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2010-2011 Program Year in Review |
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VIOLET RICHARDSON AWARD
Named after the Soroptimist founder, we presented the VRA to Hart HS student Kaitlyn Larimore. She demonstrates being a young woman who has learned the value of philanthropy through her work as President of the Kiwanis Key Club, as well as becoming a Supreme Court Justice of CA Girls State, amongst other activities.
RUBY AWARD
MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR WOMEN
SIGSCV proudly honored Marjanne Priest, Judy Cox, along with Jane Bettencourt-Soto for their fabulous contribution in leading the Betty Ferguson Foundation.
WOMEN'S OPPORTUNITY AWARD
We presented the Woman's Opportunity Award to provide a boost to the nursing education of a deserving, struggling and grateful single mom attending COC.
Each winner received a $500 donation to give their charity of choice. | |
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Day of Service for
Mending Kids Int'l.
by Sheryl Bagalio-Robinson
On Sunday, February 27th, as Oscar fever was reaching its pitch, 44 women and 5 men were packing bags for children in need of heart surgery in El Salvador and Uganda. In stark contrast to limousines, red carpets and shimmering gowns, SIGSCV was joining forces with Single Mothers Outreach.
The two non-profits together made 50 blankets and created 130 gift bags for Mending Kids International. This "Day of Service" is a tradition with over 90,000
Soroptimist women worldwide.
The 2011 Oscar nominee gift baskets, with an estimated value of $85,000, contained such prizes as a private island vacation, a leather tote, exclusive use of an African Safari Lodge, gourmet chocolates, jewelry, and the like. On the afternoon of the 2011 Oscars, a different kind of gift
basket was being created for a very special kind of nominee. The "fans" of these children sleep on cardboard boxes outside Intensive Care Units waiting for news of their angel getting an Oscar "for life."
The blankets and gift bags contain small toys, candy, and toiletries for each child to help them find comfort while in a strange and potentially scary place.
For over 10 years MKI (www.MendingKids.org) has coordinated the assembly of international teams of surgeons and nurses to a designated area in Latin America or Africa to perform 20 to 40 surgeries over a two
week period helping hundreds of children receive corrective surgeries giving them a life-saving chance at a longer, healthier life.
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| Dancing with Our Stars | |
It was a complete SIGSCV sweep at Dancing with Our Stars, as the competition was won by District 4 Director Dora Zavala! And if that wasn't splendid enough, our Shelley Hann danced to second place for Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, while our dear Soroptimister Robert Gandara dazzled the dancefloor at third place on behalf of the Senior Center!
This win enabled SIGSCV to continue our important efforts to provide opportunity for needful girls to pursue careers in dance through the Jacquie Petersen Endowment.
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Newsmakers of the Year
Our own Shelley Hann and our dear friends Harold and Jacquie Petersen were
co-winners of the Signal Newsmaker of the Year for 2011.
Congratulations!
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| Conference Awards |
SIGSCV achieved a number of Camino Real Region Distinctions, such as the coveted Governor's Award (third place), a surprise win of second in publicity (much better than we might have expected), and the very exciting best gain in membership! |
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Let us take a moment to remember some of the programs and events which have exemplified the Soroptimist International mission to improve the lives of women and girls, locally and around the world!
As Soroptimist, we know that women and girls around the world need our help. One in three women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetime.
- Forty to 70 percent of female murder victims are killed by their husbands or intimate partners.
- Of the more than 110 million children not in school, approximately 60 percent are girls.
- Pregnancies and childbirth-related health problems take the lives of nearly 146,000 teenage girls each year.
- Three million girls are at risk for female genital mutilation every year.
- The average age of entry into prostitution for girls is 12 to 14.
- Who will ensure that the voices of vulnerable women and girls will be heard? That their needs are met? That they can live their dreams?
And if not you, if not Soroptimist, then WHO will be there to speak up for the women and girls who have no voice?
(exerpt from Soroptimist Leadership conference text)
We look forward to raising our voices this year as well!
Sue Reynolds, President
Soroptimist International of Greater Santa Clarita Valley |
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In the 2010-2011 year...
... We heard from a legion of speakers and presented a plethora of checks.
 | | In preparation for our $25,000 contribution in support of the HMNMH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit lactation room, we were toured through the hospital by CEO Roger Seaver. |
The Veloz Breast Cancer Survivor Dawn Galbreath provide touching and insightful perspectives about the shock and trauma of discovering and surviving cancer, with the support of HMNMH Diana Vose and Terry Bucknall. SIGSCV presented funds to continue education and prevention through proactive breast cancer screening resources. In addition to the $8353.33 contribution to the HMNMH NICU, we were able to additionally fund $5,000 to the Breast Center, as well.
We heard back-to-back from two cancer pathologists, Dr. Soni and Dr. Trisal, shown with Karen Schnurr, Milli Pinckney (Tora Brown's mother), and President Kris.
They offered different views and ideas for prevention, and were very informative.
Grief Coach Denise VanArsdale-West talked to us about managing crisis in our lives.
Tora Brown shared her remarkable experiences from her trip to Moldova, and that country's struggles with trafficking. We provided funds and resources to support the SI President's Appeal, Moldova Project, which funds a boarding school for girls to protect them from trafficking predators.
We learned about the plight of homeless women in Santa Clarita Valley from the Emergency Winter Shelter Executive Director Tim Davis, and donated funds dedicated to supporting beds and supplies for these disadvantaged women.
Mending Kids International (Caren and Marchelle, with Naomi and Kris) informed us of their programs both within the US and out of the country in dealing with terrifying congenital heart concerns which require heroic medical attention from volunteer healthcare professionals.
Zoe International explained their efforts to provide refuge from trafficking. The fashion show has enabled us to provide funds to fight the scourge of trafficked women and girls. Said Marji Iacovetti, Program Director for Zoe,
"You have given financially to help children you will never meet. Standing in stark opposition to the lies of their captors and would -be captors, you have provided for these children while expecting nothing in return. You have helped to bring freedom, empowerment, and hope. Your donation will help to restore the dignity that every one of these children deserves."
At the joint Soroptimist/ Zonta program meeting, we heard about many of the United Nations programs from Dawn Marie Lemonds. It was helpful to learn of the efforts made on behalf of Soroptimist at the level of the United Nations.
Another luncheon featured Carol Coordt (a National Panhellenic Conference Delegate), who motivated us to prevent and be aware of teen dating violence, with ideas of just how to engage teens and their parents to combat abuse. She steered us to www.loveisrespect.org and the wide variety of violence prevention materials available through www.soroptimist.org.
Our final meeting featured Jasime Ceja, the Youth Programs Coordinator for Break the Cycle (www.breakthecycle.org), to combat teen dating abuse. She showed us an informative and impactful DVD and led us through an exercise which illustrated how teens are now even being abused by the "technological leash" of almost constantly being harassed on their cell phones!
It's been a thought-provoking program year, which has enabled us to do a great deal of good, and make a tremendous contribution to many issues of concern to us!
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| Carlsbad Spring Conference | | |
(LtoR) Naomi Carmona-Morshead, Darlene Gandara, Dora Zavala, Vanessa Wilk, Kris Hough,
Karen Schnurr, Sue Reynolds
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| Inductions of Fabulous Members | | |
(LtoR VP of Membership Sheryl Geraci, Sandra Lam, Jessica Miller, Debbie Heys, Julie Morel, with Ambassador Naomi Carmona-Morshead and Kris Hough)
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| Distinguished Soroptimist | | |
All Soroptimist can qualify each year (July 1 to June 30) for the Distinguished Soroptimist Award. There are five criteria, one of which is to recruit another member into our club within those dates.
The 2010-11 recipients are:
Back row: Keri Emmer, Tora Brown, Sheryl Geraci, Sue Reynolds, Kris Hough,
Vanessa Wilk, JoAnn Vindigni.
Front row: Julie Sturgeon, Karen Schnurr, Dora Zavala, Naomi Carmona-Morshead
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Soroptimist International of Greater Santa Clarita Valley
contact@sigscv.org |
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