It all began when Laneisha, one of our 2021-2022 Live Your Dream honorees was one of 3 women in all of Soroptimist International of the Americas (19 countries & territories) to receive a federation award….the first time in our history (since 1963) to have a federation honoree. Of course, we had to celebrate…in style. Our party, which took place in August in the meeting room of the Assistance League of Huntington Beach, drew quite a crowd, including the Mayor of Huntington Beach, Barbara Delgleize, Huntington Beach Council Woman, Rhonda Bolton, the Mayor of Irvine (where Laneisha lives), Farrah Khan, Jim Carson, CEO of Survivor2Leader, the current and immediate past governors of the Desert Coast Region, Kazuko Morita and Stephanie Smith, President and President-elect of Soroptimist International of the Americas (zooming in from Japan and Washington, respectively) and many others.
Our reasons to celebrate continued into September when the Women’s Sailing Association – Orange County, Women In The Wind, hosted a sailing experience (including lunch and an amazing “swag” bag) for some of our current and former Live Your Dream awardees and one from Soroptimist International Westminster, who has been joining us for our monthly virtual Happiness Hours.
And, if you thought one celebration in September was enough for the Surf City Soroptimists, well…guess again!
For our first program meeting, on September 22nd, Director of Programs, Michele Robb, asked everyone to bring nonperishable food items for the 4 moms and their families that we are supporting for our 2022-2023 Soroptimist year (July 1- June 30). The members did not let her down! We filled tables with food items.
And the event, catered by Princess Barrett, Owner of Bamboo Island Catering, was, in itself, a celebration of fall.
So…where do we go from here? Well, to begin with we will be kicking off October with a fun fundraiser, a Stenciling Workshop, where we will be creating items to take home with us. Our “why” for doing this and other fundraisers throughout our Soroptimist year is simple: once again, we will be awarding 14 Live Your Dream Awards…once again, we have “adopted” 4 moms and their families to assist with unexpected expenses, like car repairs, as well as ensure that every holiday and occasion is a joyous one for them and their families…once again, we will be giving scholarships in the spring to the 3 community colleges, Coastline, Golden West & Orange Coast, plus to a woman who is in the Project Self Sufficiency Program…once again, we will be hosting our annual Day of Empowerment for 25 women in partnership with the Assistance League of Huntington Beach and our great lunch sponsor, Jersey Mike’s…once again, we will be working with other clubs and other organizations to help stamp out human trafficking in all forms in southern California…once again, we will join with other clubs to offer the Dream It, Be It Program to teenage girls who face obstacles to success and more.
If you are reading this post, we invite you to join us in our quest to improve the lives of women and girls through access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment by donating from your heart…to our club. 100% of your donation will go to helping us continue to execute this life-changing programs. With your support, we can continue to make a difference in the lives of women and girls! Thank you!
Terry Rose
Director, Service