February 2016

Issue: 29

SI Ventura Donates Stethoscopes to Ventura College Nursing Students

Stethoscopes are an important and expensive part of a nurse's arsenal of equipment. SIV, after much thought and consideration, committed funds to donate quality stethoscopes to nursing students at Ventura College.

Over the last two semesters, we have handed out 14 stethoscopes engraved with our Soroptimist logo. We have confidence the recipients will be off to a good start in their nursing education and will be able to use their stethoscopes well into their nursing careers.

On Monday, February 8 a group of SIV members met the recipients and were delighted to hear from the women themselves what a valuable addition our donation has made to their education. Many of the women are returning students with families and very tight budgets. They expressed such gratitude at having this necessary item provided for them by our Soroptimist Club.

Avalon Elliot, Winner of 2015 Edna Wirt Woods/Ruth Nagel Scholarship Updates SI Ventura on her College Experience at January 13 Meeting

From left: SIV Vice President Cyndi Damron, Avalon Elliot and President Kay Armstrong

February Speaker, Sam Benner,
will Educate us on Marketing
and Social Media

We will be welcoming Sam Feb1016Spkr

Benner to our February 24 program meeting. He will be discussing the following:

* How to use content marketing to get your message out there.

* Social media best practices.

* Facebook 101: He will cover the basics of profiles, pages, groups, and its amazing advertising platform.

Sam is a third generation Venturan. His only years outside of Ventura were spent in the Bay Area where he attended Stanford University which culminated in a degree in Communications and participation in the 2000 Rose Bowl at defensive end. His professional career started in real estate in title insurance which led to an opportunity to start an online marketing company where he created and managed campaigns for some of the area's leading companies and non-profits. He returned to real estate in 2014 where he currently works as a REALTOR for Keller Williams Realty. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Ventura Organization, and Bell Arts Factory. He has been married to his wife Amanda for 10 years and has 2 children, Alex and Dylan.

If you are interested in attending this meeting please call Cindy Daly at 805-701-0882 to RSVP by Monday, February 22. The cost is $15.

Laurie Bennett Spoke about Camp NAWIC at the January 27th Program Meeting

From left: SIV member, Sherri Bennett, Laurie Bennett and Beryl S.

Ventura County's Camp NAWIC is a five day, hands on construction basics learning course for high school girls. The curriculum taught includes, but is not limited to, electrical, welding, plumbing, carpentry, painting, heavy equipment operation, hand tool basics and construction safety to name a few disciplines.

The SI Ventura ladies were so impressed with the concept of the camp they implored Laurie to open one for women of all ages. We were assured that volunteer positions were always available in the camp.

For more information email Laurie Bennett at lauriebenn@aol.com

Visit NAWIC on the web: http://www.nawicventuraoxnard.org/Camp-NAWIC.html

SI Ventura Collects Items for Welcome Bags for Forever Found

SI Ventura has volunteered to be involved in putting together welcome bags to be given to young women who have been victims of human trafficking. If you would like to donate items contact Shirley Lorraine at slgumby@msn.com. Please bring your items to the February 10 or 24 meeting.

For additional involvement in the efforts to end human trafficking in Ventura County please check out Ventura County Coalition Against Human Trafficking (VCCAHT)

VCCAHT meets the Third Tuesday of every month beginning Jan. 19th 2016, 6pm-8pm at Ventura County Community Foundation

4001 Mission Oaks Blvd, Camarillo, CA 93012

The mission of VCCAHT is to combat human trafficking in Ventura County by partnering to prevent, prosecute, properly identify victims, and provide victim services.

Also, don't forget to attend the Stop Human Trafficking Event on March 9 at the Ventura County Government Center. Please see the flyer below for all the important details!

For more information about Forever Found visit their web site: http://www.foreverfound.org/#/home.
For more information about VCCAHT click here.

Why Not Use Amazon Smile for your regular Shopping Needs? Try the Subscribe and Save Service.

Subscribe and Save is a subscription service that will automatically ship the products you purchase every 1, 2, 3, or 6 months.

Amazon gives you discounts on these items + free shipping and you can cancel at any time with no penalty. Subscribe and Save also gives you 15% off purchases when you add 5 or more items to your subscription plan for any month or 5% off for less than 5.

What is AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you'll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to our Soroptimist International of Ventura.

How do I select a charitable organization to support when shopping on AmazonSmile?

On your first visit to AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com ), you need to select Soroptimist International of Ventura to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. Amazon will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at smile.amazon.com will result in a donation.

How much of my purchase does Amazon donate?

The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. The purchase price is the amount paid for the item minus any rebates and excluding shipping & handling, gift-wrapping fees, taxes, or service charges. From time to time, there may be special, limited time promotions that increase the donation amount on one or more products or services or provide for additional donations to charitable organizations.

AmazonSmile Donations to Charitable Organizations

100% of the donation amount generated from your eligible purchase on AmazonSmile will be donated. The donation amounts generated by your purchases are combined with the donation amounts from all other customers that selected the same organization, and each quarter the AmazonSmile Foundation makes donations to registered charitable organizations by electronic funds transfer. Donations are generally transferred approximately 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter.

Please tell all your family and friends to choose Soroptimist International of Ventura to support in their Amazon online purchases through the AmazonSmile program.

Applications for the Violet Richardson Award Scholarship are due Feb. 15, 2016

The Violet Richardson Award is a scholarship awarded to a local young woman, age 14-17, recognizing her commitment to the betterment of our community through her volunteer efforts. This scholarship is shared with the volunteer organization she has volunteered for. Click here to download the application.

The deadline for the Violet Richardson Award application is February 15, 2016.

The minimal award to be given is $1500 per winner. Completed applications and reference forms can be emailed to siventura@soroptimist.net or mailed to Sherri Tarpchinoff Bennett, PO Box 6133, Ventura, CA 93006. For questions, please contact Sherri at 805-910-9620.

Holiday Correspondence from our Club Friendship Link, Soroptimist International of Inverness & Nairn

Greetings from Inverness and Nairn include a lovely appointment calendar for 2016, a Club Report and a handcrafted greeting card from President Anne and members of SI Inverness and Nairn.

Advertise in Our E-Newsletter and Help Support Our Community Service Fund

For a donation of $100 to our community service fund, we will advertise your business in our e-newsletter every month for a year. That is a $20 dollar savings over the monthly rate of of $10 per month.

Or, donate $50 to our community service fund and we will advertise your business in our e-newsletter every month for six months.

Mail your donation check to: Soroptimist, P.O.Box 6133, Ventura, CA 93066 -- Include your ad information and email contact -- or contact us at siventura@soroptimist.net. We will contact you to finalize the ad copy.

2016 Pledge & Inspiration Schedule

February 10 Meeting:

Pledge - Trevor Summerlin

Inspiration - Karen Flock

February 24 Meeting:

Pledge - Kay Armstrong

Inspiration - Celia Sugden

Please email Karen Flock at kflock@sbcglobal.net if you would like to lead the pledge or inspire us at a meeting.

Upcoming

Events

February 10 - Business Meeting & Induction of Heidi Oehmke- Noon

February 24 - Program Meeting - Noon

March 9 - Stop Human Trafficking Event
Ventura County Government Center

April 16 - Scholarship Awards/85 Celebration
Pierpont Inn, Ventura

May 13 - 15 - Spring Conference

Pasadena

Check out our new Website

www.soroptimist

ventura.org

Scholarship Awards Lunch and 85th Celebration

Saturday,
April 16, 2016
11:30 am - 2:30 pm

Pierpont Inn, Ventura

Please plan on attending this special event and bring a guest or two! Help celebrate our Scholarship Awards winners and our Club's 85th Birthday.

There will also be a silent auction so that we may continue supporting our efforts to help women and girls in our community.

We will be selling business card ads as well as looking for sponsors for this event. Please think about businesses and individuals that might support our efforts.

If you would like to help plan this event, donate an item for our silent auction, or have a sponsor please contact Cyndi Damron at 216-4728 or email her at damroncyndi@gmail.com.

For more information click here.

Presidents

Message

This year has started with much activity! Committees have been meeting; new plans are forming for our life skills program; stethoscopes have been handed out to VC nursing students; award applications for Live Your Dream are with the judges and the Violet Richardson applications are due the 15th of this month.

Our annual Stop Human Trafficking event is now a joint effort of 6 local clubs and will take place March 9th at the Ventura Government Center. Please plan to attend,if possible, as this information impacts women and girls in our community.

And very importantly, we have our own big event coming April 16 which will:

celebrate 85 years of continuous service in our community as Soroptimist International of Ventura
honor women who have been with us for more than 30 years
grant our Live Your Dream and Violet Richardson awards
fundraise to continue our important service to women and girls

It looks like a lot to do; it feels like a lot to do and how blessed we are to do it with this group of amazing women!

Kay Armstrong

President

SI Ventura 2015-2016

2016 Axxess Books are Now Available

The 2016 Axxess Books are now available for $30.

If you are interested in either selling the books or buying a book for yourself, please contact Cyndi Damron for details and more information at 805-216-4728 or email her damroncyndi@gmail.com

DeDe Taylor 2/22

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For Information call
Cindy Daly at

805-647-1554 or
email her at

cmdaly@pacbell.net

Club Meetings

2nd & 4th Wednesday of each month
Luncheon Meeting at 12 noon
Ventura Beach Marriott Hotel, 2055 Harbor Blvd., Ventura

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