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SI Southern Districts of Adelaide Inc
Contact our club secretary on sisouthadelaide@siswp.org
education:
Flinders University: Our club provides an annual prize of $1,000 for a High Achieving Female Science/Engineering Graduate to assist with her postgraduate studies.
Adelaide University: With other local Soroptimist clubs we provide prize money for two female students at Adelaide University, one for Gender Studies and another in the area of Science.
Literacy: We support literacy programs like Little Big Book Club for young children. We believe that being able to read is of primary importance. Time spent sharing books with children is a huge investment in their future and a simple way for parents to maintain and refresh their bond with their growing child. During Covid we supported Raising Literacy Australia with their provision of special starter packs and mini-libraries for children new to foster care.
INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS:
● 2h Project (Save Arrivals) in Cambodia to reduce maternal and neo-natal mortality. Our financial support has helped in the training of Traditional Birth Attendants, many of whom are illiterate and have learned their midwifery skills through trial and error. www.the2hproject.com
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● Sanctuary Shelters for Women in Fiji - assisting women and children who are victims of violence and natural disaster. This is a project organized by the Federation of the South West Pacific (SISWP). The building phase is now complete and our Federation is managing the fit-out and furnishings through further donations.
LOCAL PROJECTS:
● Ninko Kurtangga Patpangga (Southern Regional Aboriginal Domestic and Family Violence Unit) - assisting with the upgrade of play areas, new equipment for the children, providing a meeting area for the women and purchasing native food plants for the women to grow.
● Cora Barclay Centre – providing assistance to enable suitable books, games and puzzles for the children.
● Southern Adelaide Domestic Violence Service – phone cards, metro tickets and gift cards for women at the centre; Crisis Care Bags for the children (Premier's Prize winning project - see below).
● Hutt Street Centre – providing home starter kits for couples moving from the street into housing.
● Catherine House - financial assistance with upgrading accommodation for homeless women.
● Rhodanthe Lipsett Charitable Trust for Indigenous Midwives - scholarships for midwifery education; allowing Indigenous midwives to refresh their training and to return to work on country. Outcomes have been improved maternal and infant health and survival.
● Angel Flights - financial assistance for the transport of patients and carer from remote areas to city for treatment.
● Women's Legal Service SA - donating vouchers to assist women from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds.
● Life in a Bag - providing key items, such as toiletries and long-life food, for people escaping domestic violence or experiencing homelessness.
SCASA awardS: Premier's Community Service Team
October 2021 Members of SI Southern Districts chatting with SA Premier, Steven Marshall about the 100th birthday of Soroptimist International.
To assist the children to cope with the experience of leaving their homes, the Crisis Care Bags contained:
• Something to read (for children and for mother to read to them)
• Something to love (cuddly blanket, soft toy)
• Something to help stay clean and fresh (toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, washcloth)
• Something to do (pencils, paper, activity books, puzzles, sock puppets)
• Something to give to mother (scarves, hand-cream or lip-gloss)
Members made the 56 carry bags, knitted toys and scarves. We were assisted by donations from our group and from commercial enterprises. Bags were tagged according to three age ranges and hand-written cards were attached.
ANNUAL FLINDERS PRIZE
FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES:
For a pictorial look at us and our workings.....see our gallery
SI Southern Districts News
Soroptimist International is now almost 102 years old and our Southern Districts of Adelaide Club is nearly 63. We are very proud of our history and our contributions to improving the lives of women and girls all over the world.
You can be part of this great movement! Scroll down to see more about what we do. Curious?
Contact us on sisouthadelaide@siswp.org.au
We have emerged from the pandemic stage of Covid-19 with more understanding of digital technology and how it helped us stay in touch and continue our work.
Face-to-face meetings have resumed but it is possible to join in online. Our Business meetings are held in a spacious room upstairs at Club Marion, so you can feel Covid-safe and comfortable.
FUNDRAISING
One of our most successful fundraisers is our Bunnings barbecue.
Images to come!
targeted groups for RECENT projects
- Supporting women over 50 years of age experiencing homelessness.
- Crisis Care packs for young children arriving at Domestic Violence Units.
- Days for Girls - aim to improve access to menstrual aids and facilitate their education.
- OARS - providing care packs for women leaving prison.
- Scholarships for high achieving women at Flinders University and Adelaide University.
- Trees for Life - 100 trees.
- Queensland flood relief in collaboration with SI Gold Coast and many other SI groups.
- Life in a Bag - providing critical items for people escaping domestic violence and experiencing homelessness.
Little Big Book Club
All smiles at the packing table!
In past years (pre-Covid) a group from Southern Districts has helped with the packing of school and pre-school cartons of books for the Little Big Book Club. As this has been impossible, we have contributed by assisting with funds for a pilot program in which books were given to children newly arriving in foster care.
Women Leaving Prison
A recent project was designed to assist women leaving prison in the Adelaide area. We had been inspired by a talk by Dot Stagg from Offenders’ Aid and Rehabilitation Services at a Business Meeting, and decided to support her work.
The inspiring Dot Stagg previously from OARS.
Our title “It’s in their bag!” reflects our pleasure in providing practical items and little touches of luxury for these women who often have nothing. We sourced large handbags through donations and careful shopping. A small committee worked diligently to gather purchased and donated goods and fill these bags.
The range of goods included toothbrushes and paste, shampoo and conditioner, hand cream, cleanser, emery boards, purse or wallet, and sometimes a scarf or lip gloss. Local businesses supported our cause too, as did our members with donations and effort.
Every bag was unique and designed to bring comfort to the women who received them. Some months after the conclusion of the project, we received a heart-warming message of thanks from one of the recipients. Among other things, she said that it was empowering to know that there was a group of strong women in the community, supporting her in this way.
UNITED NATIONS – 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
GOING Orange
We participate annually in 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. This includes awareness-raising through receiving daily emails introducing topics for discussion, distribution of posters or displaying signs. A particularly innovative member has hung orange balloons and a banner on her gate!
Members have also attended the White Ribbon March, the Women’s WAVE Rally (End Violence Against Women spelled backwards) and Vigils for Victims of Aboriginal Domestic and Family Violence.
SI members from metropolitan clubs with banner at White Ribbon March.
FRIENDSHIP AND OUR SOCIAL SIDE
As well as using social occasions for fund-raising, we enjoy some just for their own sake.
On the second of every second month we meet for tea, coffee and cake at a cafe, so we have time to relax together without work to do. It is a chance to chat and also to introduce potential new members to our group.
Contact us to learn more about these friendly coffee mornings! Visitors are always welcome. Drop us a line at sisouthadelaide@swp.org
Our Christmas parties are also a good time to reflect and enjoy time together. If possible we attend the social celebrations and fund-raisers of other clubs. It is wonderful to feel the fellowship between SI clubs at these events and to know that we work for the same goals - to improve the lives of women and girls.
We sustain informal Friendship Links with three Soroptimist International clubs in the United Kingdom. At a recent Christmas party we had a visit from our friend from SI Southampton Club. Betty has been a long-time friend of SI Southern Districts of Adelaide and has been attending our meetings when she comes to stay with family in Adelaide.
We also share Christmas greetings of peace from our new friends at SI South Shields, a club visited by one of our members on a trip to the United Kingdom. SI Epsom and Districts is also on our Friendship list and has been for over 30 years. It has been difficult to keep up with everyone over all those years, but we are back on track for informal contact at least. A very keen member at SI Epsom is very keen to start a collaborative project among their Friendship linked clubs. We will see how that develops!
We exchange special greetings with our Club Friends on International Friendship Day in October. It is such a positive experience to share messages this way, and reinforces our shared goals across the miles.
The Federation of the South East Asia Pacific has declared October as our Recruiting Month, but we actively seek new members all year round. We are gathering some young members now, so we have an interesting future! Most of us have had fortunate lives and have joined Soroptimist in order to "give back" to the community.
Is this how YOU feel?