September 2017
Issue: 48
Soroptiviews masthead

 
SI Ventura's  "Dream It Be It: Life  
Skills for Girls" Program is now in Development 
 
Soroptimist International Ventura is proud to be expanding our Life Skills program, launched by past President Lori Balzer and a team of Soroptimist volunteers in 2015.
 
Life Skills is a successful program that is available to primarily young women and others in our community providing education and assistance to help them attain their career choices, to be able to support their families, and to be productive members of our community. It has been offered to groups, such as the residents of Tender Life Maternity Home and the Salvation Army Transitional Living Center.
 
Our Club has taken a break from offering the Life Skills program while we update the curriculum and explore options for its delivery. We have also been thinking about its connection to a Soroptimist International program: Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls, targeted at girls in the 14 to 17-year-old range. Thinking about the similarities between the two programs, we are exploring our own "Dream It Be It: Life Skills for Girls" program.  
 
Over the next two or three months we will develop our ideas even more, focusing on a one-day conference/workshop in late winter, early spring. We are looking for partners in academia, business and other Soroptimist clubs in our region to work with us in developing this day of dreams. And of course we will reach out to girls for their input and involvement in the planning phase. We will work around curricula developed by Lori Balzer and by Soroptimist International, with sessions to include help with:
  • Discovering your dreams
  • Exploring careers
  • Creating achievable goals
  • Rising above obstacles
  • Turning failure into success
  • Balancing stress
  • Putting dreams into action
In 2011, Beyoncé asked "who runs the world" and answered "girls", those with "endless persuasion can rule the nation". This has become an unofficial anthem for many girls and young women (and it's a catchy tune). The reality is a little more challenging:
 
It is not enough to tell girls they can change the world without equipping them to take on the task. It is not enough to encourage young girls to dream big without direction or skills to make those dreams a reality. If adolescent girls are going to succeed in their life and career goals, they must be provided with guidance, training and resources.
 
(If She Can Dream it: A Research Paper by Soroptimist International of the Americas, July 2014.)
 
We will provide regular updates in this newsletter.


,  
19th Annual Camino Real Region Fall Workshop is October 14

The 19th Annual Camino Real Region's Fall Workshop will be held on  Saturday, October 14 from  9:00 am - 3:00 pm. The cost is $40 per person which covers breakfast and lunch. The sponsoring club is SI of Simi Valley and the location will be the Studio Movie Grill, 1555 Simi Town Center, Simi Valley, CA  93065.
 
Your Region Board and Federation/Region Chairs have been working diligently to plan a workshop that will be meaningful for ALL members.
We will be "Working as one, investing in dreams!". 
 
This amazing workshop "Working as one, investing in dreams!" will begin a conversation that you will be able to take back to your Club and work to accomplish the 2017 Vision, the Mission, the Direction of Soroptimist! 
 
Registration before October 1 is $40 which will include breakfast, lunch and workshop materials. The fee will go up to $50 after October 1. Please email Sherri Bennett to add your name for registration. All members are encouraged to attend this fun and enlightening workshop. 

(L to R) SIV members Cindy Daly, Sandy Masiel, & Sherri Bennett, Bonnie Atmore of RVCT, SIV members Trevor Summerlin & Kellye Patterson

Bonnie Atmore of Rancho Ventura Conservation Trust Spoke at August 23 Program Meeting
  
Bonnie Atmore attended our August 23 Program meeting and spoke on the mission and goals of the Rancho Ventura Conservation Trust (RVCT) is an agricultural and open space land trust. 

The mission of RVCT is to protect the natural diversity, scenic open space and agricultural vitality of our Ventura County ranch and coastal areas. 
 
The goal of the RVCT is to keep the land in agriculture while conserving the land, preserving the wildlife, and providing a cherished community asset for generations to come.
It is the vision of RVCT to share the historic Lloyd Ranch legacy - home of native plants and abundant wildlife, as well as the iconic Two Trees landmark - through a thoughtful approach including educational outreach programs and public access opportunities so it can be enjoyed forever by fostering an appreciation and understanding of the trust's land and its history.

Bonnie recently retired from FOOD Share, Ventura County's regional food bank. Under her leadership FOOD Share grew from a $9 million to $22 million 4-star charity rated hunger relief organization servi ng tens of thousands of families, seniors, and children. Atmore retired from her role as CEO in July 2017 to focus on her role as President and Trustee of the Rancho Ventura Conservation Trust.  
 
If you are interested in learning more about the Rancho Ventura Conservation Trust  and some of the volunteer opportunities available please visit the web site:

Application for the Live Your Dream 
Scholarship Now Available 

Applications and information about Live Your Dream (formerly called the Women's Opportunity Award) is now available on our website at

Live Your Dream is a scholarship awarded to a local woman who is the primary wage earner in her family to assist with meeting career/educational goals.   Click here to download the application.   
Live Your Dream also requires two reference forms.   Click here to download the reference form.
 
The deadline for the application is January 15, 2018.  
 
 
Thank you note received from stethoscope recipient - Rose Celis, 
Ventura College nursing student.

SI Ventura Provides Stethoscopes to Deserving Nursing Students  

SIV is committed to providing funds to donate quality stethoscopes, engraved with our Soroptimist logo, to nursing students at Ventura College. 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.
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.
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.
2017 Pledge & Inspiration Schedule 
 
       
September 27 Mee ting:
No Meeting
 
October 11 Meeting:  
Pledge - Sherri Bennett   
Inspiration - Ann Hewitt
 
October 25 Meeting:
Pledge - Sherri Bennett   
Inspiration - Ann Hewitt 

Please email Ann Hewitt at ahewitt@anacapa.ca if you would like to lead the pledge or inspire us at a meeting. 
Soroptimist logo

Upcoming 
Events
 
September 27 -
NO MEETING 
 
October 4 - Board Meeting - Noon
 
October 11 -
Business Meeting -
Noon
 
October 25 -
Program Meeting -
Noon 
 
 
There will be no meeting on September 27
 
 
SI Girls  
Night Out at The Painted Cabernet

Wednesday,  
November 1, 2017
6:00 p.m.
 
Join Soroptimist at The Painted Cabernet at The Collection at Riverpark in Oxnard for a fundraiser to benefit the 11th Annual Camino Real Region District 1 Soroptimist STOP Human Trafficking and Sexual Slavery Community Awareness Event

$50 includes wine, paint supplies, snacks,
fun, camaraderie, and your own painting!!!

Register online at
www.paintedcabernet.com

For more information contact Debbie Gohlke at 805-320-5215 
 






Membership Mixer

TASTE
OF VENTURA

 
This fun event is held each year by the Ventura Chamber. You will have the opportunity to visit with fellow members while enjoying food and drink from various restaurants in Ventura.
 
Please save the date. More information to follow.
 
Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017
5:30 - 8:00 pm

Museum
of Ventura County
100 E. Main St., Ventura 
 
Presidents 
Message

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the 2017 Presidents' Leadership Summit, alongside other members of Camino Real Region leadership team. Governor Ginger led us through the meeting as we covered SIA's Strategic Direction.  

The focus for 2017-18 is "Working Together as One", and calling for a different way forward by defining the Soroptimist brand through the Dream Programs.  Governor Ginger reminded us that first and foremost, SIA is a global organization with the opportunity to reach and estimated 20 million disadvantaged women and girls in SIA's 20 countries and territories who need these Dream Programs.  We are encouraged to reach beyond our local communities and work as on a common program focus - "Improving the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment" - by focusing on programs that improve access to education.

To secure the future of Soroptimist, and the impact we have on women and girls, we need to be better known for our work.  We must be clear about our impact so others can understand how we are improving the lives of women and girls.  If we increase our recognition, we will see increases in our membership and supporters. 

Camino Real Region's Strategic Plan, GOAL #1 is IMPACT :  Camino Real Region will support our organizational change of increasing collective impact by focusing on empowering more women and girls through access to education with the following six objectives:
  1. Camino Real Region will maintain 100% club participation in the Live Your Dream Awards Program.
  2. Increase impact of the Live Your Dream Awards by providing honorees with additional resources.
  3. Clubs will be encouraged to increase the number of Live Your Dream Awards they present annually.
  4. Camino Real Region will encourage club participation in Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls.
  5. Camino Real Region will encourage clubs to participate in Soroptimist International projects that improve the lives of women and girls.
  6. Camino Real Region will promote increased contributions for sustainable Federation-wide programs. 
 
Sherri Tarpchinoff
Bennett 
President
SI Ventura 2017-2018   




Vega Sankur  9/25

Have you Liked us on Facebook?


Like our page on Facebook and stay in touch with Soroptimist Ventura


Support SI Ventura

Advertise your business here and reach over 200 people!!!
Only $10 per month.
 
For Information call
Cindy Daly at 
805-647-1554 or
email her at
Check out our Website  

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