Improving the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment January, 2015

This document contains the text and pictures from the electronic version of the newsletter. However, it does not contain information found in the hyperlinks.

Issue3, January, 2015 - In This Issue:

Governor Bobbi Sends New Year's Greetings

Time to Observe Human Trafficking Awareness

Getting to Know Charlene

Working with Other Organizations Can Increase Your Collective Impact

Speakers Available for Clubs

News from a Past Winner

Clubs Celebrate Their Successes

Grant Available to Clubs

WOA Winner Invents Game

Our Winner Receives Media Mention

Eureka Has a Membership Growth Plan

Picture Your Stories!

Club Giving Benefits You!

District and Club News

President Poco Sends Greetings

Greetings from President Poco

Laws and Resolutions Election

Founder Region Link pdf

Results

Kudos!

Milestones

Welcome New Members

Really Important Links

All of the links in the newsletter are important, but these are really,

really important!

Region Roster

Soroptimist Summary

Soroptimist International News and Blog

Founder Region Link in pdf format

Soroptimist Celebrating Success Entry Form

Federation News

President Poco Sends Holiday Greetings

President Poco sent a holiday greeting to all members of Soroptimist International of the Americas. She asked that we include a copy in our newsletter for any members who may have missed receiving a copy. The link to her greeting is here.

Laws and

Region News

And Now, Please Stand for Governor Bobbi Happy New Year 2015! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season filled with family, friendships and the spirit of giving! It was heartwarming for me to see all the various club activities centered on helping women and girls in your local communities. Thank you for sharing your photos on Facebook. If you haven't already heard, we found out recently that SIA President Poco will be our official visitor at our upcoming region conference May 1-3, 2015. We are very excited to have her participate in this educational and inspiring three day event. The Legislative Advocacy Committee is planning a fabulous program on Friday that will focus on Human Trafficking and they have some wonderful speakers lined up to inspire and educate us. We will be offering Leadership workshops on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Be sure that you hold your elections early so your new officers can take advantage of the officer training. Founder Region Fellowship has lots of exciting plans as you heard at district meetings - so be sure to come to Friday's glitzy dinner - there will be a fabulous reception for all Fellows. Saturday will be filled with region business, more Leadership workshops, and education and inspiration for our new "Dream It, Be It" program. Saturday night will be devoted to fun, fun, fun! Dream Factor III - "This One's for the Girls" will include performances from clubs and a special performance from your region board - you won't want to miss one minute of this conference! Sunday will conclude with our

Governor Bobbi receiving Region Award at Federation Convention from

President Poco..

Resolutions Mail Ballot Results

The results of the SIA mail ballot election of changes to Federation bylaws and standing rules are available here.

omg! look who's in the news.

Did you see the great coverageSI/Marin County received in the Global Voice, SI's newsletter? They were selected as the SoroptiVoice of the month for their program educating on human trafficking and child abduction. Congratulations SI/Marin County! If you do not already receive the Global Voice, you can subscribe here. If you have news of a member whose accomplishments have been mentioned in the media, please send the information along with the appropriate e-link (if possible) to Founder Link .

Milestones Rodney Mansho, husband ofSI/Central Oahu PresidentRene Mansho, passed away on November 14, 2014. Condolences may be sent to Rene in care of the club at P O Box 893102, Mililani HI 96789.

Welcome!

awesome awards to women and girls. We have a returning award winner that will inspire you with her accomplishments. Please plan to attend with as many from your club as you can - it will be worth it! Please invite your region board to your club award luncheons or dinners - we love being part of these inspirational events as you collectively impact hundreds of women and girls through our programs leading to social and economic empowerment. Changing lives one woman at a time...this is how we share the joy of Soroptimist! Yours in Soroptimist Service, Governor Bobbi

Focus on Our Mission

January is Month We Observe Human Trafficking Awareness January is the month we observe Human Trafficking Awareness, highlighted by Human Trafficking Awareness Day on January 11. The United Nations in its 2014 Report on Human Trafficking noted that one in three known victims is a child with women and girls being disproportionately represented throughout the world as trafficking victims. Women and girls make up 70% of all trafficking victims. Rather than decreasing, there has actually been an increase in the amount of trafficking particularly in the area of forced labor such as domestic service, manufacturing, construction, and textile production. You may read the U.N. report in full here.

Focus on Leadership

Getting to Know Secretary Charlene In our continuing series on getting to know our Region leadership better, this month we are concentrating on Region Secretary Charlene Stamps. When not elbow deep in Soroptimist activities, Charlene is a social worker/resident services coordinator for the Beth Eden Senior Housing project for low income elderly and disabled residents. She has been a member of SI/Oakland for going on 17 years. During that time she has served as club Secretary, Vice-President, and President. First becoming involved in Region activities by serving as chairman of the Violet Richardson Award, Charlene later served as District 1 Director before her

Greetings to Our New Members

24-680 Sharon Wilkerson Zayne Mathias

Benicia

Karen Muehlbauer Maggie Kolk

Calistoga

Allison Godwin Indira Lopez

Central Solano

Lisa Kays Karen Rees

Vacaville

Dilenna Harris Allison Catapano

Humboldt Bay Angela Petrusha

Eureka

Karen Compton Amy Whitlatsh

...and a special welcome back to our newly reinstated members.

Calistoga

Linda Schiebal \

election as our Region secretary. This is her second biennium of serving as Region secretary. Learn more about her ideas on Soroptimist here.

Clubs: The Foundation of Our Organization

Increasing Collective Impact by Engaging Others in Our Mission

There was lots of organization going on behind the scenes of Project Santa and Soroptimists were in the thick of it!

Increasing our collective impact often means two or more Soroptimist clubs working together on a program related to our mission, but it can also mean engaging with other community groups toward a common goal. This year, SI/Mendocino-Sonoma Coast worked with other service clubs in their area to increase Soroptimists' impact on the community though their community program, Project Santa.

Region Speakers Available on a Variety of Subjects Are you stuck on how to fill that hole in your club calendar? Want something that reflects our mission, but is fun AND informative? Governor Bobbi has the answer for you! Yes, just contact Governor Bobbi and she will set you up with a speaker from our Region Board or our region committees. With the great variety of members we have and their wide range of experience and expertise, they can cover just about any woman and girl centered subject you might want to hear.

Kristin Kaiser Tomas was inducted as a new member by SI/Napa She is shown here holding all of her new member material and being welcomed by President Andrea

Knowlton.

Secretary Charlene and Governor Bobbi talk about Founder Region history.

Fellowship: Unique to Us!

Fellowship Winner Reaches Out Rabia Chaudhry who was one of our Founder Region Fellowship honorees last year has been in touch with Fellowship Past President Linda Sue Hansen. Robia has completed her Ph.D. and is settling in the Washington D.C. area. You can read her email here.

February is Fun for Fellowship Month February is Fun for Fellowship month!!! This is the month we set aside as a Region to raise money to support higher education for women and what could be closer to our mission than that? Send us a synopsis of what your club has done this year (or even in years past) for Fun for Fellowship and we will share it with everyone else in our next edition of the Link. And when naming your new Fellows (and every club will be naming multiple Fellows, won't they?), don't forget the changes President Carol outlined in her November mailer. If you have misplaced your copy, here is a link to that mailer.

The Four Pillars

CELEBRATING SUCCESS:

Clubs Celebrate Their Successes and Write of Their Experiences This month we are giving you a taste of more programs our clubs have held. Attached are celebrating success applications from clubs who have programs which can be utilized by other clubs: This month we have the following entries: Olelo Media Coverage of Joint Awards Banquet: SI/Waikiki was able to use a local media video company to increase awareness of club activities and awards. (Public Awareness entry) Lunafest Napa Valley: SI/St. Helena Sunrise held a Lunafest, raising $11,000. (Fundraising entry. Because of the size of the file, not all of the attachments could be included in this link.) Phonebook Campaign: SI/Willits revised a 43 year old existing program to give even more information about Soroptimist over a longer period of time to a greater number of people. (Public Awareness entry) Holiday Spirit Membership Drive: SI/Humboldt Bay shows how to hold a successful membership program even during the busy holiday season. (Membership entry) Dreams in Action: SI/Vallejo describes how they were able to structure a program to help women and girls who fall outside of our established programs such a Live Your Dream. (Program entry)

SI/Vallejo club member Pat Zuniga mentors former foster child on how to establish and maintain good credit as part of the Dreams in Action

program.

PROGRAM:

SIA Offering Five Grants to Clubs for Dream It, Be It Program Planning Have you heard? SIA Federation Headquarters is offering five--that is FIVE--grants to clubs who start planning their Dream It, Be It projects this year! All you need to do is start planning your program and report your progress to your Region Chair by February 15. Check it out on page 10 of the tool kit .

Local Award Winner Receives Media Coverage for Game She Invented When Robin Hough came to the attention of the members of SI/Vacaville, she was a single mother of five left on her own with few skills and limited education following her divorce after 24 years of marriage. After receiving the club's Women's Opportunity Award (precursor of the Live Your Dream award) she received the encouragement and confidence to return to school. Her career counselor gave her a battery of tests to see what she might be good at and enjoy. Would you believe inventor!!! Robin has now invented a game involving casting die which she financed with the help of the online finance group Kickstarter. Readhere about her success. There is even a wonderful picture of Robin with her invention which we couldn't copy due to copyright laws.

Region Live Your Dream Award Winner Receives Media Mention

Rebecca Shuflin, the Live Your Dream 2013-2014 awardee fromSI/Eureka is being highlighted on the SIA website . Her story, as well as that of the other two federation winners, Christina Valadez and Shirlee Draper, is the lead story on the website.

MEMBERSHIP:

SI/Eureka's Membership Growth Plan: Have Fun While Serving the Community

Three new members are welcomed in October.

Is there a secret to membership growth? If so, one of our clubs,SI/Eureka seems to have found the answer. Between September 1 and November 15, 2014, they added 11--that is ELEVEN--new members to their club. Can we say that one more time: they added eleven new members in less than three months!!! And they are doing it by having fun. Read how they have managed to do this by putting service first and always having fun.

PUBLIC AWARENESS:

Can't You Just Picture That! Social Media News and Tips by Traci Silva

This photo from SI/Benicia is a good example of a casual, seemingly unposed picture with familiar faces.

Leverage your photo power! A picture is worth a thousand words. Whenever possible, use photos in your social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere. Images have more appeal with your audience, especially on Facebook, as opposed to just posting words or links with no visual representation. Casual pictures with people in them and familiar faces are even better, as they are proven to get higher Facebook likes and help boost engagement on your Facebook page. Attract readers' attention to your social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere, so they are more inclined to click on your post or article. On Facebook, your audience has a news feed that is filled with a bunch of content and news everyday, so the goal is to have your post or article jump out and spark curiosity. One way you can achieve this is by including an interesting statement or question in your post or article that encourages people to click on it to know more. Happy Holidays and Happy Posting, Founder Region Clubs! We will be looking for all your great social media news!

FUNDRAISING:

Many SIA Fundraising Dollars Benefit Our Region Programs

We are encouraged by Linda Glantz, our Region fundraising chair, and our Region leadership to increase our contributions to club giving, Laurel Society, and other fundraising programs benefiting SIA. Many of those dollars come back to us in the form of grants and awards. You can read more about where the money goes and how it increases women and girls' access to improved social and economic benefits in the attached report on SIA Fundraising Activities.

District and Club News News from the clubs in the Region.

District 1 Teddy bears, delicate tea cups and saucers, scones, pastries, finger sandwiches--all of these created a festive atmosphere for SI/Richmond'sannual Teddy Bear Tea held on November 1st. The tables were elegantly decked out with linens and china and harvest centerpieces. Mothers and grandmothers with daughters and granddaughters as guests enjoyed the ambiance of the gardens and fountains of Rockefeller Lodge. Members served herbal and black teas from intricate memorable teapots while guests enjoyed a variety of delicacies, including PB&J finger sandwiches for the young ones. Guests had their photos taken with the giant Teddy bear in a tea party setting and received their prints on their departure. A highlight of the event was the silent auction with variety of items guaranteed to please adults and children alike. Guests also shopped at Betty's Boutique where fun jewelry and accessories were on sale, and many of the children created crafts to take home. This event reached both its fundraising and social goals for a great success.

District 1 Leadership meets with Alameda County DA's office to explore how to establish girl's fsocial and economic

empowerment program..

Governor Bobbi, District 1 Director Gloria Bragg and the District Iclub leaders met recently with Jennifer Madden of the Alameda County District Attorney's office to discuss the Young Women's

Berkeley Marina

Empowerment Program. District I SI clubs are exploring how they might support this 12-week course for young women who are at-risk of or victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The 12-week program is educational therapeutic and includes career training, financial literacy and job preparedness so young women can break the cycle of financial dependency on exploiters and find a pathway forward. Thanks to SI East Bay President Bonnie Mertz for making the connection with the DA's office. If you have news about a District 1 club, please send the information from the club's email account along with the appropriate photos and e-link (if possible) to Founder Link .

District 2

SI/Martinez had the wonderful opportunity of hosting a Martinez Chamber of Commerce mixer. They partnered with Char's Flower Shoppe and Saucie's Bakery in downtown Martinez. Their banner was prominently displayed and their recently updated brochures were available to all the business members who attended that evening. Judy Moon enlightened everyone on the role of Soroptimist in the local community and beyond-so many people gave all of the members positive feedback on Judy's speech and on their appreciation of what Soroptimist does for the community. Thanks to Theresa Doolittle, Saucie's owner, the club members were able to enjoy the wonderful food provided and simply pitched in for the clean-up. Several women present indicated an interest in club membership.

Judy Moon discusses SI/Martinez's mission and accomplishments.

If you have news about a District 2 club, please send the information from the club's email account along with the appropriate photos and e-link (if possible) to Founder Link .

District 3

The Delta

SI/Clear Lake made over 80 fleece blankets to donate to the Totes for Teens program. The club also donated 34 cosmetic bags and 30 sleeping bags.

SI/Clearlake members make fleece blankets for the Totes for Teens program.

SI/Vallejo Gateway collected toys for the local Toys for Tots drive at their December 19th Christmas party, which also included plenty of food and fun.

SI/Vallejo Gateway members Eleanor Grieg, Sheryl Bishop, Mary Diegel,

Pam Herrera, Lucille Ligon, Lori Herrera, and Linda Bailey spread the joy of

Napa Valley in Fall

Christmas.

SI/Napa members spread some Joy to the World Soroptimist style when they wrapped gifts at Target as part of the Shop with a Cop program.

SI/Napa members wrapping gifts.

If you have news about a District 3 club, please send the information from the club's

email account along with the appropriate photos and e-link (if possible) to Founder Link . District 4 Boy, those SI/Windsor members have been so busy lately! On December 3, they served meals to forty seniors and provided live entertainment by Charlie Baker. The seniors really enjoyed the pasta feed! They also celebrated Thanksgiving by providing all the food needed for a festive meal at the Giffen House women's shelter in Santa Rosa. They donated turkeys, stuffing, vegetables, sweet potatoes, pies and lots more to the women and children. The Windsor Soroptimists are focusing on supporting these women and their children as they meet the challenges of transitioning to permanent homes.

Sonoma County Coast

Sweets for the sweet: Michele Bowen serves dessert to the seniors.

If you have news about a District 4 club, please send the information from the club's email account along with the appropriate photos and e-link (if possible) toLink . District 5 SI/Noyo Sunrise created a Quilt Raffle fundraiser in 2014 after being gifted a lovely locally made quilt by its quilter Robin Wheat and Ocean Wave Quilters. The fundraiser added just over $1400 for club service funds. For 10 years before, SI/Fort Bragg and Ocean Wave Quilters had put on a Memorial Day 2-day Quilt Show, including a Quilt Raffle. When SI/Fort Bragg decided not to put on the Quilt Show in 2014, the precedentfor a Quilt Raffle. Robin Wheat donated the quilt to us,Sunrise printed tickets. Tickets were sold at two large public events (both produced by SI/Fort Bragg), the March Whale Run & Walk, and the Labor Day Craft Fair in addition to individual sales by members over a six month period. The quilt was displayed at local businesses throughout the summer. The Fort Bragg Advocate News supported the fundraiser by publishing stories about the quilt raffle two times.was drawn after Labor Day, the lucky winner beingteacher Margaret Iacuaniello.

serves dessert to the seniors.

If you have news about a District 4 club, please send the information from the club's link (if possible) to Founder

locally made quilt by its quilter Robin Wheat and Quilters. The fundraiser added just

and Ocean day

When SI/Fort Bragg decided not to put on the Quilt Show in 2014, the precedent had been set

ated the quilt to us, and SI/Noyo

Tickets were sold at two large public events (both produced by SI/Fort Bragg), the March Whale Run & Walk, and the Labor Day

addition to individual sales by members over a six quilt was displayed at local businesses

The Fort Bragg Advocate News supported the fundraiser by stories about the quilt raffle two times. The winning ticket

was drawn after Labor Day, the lucky winner being Mendocino

Redwood Forest

The beautiful quilt raffled by SI/Noyo

Sunrise

SI/Eel River Valley club members celebrated the holidays and the December 10th President's Appeal by hosting a pot-luck breakfast at the home of Donna Queen. The membership committee invited members to wear their ugliest holiday sweater. You can see by the picture some ugly and not-so-ugly sweaters were in the running for top prize. Sarah Renner won the "ugliest sweater" award for the rendition of "Oh Tannenbaum" on her sweater. President Loene said, "It was wonderful to have a meeting where I had time to visit with the other members and we were able to contribute money to the President's Appeal". Upcoming events for the club include the annual Library Breakfast on January 21, where books will be donated to the Eel River Valley School libraries, and "Sips for Soroptimist" Tea and Fashion Show on February 22.

Ugly sweaters came in all shades and shapes at SI/Eel River

Valley's holiday celebration!

SI/The Redwoods in Garberville, just finished their winter fundraiser; the 9th Annual Soroptimist Lighted Parade. It was a huge success. This year District Director, Kris Chorbi, and SI/Eureka President, Dyann were judges as well as one of their high school scholarship winners, who was home on Christmas break. There were 17 entries this year. When the club first started the event there was a $20 entrance fee. Last year, they changed it to an event with sponsors for each different category and no entry fee. The response has been tremendous. Participants win a cash prize and receive a plaque, so they went from making only a couple hundred dollars to over $1000. Plus they have fun bringing the spirit of Christmas to the towns of Redway and Garberville.

At the SI/The Redwoods' lighted parade, the Soroptimist float spelled out

SOROPTIMIST in lights.

SI/Crescent City celebrated the end of 2014 with a Mexican feed Christmas party. They had had a busy November and December with their Holiday Artisan Faire and See's Candy sales so it was time to enjoy some fun and fellowship!! The ornament exchange was fun, Marianne kept having her ornaments stolen! They are busy with their cushion rentals at local Community Concerts and DNACA (Del Norte Association for Cultural Awareness) events and they have some "Live Your Dream" applicants that they are very excited to support! SI/Crescent City members are looking forward to 2015 and to helping make a difference in the lives of women and girls in our community and throughout the world.

SI/Crescent City members take a moment to catch their breath and enjoy each others company at the holidays.

If you have news about a District 5 club, please send the information from the club's email account along with the appropriate photos and e-link (if possible) toLink . District 6 During the holidays this year, SI/Maui members held their annual club holiday party at the Kahili Golf Club where donations were collected for the local food bank. The club will also hosted a Women Helping Women Holiday Party which is a service project to benefit the women and children living athe local domestic violence shelter. Dinner was provided along with arts and crafts, games, and presents for the families along with a visit from Santa! SI/Maui club members would like to wish all Founder Region Soroptimists a very Merry Christmas (Mele Kalikimaka) and Happy New Year (Hau'oli Makahiki Hou)! If you have news about a District 6 club, please send the information from the club's email account along with the appropriate photos and e-link (if possible) toLink.

t to catch their breath and enjoy each others company at the holidays.

If you have news about a District 5 club, please send the information from the club's link (if possible) to Founder

members held their annual club holiday party at the Kahili Golf Club where donations were collected for the local food bank. The club will also hosted a Women Helping Women Holiday Party which is a service project to benefit the women and children living at the local domestic violence shelter. Dinner was provided along with arts and crafts, games, and presents for the families along with a visit from Santa! SI/Maui club members would like to wish all Founder Region Soroptimists a very Merry

Kalikimaka) and Happy New Year (Hau'oli

If you have news about a District 6 club, please send the information from the club's link (if possible) to Founder

Oahu Beach

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is published bimonthly by the Founder Region of Soroptimist International of the Americas. Deadlines for submission of articles are August 15, October 15, December 15, February 15, April 15, June 15.

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