Keeping Busy for Community!
SI Davis members are dedicated to serving our community through multiple avenues, including community service projects, fundraising and public awareness efforts.
Below are some of the projects that keep our committees and club members busy!
Anti-Trafficking
Since its formation in January 2016, the SI Davis Anti-trafficking Committee has participated in community efforts to stop sex and labor trafficking of women and children. Members participate in the Yolo County anti-trafficking task force meetings and activities – this group has evolved into the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Outreach Program.
Live Your Dream Awards
The Live Your Dream Award, a signature Soroptimist program, is an annual cash grant that the club gives to a woman who serves as financial head of household while completing an undergraduate education or vocational /skills training program. The grant is a resource for motivated women to improve their education, skills and employment prospects, thus leading to better lives for themselves and their family.
Since 1972, this honor, originally called the Women’s Opportunity Award, has distributed more than $30 million to tens of thousands of women around the world. The Live Your Dream Award involves three levels of cash awards. The program begins at the local Soroptimist club-level, where SI Davis offers up to $5,000. Local recipients are eligible for additional cash awards at the regional and international level.
The application process is entirely online as of 2018, with all materials due by Nov. 15. Recipients are announced in January or February. Awardees are invited to a luncheon in their honor at Odd Fellows Hall. They are encouraged to bring a guest, and many awardees choose to bring their children.
The application consists of a written portion, financial summary and two letters of reference. The application is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese.
High School Scholarships
Each year, SI Davis invests in the dreams of seniors graduating from Davis Joint Unified School District. SI Davis awards scholarships to support these students’ dreams to attend college or vocational school. All the scholarship recipients’ accomplishments and dreams closely align with SIA’s focus on empowering women as well as SIA’s signature program, Dream It, Be It. Read more about Dream It, Be It below!
Donate
Dream It, Be It Career Mentoring
Dream It, Be It is a Soroptimist International of the Americas program offering career support for girls 14-17. There has been a global need for mentorship and college and/or career readiness for young girls, and this program was designed to address this need.
SI Davis is grateful for our continued partnership with Martin Luther King Jr. High School, a local alternative high school, where we have distributed an adapted version of SIA’s program to the female students since the 2015-2016 school year.
Participating club members meet with students once a month at King High.
The curriculum includes:
- Discovering Your Dreams
- Exploring Careers
- Creating Achievable Goals
- Rising Above Obstacles
- Turning Failure into Success
- Balancing your Stress
- Putting Your Dreams into Action
We invite guest speakers from the community to join in our sessions as often as we can. It’s been a blast, and as member Brenda Fudge noted, “This is what SI Davis should be doing!”
Press: Soroptimists mentor King High students (Davis Enterprise)
Hygiene Kits
SI Davis member Ellie Cobarrubia sews quilted, zippered cosmetics bags and members fill them with hygiene items like deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste and toothbrushes and more. The hygiene kits go to local women and girls escaping domestic violence and trafficking. If you’d like to donate any items, please email us at sidavis@soroptimist.net. Items needed include travel-size shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash, deodorant, lip balm, combs, emery boards, razors, tissues and feminine products.
Soroptimist Soup Night & Silent Auction
Our annual Soup Night and Silent Auction is when members bring homemade soup, bread and desserts, and share them with friends and community members. The silent auction features gift items and baskets, providing an opportunity for a jump start on holiday shopping. In 2020 and 2021, the event was virtual, in partnership with local restaurants.
