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Soroptimist International of Los Angeles

Growing our membership to increase our service

December 2013Vol 5, Issue 4
                                           

 

  

 

I was thrilled at the number of Girl Scouts that visited our booth at Girltopia.  Although not a lot of members were able to participate I feel we made a great impact. If it is held again next year, we will know what to expect and can do an even better job of reaching girls and leaders.  I hope to see some additional contacts coming in the next months. Carole did a wonderful job leading us thru the event.

  

 

 

The program about heart health generated many questions from the group. We heard a great presentation from Allison Perry, RN, which included lots of valuable information for the group.  We have two great programs to look forward to in December, one on WiFi hackers and the other about the Godparents' Youth Organization. 

  

 

December is also the month we look forward to as we hold our Christmas party for 1736 and follow it with a member Christmas Luncheon.  Thanksgiving has just passed and now we can get fully involved in a celebration of the holiday season. May the season be happy and bring each of you joy as you celebrate with family and friends.

 

 

President Bev  

 

 

In This Issue
Important December Dates
An Exciting Day for Girls at Girltopia
Black Friday, Cyber Monday...don't forget Giving Tuesday
Nelson Nio's PROJECT XO
Quick Links

2013-2014 Board

 

President: Bev Johnson
1st VP (Programs): Joyce Jacob
2nd VP (W&M): Jessica Washington
Secretary: Daphyne Howell
Treasurer: Teresa Harvey
Director 2012-14: Diane Vernon
Director 2013-15: Julie Mairs
Contact Information

 

For more information about SILA or this Newsletter, please contact:

 

President Bev Johnson at [email protected] or 818-563-3775.
 
Editor Janet Elliott at [email protected] or 310-809-2438; Co-Editor Ann Read at [email protected] or 626-919-9202

Important December Dates

 

 

Tuesday, December 3: Giving Tuesday (see below)

 

Wednesday, December 4, 6-8pm: Program Meeting at Taix Restaurant - Jim Henderson, expert computer consultant, on Wi-Fi crackers and informed decisions when using tablets, laptops, and smart phones. 

 

Wednesday, December 18, 6-8pm: Program Meeting at Taix Restaurant - Tanya Walters, founder Godparents' Youth Organization

 

Saturday, December 21 9-12: Holiday Shopping Boutique for the children at 1736; followed by SILA member holiday lunch at El Cholo.

 

An Exciting Day for Girls at Girltopia                                               By Carole Oglesby

 

Hosted by Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles (GSGLA) for the second time (first in 2011), Girltopia: The World of Girl was an all-day event all about exploration, empowerment, and Girl Scout spirit. The event celebrated all things "girl" through activities aimed at sparking creativity and leadership in thousands of girls and young women.

An enthusiastic welcome to participants.

Nearly 10,000 Girl Scouts and their families as well as more than 200 community exhibitors contributed to Girltopia 2013 on November 9 in the LA Convention Center. Participants had fun learning, creating, and exploring tons of activities in six villages related to GSGLA's program areas: leadership, business smarts, environment and outdoor adventure, arts and culture, and wellness and healthy living.

 

To start the day, all of the volunteers lined up on either side of the entrance, clapped, cheered, and screamed as the Girl Scouts came roaring in, clapping and yelling themselves.

 

 

Girl Scout Olivia won the iPad raffle.

Thanks to the SILA members who were able to help directly in the delivery of our message: Ginger Cole, Ann Read, Pam Smith, Jessica Washington and Sheila Tatum. SILA's raffle (especially with the prize of an iPad which was generously donated by Barbara Jury, Joyce Jacob and Ann Read) was enormously popular. We literally had 720 entries in the raffle.

 

SILA spoke to many girls and troop leaders about applications for the Violet Richardson Award (the Soroptimist award for high school girls who actively volunteer in their communities) and other joint service possibilities between troops and SILA.

 

Nelson Nio and Carole Oglesby

Nelson Nio, founder of SHIELD Women's Self Defense System, did three demon-strations and several "informal" demonstrations right in front of our booths. Jessie Corral and another Peace Over Violence (POV) volunteer had some wonderful interactive mural drawing going on as well.

 

It was a good day. As Ann said, "it was very heartwarming to see such great 'girl energy' all collected in one place."

 

Black Friday, Cyber Monday...don't forget Giving Tuesday

  
  

 

 

 

#GivingTuesday™ (#GT) is a movement to create a national day of giving to kick off the giving season added to the calendar on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The second annual GivingTuesday is on December 3, 2013. In the same way that retail stores take part in Black Friday, #GivingTuesday wants the giving community to come together on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

 

 It's a campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support non-profit organizations.

 

Soroptimist of the Americas (SIA) is a partner of #GivingTuesday and is encouraging members - and family, friends and strangers! - to give back, volunteer, and donate to worthwhile causes (ahem, consider Live Your Dream!)

 

To learn more about how #GivingTuesday got started, click here.

 

Has it made a difference? According to #GivingTuesday's website, "Blackbaud processed over $10 million in online donations on 11/27/12 - a 53% increase when compared to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving the previous year. DonorPerfect recorded a 46% increase in online donations and the average gift increased 25%. More than 50 million people worldwide spread the word about GivingTuesday - resulting in milestone trending on Twitter."

 

To donate through Soroptimists, click here. (Members: find your Soroptimist member number on any old club roster.)

  

Nelson Nio's PROJECT XO                              

 

 

Nelson Nio, founder of SHEILD, a women's self defense system, and partner at the recent Girltopia, has launched Project XO, a community effort to protect teenage girls from sexual assault.

 

"We are creating Educational Series for high school and middle school teachers to teach self defense for teenage girls during PE classes. The Educational Series will be fully funded by the community, and distributed FREELY to over 300 schools in the worst locations around Los Angeles, enrolling over 150,000 teenage girls."

 

This is a push to make women's self defense training available for all teenage girls during PE classes.  

 
To learn more about Project XO and to contribute, click here.