Soroptimist Club Grants for Women and Girls

2018-2019 Club Recipients
SI/Borrego Springs, CA (Desert Coast Region): $2,000, Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls SI/Borrego Springs will implement Dream It, Be It for 65 high school girls over the course of one year. Funds will be used for journals, folders, printing, as well as facilitator background checks and a year-end celebration party. Club members will be fully responsible for project planning, implementation, and evaluation.

SI/Bucaramanga, Colombia (America del Sur Region): $5,000, Socioeconomic Empowerment for Female Victims of Violence SI/Bucaramanga will train and employ 30 female heads-of-household in recycling management. Funds will be used for participant transportation, teaching booklets, industrial safety kits, and 3 months of warehouse and office rental. Club members will be responsible for project planning, implementation, and evaluation. The club will also involve their 2017 Live Your Dream Award winner, a Chemical Engineering student, in curriculum design.

SI/Butler County, PA (North Atlantic Region): $5,000, A Place to Lay My Head SI/Butler County will furnish 7-10 women's transitional housing apartments. The funds will be used to purchase apartment furnishings such as mattresses, bed frames, and dressers. Club members will be responsible for publicity, purchase and delivery of furnishings, apartment cleaning and preparation, and project evaluation.

SI/Central Jersey Coast, NJ (North Atlantic Region): $2,000, Bags for Girls and Women: Necessities + A Few Luxuries = Dignity SI/Central Jersey Coast will provide feminine products and grooming items to women and girls in immediate crisis at the HOPE center, a community non-profit. Funds will be used to purchase products such as shampoo, soap, tampons, pads, and diapers. Club members will be responsible for purchasing the items, assembling and delivering bags to the community partner, and evaluating the project outcomes.

SI/Davis, CA (Sierra Nevada Region): $1,000, Dream It, Be It: Empower Yolo SI/Davis will implement adapted Dream It, Be It sessions at an adult Women's Support Group once a month. The women participants are clients of Empower Yolo, a social service provider that supports them in rebuiling their lives after abuse. Funds will be used to purchase food and drink, participation incentives, and printing. Club members will be responsible for project planning, implementation, evaluation, and communication with the community partner.

SI/Encarnacion (America del Sur Region): $4,000, Learning to Undertake SI/Encarnacion will provide sewing skills training for vulnerable women to promote their economic advancement. The funds will be used to purchase sewing machines for the training workshops. All club members will be involved in the project, with responsibilities such as project research, planning, course implementation, and evaluation.

SI/Fukushima (Japan Kita Region): $5,000, Recreation of the Home Land Innovation School 2030 SI/Fukushima will engage high school girls in developing knowledge and skills that position them to be leaders in the long process of rebuilding after the Tohoku Earthquake. Funds will be used to purchase shared iPads and books for the classroom. Club members will be responsible for project planning, implemenation and evaluation.

SI/Guarapuava (Brazil Region): $5,000, ARDUCT - Dream It, Be It SI/Guarapuava will implement Dream It, Be It with a class of 20 computer programming (ARDUCT) students. The club will also provide lectures to the entire school on topics such as women's empowerment. Funds will be used to purchase classroom supplies, such as sensors, jumpers, and a shared laptop. Club members will be responsible for Dream It, Be It planning, implementation, and evaluation, as well as organization of the school-wide lectures.

SI/Idyllwild, CA (Golden West Region): $1,000, Women's Cabinet SI/Idyllwild will provide personal hygiene items to low-income women and girls. Funds will be used to purchase pads, panty liners, and tampons. Club members will be responsible for buying items, assembling bags, and tracking inventory. The HELP center, a community partner, will distribute the items.

SI/Joetsu (Japan Higashi Region): $1,000, Dream It, Be It SI/Joetsu will implement Dream It, Be It with a group of 10-15 girls. The funds will be used for conference room rental, projector rental, and supplies associated with curriculum activities. All club members will be involved in the project, with responsibilities of project planning, implementation, and evaluation.

SI/Kenton, OH (Midwestern Region): $3,000, Women's Health Festival SI/Kenton will participate in a one-day health and fitness festival to address local women's health needs. The funds will be used for a healthy cooking demonstration, and other event supplies. Club members are responsible for outreach to community partners, event planning, and evaluation.

SI/Mandaluyong (Philippines Region): $5,000, Empowering Teenage Moms for the SDGs-FACES SI/Mandaluyong will equip teen moms with parenting, disaster preparedness, and civic engagement skills in support of local efforts to further the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The funds will be used for workshop supplies such as writing kits, emergency preparedness kits, food, certificates of appreciation, and gift bags. Club members will be responsible for project research and planning, workshop facilitation, and evaluation.

SI/Milwaukee, WI (Midwestern Region): $1,500, "Move-In Basket" for Homeless Women SI/Milwaukee will provide "move-in baskets" with basic household supplies for women transitioning out of a local homeless shelter into independent living. The funds will be used to purchase laundry baskets, cleaning products, and other starter household supplies. The club will be responsible for purchasing supplies, delivering the baskets, and writing welcome letters to the women.

SI/Okayama (Japan Nishi Region): $5,000, Increasing the Exam. Rate of Mammography and Cervical Cancer SI/Okayama will provide community education to encourage women to get mammograms and cervical cancer exams. The funds will cover educational flyers, public relations efforts, and 45 mammograms. Club members will partner with Pink Ribbon Okayama and the municipal government to distribute educational flyers and provide free mammograms.

SI/Rio Do Sul (Brazil Region): $3,500, Women and Social Wellbeing SI/Rio do Sul will present a lecture series to educate vulnerable women about topics such as women's health, women in the workforce, and domestic violence. Funds will be used to purchase a laptop and 2 TVs to display video lectures, supplies for food, and folders. The club members will be responsible for project planning, administration, public relations, and evaluation. Some Soroptimist members will deliver lectures, and community partners will deliver the rest.

SI/Rio Vista, CA (Founder Region): $1,500, Dream It, Be It SI/Rio Vista will implement Dream It, Be It with 35 high school girls, focusing on college preparedness. The funds will be used to pay for the room, a laptop raffle for participants, and supplies associated with the curriculum activies. Club members will work with the Rio Vista High School on planning and implementation, and club members alone will be responsible for evaluation.

SI/Rose-Fukuyama (Japan Nishi Region): $500, Cards to Help Women and Girls from Domestic Violence SI/Rose-Fukuyama will distribute resource cards to educate teen girls about dating violence warning signs and resources. The funds will be used to cover the cost of printing 2000 resource cards. Club members will be responsible for creating and distributing the cards, as well as evaluating the project.

SI/Salt Lake City, UT (Rocky Mountain Region): $3,500, Dream It, Be It SI/Salt Lake will implement Dream It, Be It with a group of low-income girls and single mothers at an alternative high school. The funds will be used to pay for mentor training, student supplies, and printing. Club members will be responsible for facilitator training, project implementation, and project evaluation. Community partners will provide additional resources and education.

SI/San Juan, PR (Southern Region): $4,000, Raise Garden Bed SI/San Juan, PR will work with girls at a YWCA to create a successful, sustainable garden. Girls will develop environmental consciuosness, entrepreneuship, and life skills. The funds will be used to purchase seeds, soil, and other garden supplies. Club members will be responsible for project initiation, orientation, and oversight. The girls will be involved in the project implementation and management, assuming roles such as team leader, treasurer, and marketing official.

SI/Tacoma, WA (Northwestern Region): $3,000, Dream It Together SI/Tacoma will work with two community partners, integrating Dream It, Be It into a mentorship program for 20 girls in foster care. Funds will be used to pay for lunch, printing, and supplies for curriculum activities. Club members will be responsible for planning, implementation, evaluation, and communication with partners.

SI/Vacaville Twilight (Founder Region): $5,000, The Great Dream It, Be It Academy SI/Vacaville Twilight will implement Dream It, Be It with 8th and 9th grade girls who have been identified by their guidance counselor as "at-risk." The funds will be used to cover the cost of meeting space, food, a laptop raffle, and supplies for curriculum activities. Club members will be involved in project planning, implementation, and evaluation.

SI/Valencia (Camino Real Region): $2,000, Welcome Bags for Survivors of Domestic Violence SI/Valencia will provide essential living and comfort items to women and families entering the Santa Clarita Domestic Violence Shelter. Funds will be used to pay for items such as pajamas, toiletries, and carryall bags. Club members will be responsible for communication with shelter staff, as well as purchase, organization, and delivery of items.

SI/Virginia, MN (North Central Region): $1,000, Support for Range Hybrid Treatment Court Women SI/Virginia, MN will provide transportation vouchers to women in the Range Hybrid Treatment Court program to support consistent attendance to treatment appointments, court hearings, and group meetings. The funds will be used to purchase transportation vouchers. Club members will be responsible for purchasing the transportation vouchers, as well as hosting 2 group meetings for women in the program.

SI/Yosakoi Kochi (Japan Nishi Region): $1,000, Dream It, Be It SI/Yosakoi Kochi will implement Dream It, Be It with a group of junior high and high school girls to encourage them to follow their dreams and consider jobs in their local communities. The funds will be used for printing, gift card incentives for participants, and other supplies related to the curriculum activities. The club will be responsible for project planning, implementation, and evaluation.