30 quilts so that each resident could have their own quilt on their journey back into the community. At the end of August 2020, after being delayed by Covid-19, the quilt presentation went ahead during a meeting with the residents of supported living and each resident was gifted a quilt. Lauren, at the YMCA, reported the feedback from the residents has been amazing, huge smiles and interactions with each other. Apparently there are room inspections and the quilts are displayed with pride on their beds. There were a few left and these will be kept for future residents. YMCA sent us some pictures and thanked SI MK for all our support over the
Aaliyah Aries – how I cope with Dilated Cardiomyopathy At our branch meeting in October we were very lucky to here from Aaliyah Aries. Here is her story. I am Aaliyah, I’m 17 years old. I am a second-year level 3 health and social care student and peer educator at Northampton college. I am also a heart patient, being diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy at 12 years old after a few months of sickness and a few weeks of being extremely unwell. Previously, I lived a normal active life. My illness resulted in me staying in intensive care for a month and taking loads of medication. My condition means that I will need to receive treatment for the rest of my life and its likely I will require a heart transplant at some unknown point in the future. This page contains more information about Dilated Cardiomyopathy:
2020 End Violence Against Women campaign 25 November 2020 saw the start of 16 days of activism to mark the Ending of Violence Against Women Day which is an annual event always on 25th November. In 1994, the United Nations defined violence against women, as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”. Let’s all try to be ware of this and to raise awareness where ever we can and to listen and provide what support we can. During this week our chair, Amanda Carter Phillpot attended a performance of Never Going to Beat You – Domestic Abuse in the Traveller Community on 23rd November hosted by Soroptimists International ST Albans.
MK ACT Christmas Presents for the Refuge Christmas is a very hard time for families affected by domestic abuse. MK ACT are very grateful for any presents for the children and women in our refuge and families that we support through our Crisis Intervention Service. Please note, due to heath and safety we can only accept new toys and new clothes. We also cannot accept toy guns and knives. Below is a list of the ages of children in our refuge for anyone who would like to donate a present. We ask for all presents to be either in gift bags with a label on with the child’s age, or in plastic bags. We are also very grateful for any Supermarket vouchers for the families this Christmas, new children’s pyjamas or presents for the children to be able to give their mothers. Ages and sexes of children in the refuge at Christmas
Right now, YMCA are a home for 199 young people in Milton Keynes. YMCA Milton Keynes is an affordable housing provider offering activities that have a positive impact on a resident’s health, well-being and personal development. During this pandemic time, the YMCA have had to adapt how they work to keep their residents and staff safe during this time, which can often be quite unsettling. They are asking for our help. The YMCA have put together a selection of emergency activity packs so that they can continue supporting their residents, so they have a sense of belonging, feel they are contributing and to help them go on to thrive. Buy an Activity Pack for a young person at YMCA Milton Keynes, click here to find out more about the types of Activity Packs
What is #IamRemarkable? #IamRemarkable is a global Google initiative that strives to empower everyone, particularly women and underrepresented groups, to express their achievements in the workplace and beyond. At the heart of the #IamRemarkable initiative is a 90-minute workshop that helps participants learn the importance of self-promotion in their personal and professional life, equip them with tools to develop this skill set, and invite them to challenge the social perceptions surrounding self-promotion. To date, #IamRemarkable has reached over 130,000 participants, and 800+ companies, across 130+ countries, with the help of 7000+ facilitators. Below are details of the 3 workshops Amanda Carter Philpot, our Chair and Director of Pandora INC CIC will be running in November. Please pass details on to anyone who may be interested. The 3 workshops are free events for 90 minutes on zoom. There are 3 dates to choose from with different
Soroptimists are approaching their 100 years celebrations. One of our ways to celebrate this is to look to a bright future. And we thought lets plant a tree. Here in Milton Keynes the Parks Trust manage a number of ancient woodlands and they are currently facing a loss of trees due to Ash dieback. They are looking for our help. This autumn we are seeing a bumper crop of acorns being produced within our woodlands, and Parks Trust are asking us help to collect and plant these so that we can all help protect woodlands such as Howe Park, Shenley and Linford wood for future generations. To learn more of how you can help click here
