Soroptimist International Huntington Beach enjoys a very long-standing relationship with Project Self-Sufficiency (PSS).
Both organizations have complimentary missions: to improve the lives of women and their children through access to education. The following is taken directly from their website:
“Project Self-Sufficiency is a community-based program in Orange County, California, assisting low income, single parents to achieve economic independence through education, training, and social services.
Graduates from PSS leave with a new sense of self that reaches far beyond the program. These parents become leaders and contributors in the community; they feel pride in their accomplishments that is reflected in the eyes of their children.”
For the most part, we serve the same community. While we serve only women and girls, PSS serves:
98% Single mothers
2% Single fathers
100% Low Income
100% Enrolled in college
56% Full time college students
50.3% Inadequate housing
And most of the women we serve are in the Project Self-Sufficiency Program.
We cherish our relationship with PSS. Most of our Dolly Wakeham (adopted) moms are also PSS moms. Most of our Live Your Dream honorees are also PSS moms, and we look forward to continuing and growing this relationship for years to come…until their are no low income, single mothers who are going to school and often working too, in Orange County.,
For years we have supported PSS at holiday time and with a scholarship for their June Recognition Program. This year was no exception. Our President, Marcelle Capps, and I along with Laura Syzdek, who is also very active in PSS and the Huntington Beach Assistance League along with Soroptimist Huntington Beach, attended the June Recognition Program.
It warmed our hearts to see so many women we have served receive recognition and scholarships at this annual event. We were thrilled that another member of SIHB, Alisa Armstrong, gave several scholarships and even more excited when we discovered that the SIHB scholarship was being awarded to one of our 2017-18 Live Your Dream honorees, Yulia!
Our joy didn’t stop there as many of the women who received recognition and scholarships that evening were current or former Live Your Dream honorees, like Allison (there were actually 2 Allisons from 2 different years), Charity, Rae, Megan and Jennifer, to name a few.
As Marcelle & I were leaving the event, I was reminded of the song, We are Family by Sister Sledge as we are all in the same community, a community of women helping women, with the same objectives…and so I leave you with this thought:
With great pride,
Terry