South Perth Inc

About South Perth Inc

Soroptimist International of South Perth is active in the local, national and international communities.  We welcome new members, guests and volunteers who would like to join us in helping transform the lives of women and girls.

Projects

We initiate projects at the local, national and international level that focus on education, empowerment, and the creation of enabling opportunities to improve the lives and status of women and girls.

Find out more about our latest Service Projects for examples of what we get up to HERE

CRISP: Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot  

The club is undertaking to support a refugee family via the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) program facilitated by Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA). Our specially trained team of club members has become a Community Support Group (CSG), and their responsibilities begin when the family we have chosen arrives at the airport in a couple of months.

Our new project, assisting and supporting a refugee family settle into our community needs your help! We are fundraising via the platform "Shout for Good" where donations are tax deductible.
DONATE https://shoutforgood.com/fundraisers/SISP

Starick

SISP supports the work of Starick through a major fundraising event and provision of personal items throughout the year, as well as essential food hampers at Christmas time. We support the Starick Board and staff who work alongside women and children to assist their recovery from the impact of family and domestic violence, rebuild their lives, establish long-term housing and independence and to link in to their communities. Starick also provides education and raises awareness of prevention in the wider community.

Wanslea Grandcarers Project: School Packs

The School Packs Project has adapted in recent years to accommodate the demands posed by COVID. Despite the challenges, we are proud to say that we have been able to support W.A. grandparents raising their grandchildren with essential school stationery supplies every year since 2017

Our aim is to assist grandchildren being raised by their grandparents in WA by providing much-needed stationery supplies in readiness for the start of the school year.

In 2022, we have provided $12,500 worth of stationery gift cards, and $4000 worth of stationery in beautiful tote bags to grandcarers. This will enable grandchildren to start the 2023 school year with the stationery they need for learning.

HUGE thanks to the people who sew, collect, sort, pack and deliver. And to these incredible organisations:

Soroptimists of South Perth #SoroptimistAtWork

Stan Perron CharitableFoundation #stanperronfoundation

Como Rotary #comorotary

And to the Grandcare team at #wanslea who assist in the distribution of packs.

Grandparents with full time care of their grandchildren play such an important role in our community- we see you and we thank you. It’s time for government to provide more support to the grandcarers in our community. Let’s get behind grandcarers, recognise them, and thank them

Visit the School Packs Project Facebook page for full details.

Beanies Made With Love

During the year our members knit and collect beanies, scarves and blankets to distribute to the homeless of Perth through a wide network of agencies that directly serve the needs of the homeless. Many SI Clubs, community craft groups and organisations contribute items for this project. This year we distributed over 1,000 beanies and each year this number grows. Find beanie patterns HERE

Education and Extra-Curricula Scholarships

SISP provides local assistance in various ways to young people needing funds for choir scholarships, school camps, sporting camps, and schooling needs. Local secondary school students are sponsored to attend the International Women's Day Breakfast each year.  

Community Advocacy

SISP is active in the local community with a Board member on South Perth Senior Citizens Centre and a long-term affiliation with Southcare. Through these groups we provide Mothers Day flowers, relief assistance at Christmas time and wreaths for ANZAC Day. Additonally, each year our members volunteer their services to the South Perth City Council for the Australia Day Celebration Zone.

Past Projects

Family Foundations - UnitingWA

SISP supported the Family Foundations which assists vulnerable families since its inception in 2013. Family Foundations provides a safe place for families with children under 16 years, to get help with their immediate material needs and offer information, advice, emotional support and referral to address their housing and related issues. 

We assisted with practical items in consultation with the centre staff that support the families. Our volunteers provided regular rostered support at the centre to run family activities, storytime sessions and help with kitchen duties as needed. Leading up to holidays we donated Easter eggs, Christmas gifts for the children and also volunteered at the family Christmas Party in mid-December. While much of the food for the event was donated, our role was to help with food preparation in the kitchen, decorations and children's activites. The event was always very much appreciated by the recipients and equally as enjoyable for our members.

Girls for Girls

This project was established by one of our young SISP members in conjunction with young women in the South Perth area. The project focused on  

• Bringing together young women in the community: creating an open, supportive environment for girls to make new friends.
• Networking and mentoring: give girls the opportunity to learn from other young women, and have a network of people within SISP and their network they can turn to for advice.
• Learn new skills: develop important life skills that are important for all young women to learn through themed informational sessions at each group gathering.
• Support women in need through charity donations: create a mindset of giving and supporting those in need through organising fundraising events and volunteering in the community.

Overall, there was positive response to this project from young women in the area. Mentors were sourced from within SISP and gave a wonderful way to engage with young Soroptimists and support them at the beginning of their careers.