Projects

Projects are generally known as Program Action. We have a number of projects running in the club and we encourage every member to get involved in at least one of them. Which one would you like to join? Time commitment varies according to project and events. Please speak to the project leader to find out more. You can just help for one event or be involved for the duration of the project.

Each project has its own web page – click on title to go to that project.

On the SIGBI hub you can look up projects that other clubs have done. If you see something which inspires you, or you have an idea of your own, please let a committee member know.

Women’s Safety Initiative – Making Our City Safer

Following the murder of Sarah Everard we decided to look at women’s safety in and around Salisbury. We held a one-day conference which brought together numerous local organisations with a shared interest in a safer Salisbury. The conference was well attended and set out steps for taking the initiative forward.

Since then we have conducted night audits of the central city to see where it seems too dark (often because street lights are not working – these have been reported) and what can be done to improve the feel of the streets. This audit was repeated in February 2023 and report submitted to the Wiltshire Council. We repeated the same audit in February 2024 and will be reporting again. The Council subsequently commissioned a report from experts who tested light levels and submitted their recommendations.

A Schools Forum took place to talk to both girls and boys about acceptable behaviour, consent and keeping safe when out at night – see here. This was followed up in 2023 with another event during Orange the World.

We promoted the project at an event in the Guildhall.

A successful conference was held at the Guildhall on 1st October 2022.

2023

This year we are focussing on raising awareness of domestic violence, bystander training, self defence and another Schools’ Forum. We plan to create toolkits for employers and sports clubs. Find out more here.

We have already repeated the streetlight audits (see above).

Award winner!

We are very proud that this project won the Regional ‘Bluebell Award’ and a Best Practice Award at the SIGBI conference.

Since then we have been liaising with Wiltshire Police and launched Operation Awake, a reporting system for female councillors being abused online.

Project Leader: Liz Batten

Her Salisbury Story

On International Women’s Day in March 2020 we launched Her Salisbury Story , a Heritage Fund supported project which aims to bring Salisbury’s heritage alive through the celebration of the lives of Salisbury’s women past and present.

Most of the project took place during various Covid lockdowns so research had to be online rather than in libraries or museums. Over 50 women’s profiles have been uploaded to the website. We developed a walking tour which was published as ‘Her Salisbury Footprint‘. The winners of the writing competition were announced at our celebration event in October 2021. Around 12-13 club members were involved in the project, so it was a significant commitment for the club as a whole.

The promotion phase included giving talks to local groups, offering guided walking tours and attending events like the Chalke Valley History Festival in June; see the report here.

This project has been showcased by Salisbury Museum in a six month exhibition (November 22 to April 23) highlighting some of the women along with artefacts illustrating their stories. The public response has been gratifying and it has generated traffic to our website.

Although we are no longer researching women, we are still giving talks and walks to interested groups. We received a donation which enables us to continue to maintain the website for a few more years.

Quiz Night

Our annual quiz night enables us to continue to support our local Women’s Refuge and local charity EdUKaid. This charity has set up a girls’ club in Tanzania as part of the Heshima Project menstrual health programme with the aim of educating and empowering girls to improve their life chances.

The organising committee create all the quiz questions, organise the catering, the raffles prizes and ticket sales. On the night they set up the hall, prepare and serve supper, read out the questions, sell raffle tickets, keep the scores and tidy up afterwards! All offers of help gladly accepted to keep this event running smoothly.

Project Leader: Barbara Evans

Bra Collection

During May and June we collect pre-loved (gently used) bras for distribution to women in Africa through Afreebra . They tell us that wearing a bra gives a woman dignity and for many are a luxury item.

The main collection points are Five Rivers Leisure Centre and 60 Endless St, but members are encouraged to assemble their own collections and bring them along to our fun ‘Bras and Bubbly’ event.

We sort, count and pack the bras we collect for transportation to the charity at ‘Bras and Bubbly’ event in July.

A record breaking collection in 2023!

And even more in 2024!

Project Leader: Penny Joyce

Orange the World

In support of the UN campaign involving 16 days of activism with the aim of eliminating violence against women and girls, each year we try to raise awareness in Salisbury. We have focussed on domestic abuse; signposting support services, encouraging employers to train staff to recognise the signs of abuse, White Ribbon training to recruit Male Allies and helping victims to speak out.

Gifts for Refuge

Every year members bring along gifts to our November meeting suitable for the children at Salisbury Women’s Refuge to wrap and give to their mothers. Suitable gifts include toiletries, warm clothes and decorative items. No candles or other inflammable items please.

Microfinancing

We identified that we have excess club funds held in reserve so we decided to put these funds to use. We will lend £500 on the Lendwithcare platform to women entrepreneurs around the world. As the loans are repaid, we will lend to further women.

Lead: Jenny Hair

Christmas Tree Festival

Each year we decorate a tree for the festival in St Thomas’ Church.

Lead: Edwina Berkeley

Fresh Thoughts

SI Poole have published a book to help women fleeing domestic abuse find the right support services and navigate the court system. They have offered the blueprint to other clubs to tailor to their areas. We propose to publish the equivalent booklet for Wiltshire.

Lead: Eleanor Evans

Other projects

Lobbying – trying to become more effective and pro-active at lobbying as a club.

Letter writing – we felt that writing letters generally, was something that was easy for members to do from home. SI Surrey Hills talked about their project writing letters to cancer sufferers via the “From me to you” charity – www.frommetoyouletters.co.uk . This is not a pen pal scheme and the charity finds recipients for the letters. There is another charity that writes letters to those in prison – www.cleanbreak.org.uk/news.write-2-connect

Twiddlemuffs/masks – whilst we are no longer making any projects, if any members are interested in knitting or crocheting twiddlemuffs or sewing masks, please let Eleanor know. We will be able to either donate them to good homes, or sell them to raise funds.

Project Archive

For projects which are no longer active, please see our Project Archive.

Project List – Jan 2022

Salisbury Club Projects