Stella Giles
Stella Giles
Operation Rainbow
Booklet Cover
Stella Giles Award
Recipient Sister Mary Jo Kroeber (left) 1991
Past President Margaret Lobo (right)
Noreen Biffin, Sister Mary Jo Kroeber (1991), Margaret Lobo (l to r) and Stella Giles (seated)
Stella Giles Award
Recipient Judith Smith (centre) 1990
Irene Gibbs (left)
Past President Jess Walker (right)
Stella Giles - Soroptimist Award for Excellence
Background
Previous Award Winners
Nomination Guidelines
Nomination Kit
The Stella Giles Soroptimist Award for Excellence is awarded for Research, or towards the costs of running a project, which will be of immediate benefit for women or girls.
Background
Stella Giles (1904-1995)
Stella (Ryan) GILES was born in the Goldfields, the eldest of six children. She received her education at the local convent and came to Perth around 1920. Stella trained as a secretary / bookkeeper and was employed at Barnett Bros, a hardware type firm.
From an early age she showed a compatibility with people of all types - nothing was ever too much trouble for Stella.
At the age of 28, she married Phillip Giles, a widower with 6 children, the elder ones quite close to Stella in age. With her husband and brother, she ran a poultry market at Perth Market.
Stella became a Soroptimist in 1962. She was a very active member of Perth club, holding most positions, including those of President and Secretary.
In 1970 the position of Region Extension officer became vacant and Stella was encouraged to stand. That was the beginning of a career in extension which was both remarkable and outstanding. Stella's efforts produced 10 clubs in all.
| 1974 Port Hedland 1975 Darling Range 1977 Geraldton 1980 Mandurah 1981 Carnarvon |
1973 Morrison 1975 Port Walcott 1978 Joondalup 1981 Rockingham 1982 Albany |
Her success in extension was due to her hard work, her affinity with people, and her sense of humour.
Never one to boast, Stella was always conscious of the fact that the girls (the members of each new club) as she referred to them, had a lot more education than she had.
A the conclusion of her extension career, the Region made her an Honorary Life Member - a testimonial dinner was held in her honour at the Sheraton Hotel. At least one member (and in most instances, many more) from each Club she chartered was present. A tribute to Stella was given by a charter member of Port Hedland, her first club.
Stella personified the true Soroptimist spirit - and she will live on in the Clubs she formed. We honour our memories of Stella in awarding on an annual basis the "Stella Giles Soroptimist Award for Excellence" to a worthy nominee.
Previous Award Winners
2009 Lyn Ellard - Peduli Bali (Caring for Bali)
Nominated by Fremantle
Lyn Ellard started Peduli Bali in 2002 -
2008 Pamela Eaves - 'Stolen Moments' Caring & Support
for Alzeimer's Carers.
Nominated by On the Terrace
The Stella Giles Award will be used for research for
and publication of booklets containg hints, ideas and
suggestions to assist carers, family, friends and the community
and the loved ones who touch their lives.
The award will also be used to for the expansion of the website.
2007 Fiona White-Hartig
Roebourne Girls' FX Group
Nominated by SI Karratha and Districts
Fiona White-Hartig works in the area of indigenous youth and is currently the General Manager North West of the David
Wirrapanda Foundation. Her aim is to raise the self-esteem and
status of indigenous youth to create future leaders and mentors
of our communities.
The Roebourne Girls’ FX Group is a program for indigenous girls
in Roebourne, Karratha and Wickham, developed by Fiona when
she first moved to Roebourne. It is aimed at providing indigenous
girls with the same opportunities as non-indigenous girls in the
region. The program began as a grooming and deportment
course to help the girls prepare for job interviews. Through
Fiona's encouragement and training the girls have been able
to make progress with education and self-esteem. 250 people
attended their graduation and Fashion Show presentation
where the local MP presented their certificates.
Fiona will use the Stella Giles Award to travel through the United
States on a study tour to meet with other youth workers and
study development prgrams to support "at risk" youth in the
community. Knowledge gained on this tour will then be used to
expand the programs already developed for both indigenous boys
and girls in the North West of Western Australia.
2006 Steph McDonald
My Dream Project - Rockingham
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Rockinham
Steph McDonald has taught in the area of Special Education
for over 15 years. At present she is the Principal of Warnbro
Community High School Education Support Centre. Steph is
highly regarded by her colleagues in the area of inclusive
education for students with disabilities and is the driver behind
many successful programs to improve working opportunities for
such students.
Steph's current undertaking is the 'MY DREAM' project, which
promotes local community groups, services and employers of
people with a disability in a positive manner, emphasising their achievement of business outcomes through social and civic
contributions.
Having successfully introduced this program into her school,
Steph now wants to expand the expertise beyond the school
and into the community, by facilitating a three-day workshop for
representatives of agencies and community groups. She then
hopes to work alongside participants in their implementation of
of the 'Dreaming' process with young people with disabilities and
other 'at risk' people in the local community. The Stella Giles
Award for Excellence will support her through this process.
Rebecca Thomson
Nominated by Soroptimist International On the Terrace
In her efforts to assist women and girls caught up in human trafficking, Rebecca has established a business called Mountain Angels to sell Nepalese made goods in Australia. Funds raised by these sales go to a non-profit human rights group called ABC Nepal to assist the women and girls rescued from brothels through police raids. Rebecca also spends time as a volunteer nurse at the Snowlands School on the Tibet-Nepal border. Her aim now is to establish a safe and loving environment for children aged 5-15 years who have been orphaned or displaced in war-torn Nepal.
Rebecca will use her award to conduct a three-month feasibility study by investigating the current status of children afftected by the war in Kathmandu. She will also establish a project plan for the establishment of a 'home' based on the information gathered and priorities identified.
Anne Jeavons
Champion of the Deaf
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Helena.
Anne will use the award to further her ambition to promote the cause of counselling services for Deaf and hard of hearing people in the community. During 2004, Anne will carry out research, collect and interpret data in order to present a report to the Minister for Disabilities in 2005. As a professional counsellor, Anne will attend the national conference in Brisbane (Oct 04), where she will present a paper on the implications for deaf people in the Counselling context.
Sandra Winning
Designer of "The Winning Edge" Flashcards to assist autistic learning.
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Cambridge.
Through her award Sandra has been able to establish a website to promote the distribution of her "winning Connections" Teaching Aids.
Robyn Barrett-Levy
Artistic Director & Aministrator, Karratha Youth Theatre
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Karratha & District
The award has enabled Robyn to travel to Perth to complete the Community Arts Network WA - Community Cultural Development Planning course. This 5 day course covered the topics of assessing cultural activity within the community, networking within the community and setting goals for future cultural development. Robyn believes that by exposing young people to innovative contemporary performances she will be able to support, challenge nurture and encourage artistic and cultural expression and development in young people.
Ros Worthington, OAM
Director, La Femme Breast Cancer Foundation Inc
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Helena
Ros Worthington OAM, has worked to provide support to women in our community affected by breast cancer. Ros is using the funds from the award to help develop a web site to provide educational programs to younger women from non-English speaking backgrounds and women in rural Australia.
2000 Myrtle D Mullaley
Voluntary Nominated by Soroptimist International of Joondalup
Myrtle Mullaley established a Community Social and Crafts Centre to give time-out to Aboriginal Grandmothers who lived with their relatives and minded the children. The centre is operated from a Homeswest Community Hall in Girrawheen. Myrtle used the funds from the award to purchase a television, video recorder and a supply of educational videos and a camera to photograph the arts and crafts made by the women to establish a visual record and history of their work.
Wilma Dunne
WA Director, Operation Rainbow
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Joondalup
Operation Rainbow has been highly successful in reversing deformed facial features and in creating attractive and happy faces for children. Wilma used the award to carry out research into 'Post-Surgery Speech Training' and also to publish a 'Presenting Mother's Information Booklet' for the mothers of cleft lip and palate deformed children who are presenting to the doctors for the first time. The booklet provided mothers with information on the benefits of the surgery and how the surgery would transform the child's life. The booklet also contained exercises to facilitate better speech and hygiene for post-operative cleft lip and palate children.
Linda Williams
Physiotherapist, ASeTTs
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Perth
Linda, through her work as a physiotherapist working with the Australian Services for Torture and Trauma Survivors (ASeTTS), was fortunate to attend the 2nd International Seminar for Physiotherapy Educators on Ethics and Torture in Copenhagen. Linda used the award to disseminate the information gained in Copenhagen to the physiotherapy community and to the general community to help make the management of torture survivors something that is a "thread" through the undergraduate physiotherapy curriculum at Curtin University. Linda presented this information at the Australian Physiotherapy Association's Conference in Hobart.
Lyn Page
Managing Director, Forrest Holdings (WA) Pty Ltd
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Broome
Lyn used the award to print and distribute a leaflet educating the community about the nature of different types of family violence. The leaflet was used to promote family violence workshops in Broome and to provide phone numbers for counselling and crisis help services.
Jean Rickards
Community Worker
Nominated by Soroptimist International of MorrisonJean has dedicated much of her life to educating women on how to avoid osteoporosis and regularly visits schools, women's groups and health clubs to talk about the importance of calcium and exercise to avoid osteoporosis. Jean used the award to increase awareness of osteoporosis and disabled people's needs in the community.
Dr. Anne Read
Epidemiologist
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Helena
An epidemiologist, Dr Anne Read has focused on the prevention of disease in the area of maternal and child health. Two areas of particular and ongoing interest are Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Aboriginal maternal and child health. Anne used the award to assist her attendance at the 4th SIDS International Conference which was held in Washington DC in 1996, where she presented her most recent findings.
Anne Blanchard
Head, School of Social Work, Curtin University
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Joondalup
Award funds were used towards completing a research project to study the effects of witnessing domestic violence as children on the lives of adults. Anne hoped that through publication of the results of this study there would be a greater spread of knowledge about the widening effects of domestic violence on family life, and particularly on children. Anne also hoped that the findings could be used by the University of Sydney Law Department to assist in reforms to the Family Law Act in relation to the custody of children and their safety.
Marjorie Tidman
Lecturer, Murdoch University
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Morrison
The award was used to record an oral history of the Aboriginal Women of the Onslow and Roebourne Area in Book Form. Their oral history will document the struggle, joy and courage of a community which is emerging from oppression, alcoholism, prejudice and superstition towards full participation in community life, self-respect, self-determination and equality with non-aboriginal communities. Marjorie intended the book to be an educational resource for high school 'history', 'social studies', and 'aboriginal studies' and of interest to the general community. Proceeds from the book sales are to be donated to the Onslow community for their ongoing spiritual, social and economic development.
Elizabeth Sugars
Teacher, Co-ordinator
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Rockingham
Elizabeth used the award to facilitate a workshop for Rockingham Family School and the EASY Learning Centre aimed at increasing awareness of the way groups of people work together to achieve common goals. The workshop involved team-building exercises, leading to an understanding of the principals of Synergy. The second half of the workshop was devoted to understanding and applying the principals of goal setting, with each of the two groups coming out of the day with a written, working plan, and a group vision for their future.
Mary Jo Kroeber
Deputy Director Nursing, Osborne Park Hospital
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Joondalup
The award assisted Sister Mary Jo Kroeber to attend the World Congress of Enterostomal Therapy Nurses. Sister Kroeber specialized in stomal nursing and therapy techniques. The Congress discusses the advanced technology of stoma therapy nursing, helps to promote better care and understanding through the presentation of stimulating papers, workshops, posters and an exhibition of ostomy appliances and skin care products.
Judith Smith
Midwife
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Joondalup
Judith a midwife working with women battling Post Natal Depression campaigned for the inclusion of a NGALA type unit to be built into the planned extensions to Wanneroo Hospital. The award not only recognised Judith's devotion to duty, but also helped her financially to continue her Welfare Studies at TAFE.
Radiographer, St. John of God Hospital
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Perth
Helen, the inaugural recipient of the Stella Giles Award for Excellence used the award to further her knowledge of the screening and detection of breast cancer in women at a Mammography Seminar to be held in Sydney. The Chief Radiographer at St. John of God Hospital commented that without the award Helen would have been unable to attend and that Helen intended to teach her new learned skills to other staff members so ultimately patients will benefit from the experience.
To be eligible for the Award, candidates must be female and should not have received the Stella Giles Soroptimist Award for Excellence in the past.
Candidates suitable for nomination are required to have already achieved a high standard in their chosen field. The candidates chosen field is to be of benefit to the community.
Preference will be given to the candidate who can demonstrate that the Award will be applied to improving and furthering knowledge in their area of expertise.
It should be ascertained that the funds required for the candidates project are not available through their employment.
Nominations for the Award are to be made by a Soroptimist Club and only one nomination from each club.
A Curriculum Vitae of the candidate so nominated is to accompany the nomination.
Nominations to be forwarded to the Honorary Secretary of the Region, no later than 30 April in the Award Year.
Presentation of the Award to be made by the Regional Council President during Soroptimist Week.
A nomination kit with form is available here in both Word and Adobe Acrobat formats.
