Every year, SCCT helps fund numerous female-led organisations across Sutton Coldfield, who do everything from organising children’s play groups to helping combat isolation. For International Women’s Day, we talked to six notable local women, to find out about their work, their inspiration, and how they feel the role of women is changing in today’s society.
When Our Place Support founder Kelly Round looks back on the organisation’s early years, she sees that a lot has changed for women.
She said: “Years ago there was a lack of representation - I felt women needed to be seen and heard more in business.
“When I started Our Place and I used to go to networking events, I often felt less valued which is something I suspect a lot of women experienced, but I think that has changed. These days you see more women in a variety of leadership roles.”
Kelly is the CEO of Our Place Support, which provides mentoring schemes for young people, a welfare advice service as well as a community hub in the heart of Sutton Coldfield.
First founded twelve years ago, Our Place has developed into a much-loved local institution. Kelly explained: “We identified the need for a community space in Sutton – there was a lack of affordable community spaces to deliver services.
“Over the years we’ve responded to the changing needs of the community. Initially it was just me mentoring in schools, but it quickly snowballed. We now have a mentoring team of five staff members and four volunteers. We work with around 70 young people each year on a one-to-one basis, and we do group work as well. Seven years ago we also took on an Advice Service supporting people with benefits, housing and employment which now helps over 350 people each year”
Our Place helps a diverse range of young people. Kelly explained: “We are open to everyone. Recently we introduced a new project working with young people aged 16-25, from communities identified as having less access to mental health wellbeing support, this includes the LGBT+ and Disabled communities and individuals from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnicities.
“Our mentoring is very bespoke. The idea is to support young people specifically on the things they find challenging.”
As well as ensuring the company offers personalised support for young people, Kelly has structured the Our Place Support working environment to allow her female-led team greater flexibility, and the ability to balance work and family.
Kelly also feels embracing family life is an essential value in her workplace.
“I used to hide the fact that I couldn’t do meetings during the school run, as I thought it made me less deserving of my role – like I shouldn’t be a CEO. Now I feel able to embrace it. As an organisation I’ve always built in that we’re flexible, and family comes first.
“I never want any of my team members to miss a school play or have to leave their child with someone else when they’re sick. That’s not the kind of workplace I want to build.”
Most recently Our Place has received a grant £43,800 from SCCT but has worked with the Trust for years.
Kelly said: “SCCT have been fantastic. Without them we probably wouldn’t exist – they were the first people that actually bought into our ideas and they match funded us initially. They took on my dream and my team’s dream and they backed us.
“They’re like a partner to us – rather than just providing funding to us and the community, we work really closely together on what’s going on in the area and what the community needs. It’s nice to feel like we’re part of the Charitable Trust as partners, as well as a beneficiary.
“They’ve helped with mentoring, the hub and have supported our advice service. They’ve touched on all elements of the services we deliver, and have given us a great boost.”
Hannah Simnett is the founder of Cherished, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation which provides mentors and workshops for vulnerable youngsters in schools across Birmingham.
Hannah founded Cherished at only 18 years old. She said: “I wanted to create something I would have loved to have had when I was younger. I went to SCCT – they believed in my vision and gave me the funding I needed to make it reality.”
Now, 13 years later, Cherished is operating in more than 60 primary and secondary schools in Birmingham, and every school in Sutton. They have more than 100 volunteers who go into schools and offer support.
Hannah said: “We support young people who may be lacking in confidence or who might have experienced trauma, helping them feel safe, seen, soothed and secure.”
Initially, Cherished only worked with young girls, based on Hannah’s passion and lived experience. Since 2011, the organisation has supported more than 10,000 children.
Hannah said: “It’s about inspiring girls to identify their strengths and passions and encouraging them to step out and work towards them. Things are changing now to show girls they can achieve great things, that there are options for them, and that girls and boys have equal potential.
“We’re trying to create that level playing field.”
In recent years, Cherished has expanded to providing services for young boys, which Hannah says was based on her own experience as a single mom to her son Abel.
She said: “About five years ago we introduced our ROAR (Relationships, Opportunities, Aspirations and Regulation) programme for boys who need a positive male role model. I was inspired to create it after my own son’s father left, and I recognised the importance of having a male role model present for young boys.
“We now have a team of men with that lived experience who go into schools and deliver a mentoring course, named I Am Able after my son.”
Hannah believes determined local women are the often-unsung heroes who provide essential services for the community. She herself was inspired by her mother, Emma Borg, who was one of the founders of Acacia Family Support, a local charity championing maternal mental health.
Hannah said: “My mom is the most inspirational woman for me. She was an everyday mother who used her pain for purpose, to create a support network which still helps people today.
“When we think about inspirational, amazing women, I’m not really drawn to famous people. I’m more inspired by the everyday woman who is stepping up, doing what she loves and making a difference.”
Sally Walker is a trained peer supporter and certified breastfeeding counsellor working with a female-led team at the Sutton Coldfield branch of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), a national charity which provides support for new and expectant parents.
The Sutton branch of the NCT was established 10 years ago. Sally joined the organisation during the pandemic and conducted research among local moms to identify how to better support them.
She said: “We did a survey on social media asking mothers what they wanted. They said that although support was given in hospitals, there was nothing available in the community, and many people were finding new parenthood incredibly tough and lonely.
“They wanted access to face-to-face help, especially early help for new moms, such as breastfeeding support groups.
“We also found out that lots of couples in Sutton are geographically distanced from their families, so they don’t have that ‘village’ which parents would traditionally have had. The main aim of our group is to give people that support network.”
After Covid, Sally and her fellow volunteers set up a support group in Sutton library at the heart of the Sutton community near public transport links to ensure accessibility to all. Due to a leak in the library in late 2023 the group moved to Duke Street Church where it remains to this day. They currently offer free weekly drop-ins at Duke Street Church on Friday mornings from 10.30 to 12.00.
Sally said: “Our trained peer supporters are all moms who started off in the group, which I feel is really significant as we have that shared experience.”
The group is female-led. However, Sally emphasises that the group is open to everyone, and the support of dads and partners is vital.
She said: “We’re extremely inclusive – we have moms, dads, grandparents, uncles and aunts attend. Everyone is welcome.”
The support the NCT provides is evidence-based and judgement-free, and Sally says that they empower new parents to chart their own course into parenthood.
She said: “We offer parent-led, research-based support. We don’t give out opinions or tell people what they should or shouldn’t do. We give them the necessary evidence to make the decisions that work for them.
“We aim to create a safe space where parents can enjoy time with their children, make friends and build a support network. “It’s all about building that “village”.”
Sally says SCCT’s support has been vital to the work of the group, which has seen over 1,500 attendees since it opened in July 2022.
She said: “‘We couldn’t do it without SCCT. We do our own fundraising to contribute to the running cost of the group but SCCT’s help has ensured we have been able to run all year round, including through the school holidays, to deliver a really consistent level of much needed support.
As a scheme manager for Home-Start Birmingham Northwest, Donna Prescott is part of a female team that helps families across Sutton Coldfield.
The organisation offers tailored advice for parents through matching volunteers to families, as well as providing social spaces and activities for children.
For Donna, Home-Start’s work is all about equipping families with skills to grow their confidence and independence.
She says: “Our volunteer training programme is open to anybody, to come in and see what it feels like to be a volunteer. It’s about confidence building.”
Because charity predominately works with women, Donna believes an important element of their work is helping mothers feel self-assured and appreciated, both in their role as a parent and as an individual – a sometimes difficult balance which Donna herself understands.
She says: “The childcare sector is a very female-dominated career path. For me, it was really important. I’ve progressed through my career and brought up a family.
“Being a mom can be quite isolating at times. It’s about knowing there is somebody out there to talk to and picking each other up.
“It’s important women know that support is there – that they can have something for themselves and also raise a family.
“For a lot of the women we support, it’s about empowerment and confidence. We offer something that tells them they’re doing an amazing job.”
SCCT has funded the relaunch of the group’s Learn and Play sessions in Sutton Coldfield.
Donna said: ‘The funding was really important. It’s made a massive difference – it’s meant we can come into Sutton, and put things back on in Sutton which we’ve lost. It also means we can expand and add more groups and resources to provide for the children.’
Baljeet Baba is the founder of Successful Ageing, a Community Interest Company which brings together senior citizens for activities that aim to improve their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.
Launched in 2021, the company runs a workshop every Friday in Four Oaks and Falcon Lodge.
Baljeet founded the organisation after research suggested seniors, particularly from BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) communities, were becoming increasingly isolated.
She said: “Successful Ageing was set up after we identified a gap in community support. Retired people were living in loneliness and isolation, especially among minority groups. Many of them would only leave the house to visit religious places or look after their grandchildren.”
There was clearly a need for the group’s work - having started off with just five members in 2021, it now has 72 members of both sexes attending meetings to improve their mental and physical health.
Baljeet explained said: “Our sessions are structured. We start off with exercise and nutrition, focusing particularly on joint and muscle health. Over three years I can see the changes in health and diet our members have accomplished.
“The latter part of the session is all about engaging the brain and teaching our seniors new skills. We bring in experts to teach them, whether it’s sudoku, line dancing, languages or something else.
“We can’t just respond to the issue with exercise – support has to come from all angles.’’
The multi-faceted approach taken by Successful Ageing, which is also open to the local community members regardless of age and ethnicity, ensures self-care is central to the support they provide.
Baljeet noted: “Bringing that lifestyle change towards embracing self-care is the most challenging part. For many of our seniors, their whole lives have revolved around giving to others: as mother, father, grandparent and worker.
“Prioritising self-care and showing them it’s not selfish is my main aim. When you look after yourself, you’re able to give the best of you.”
This reframing of mindset has been especially noteworthy among women from ethnic minority backgrounds, according to Baljeet.
She said: “Many women coming from an ethnic minority community have been conditioned to base their lives on giving, whether it’s to their husband, their children or their work.
“I’ve noticed a shift in attitudes – women want to look after themselves. They don’t want to just sit at home when they’re retired, they want to do something for themselves. The change in confidence I’ve seen in these women is a massive thing.”
Successful Ageing has received an overwhelmingly positive response from local senior citizens, and Baljeet has noticed their success extends beyond the sessions they provide.
She said: ‘Even outside of the group, our members are reaching out, meeting each other and organising day trips.
“It’s such a beautiful community.”
Baljeet also runs a group called Women Hormones and Health, backed by SCCT, which supports women going through changes in physical and emotional wellbeing due to transition in hormones.
Vicki Hook is the Business Director of Acacia Family Support, a registered charity which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
The organisation was founded by two local mothers, Rachel Gregory and Emma Borg, after their own experiences with postnatal depression and anxiety.
Vicki said: “Acacia started off as a small, listening and befriending support group. The aim and mission has remained unchanged for 20 years - to support local mothers and families affected by maternal mental health issues, during pregnancy or after birth.”
The charity, which has been funded by SCCT since its earliest beginnings, has seen great success, being awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2020.
They have helped thousands of families across Birmingham over the years, providing an array of services, including in-person and virtual listening, support within the home, CBT-based therapy and group workshops.
Vicki said that the community demand for Acacia’s support has remained consistent through the years, and that the charity aims to provide services to mothers who may otherwise struggle to find the help they need.
She said: “The need for our support has remained really high – 20% of all moms will experience maternal mental health issues.
“Support services are currently inequitable – single mothers, mothers from ethnic minority backgrounds and mothers living in deprived areas particularly struggle to find the support they need and deserve".
“Acacia is all about providing that assistance and celebrating the stories of diverse women who do so much for the local community and each other.”
Vicki feels that it’s important to highlight how successfully women can uplift one another and the community around them.
She said: “Women generally have unequal access to physical and mental healthcare. In Sutton we have a vibrant, grassroots centre of community charities and organisations, most of them run by incredibly committed female leaders.
“For me it’s about celebrating women supporting other women. It’s what we live and breathe.”
