North Coast Soroptimist Clubs

Soroptimist International of Fort Bragg (the “Noon” club) and Soroptimist of Noyo Sunrise (the “Morning” club) here on the north coast are moving forward in helping local, national and global women and girls achieve their dreams. Along with our worldwide network of members, we stand in solidarity with a common goal of coming together as a community and supporting women and girls.

Our success is not just based on our volunteers, but everyone in our community who steps up. We all know that every action has impact.

Our members from both clubs both located in Fort Bragg are mastering Zoom and other online tools so we can continue to safely meet as the COVID-19 virus shows no signs of abatement. We are lining up guest speaker meetings, organizing our fundraising and other projects and collaborating with partners online and we are still having fun doing it! At the end of this column make sure you check out how to join us; we are open to members all along our coast from Westport to Elk and Comptche, too.

Even though we are still deep into winter, we look forward to spring, when our Clubs will be presenting our annual awards including our local version of SI’s Live Your Dream Awards. It looks like ZOOM is where we will be showcasing our award ceremonies. Be sure to keep an eye out for our announcements via local papers, radio, and Facebook pages. We will give you ample time to mark your calendars to ZOOM-in and join us in celebrating our recipients.

Guest speakers

The Noyo Sunrise “Morning Club” will host a guest speaker on the fourth Tuesday of every month via Zoom. The public is invited to Zoom in with us. On Feb. 23, we will hear from Lana Cohen, the environmental reporter for The Mendocino Voice, KZYX, and a Report for America corps member. On March 28, Dr. Jennifer Kreger will be our speaker talking about her involvement in the newlylaunched grassroots project Hubs & Routes. To request a Zoom link for these meetings, send an email a week before the meeting date to SINoyoSunrise@Soroptimist.net.

Mask “ear savers”

The Noyo Sunrise Club still has mask ear savers extenders to help keep your face mask on and secure. They can be sent to you via U.S. Postal Service for a contribution as indicated on their website at http://www.si-noyosunrise.org/. Your contribution will help fund their next round of scholarships. They were custom made for Noyo Sunrise by a generous Silicon Valley supporter of our work via a 3-D printer.

A new project

This spring, the SI of Fort Bragg will be rolling out “Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls.” This program will give girls the tools they need to achieve their education and career goals, empowering them to break cycles of poverty, violence, and abuse.

Back in 2012, Soroptimist International of the Americas conducted a survey — available in six languages — to girls around the world, ages 11-20. The survey asked ten questions, focusing on challenges, concerns and support options for girls. Ninety-minute focus groups with girls were also held by Soroptimist clubs in their local communities. 50 focus groups were conducted in seven countries: Brazil, Canada, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Mexico, and the USA.

According to a 2014 research report “The vast majority of girls surveyed, regardless of whether they had positive or negative attitudes toward their own futures, agreed that girls around the world face similar challenges. This belief in a common body of obstacles is perhaps the greatest proof that, even as the playing field is leveling, there remain hurdles.

The pervasive stresses of female adolescence are well known, self-esteem, body image, family obli

gations and expectations, abuse and exploitation, violence and bullying, insufficient adult and peer support. These are all identified vulnerabilities for girls as they become adults.”

“These are the challenges: how to help girls prioritize long-term goals over short-term crises; how to bolster family support and simultaneously convince young women to reject dismissal, pursue nondestructive choices and embrace empowerment. Ultimately, the solution lies in providing direction. The challenge for women now is to ensure their equal footing in the postschool years. If social stability and economic growth are the ultimate goals of female empowerment; healthy families, successful careers and personal fulfillment represent these same goals on an individual level.

We seek to invest in more resources and guidance for the next generation of women. The Soroptimists spoke with experts, the Soroptimist network, and girls themselves to gauge just how prepared young women feel in their own lives. The results show that while they are largely optimistic, they are not prepared — not without guidance, support and resources.”

According to the study, during the 20192020 fiscal year, more than 17,000 girls participated in the “Dream It, Be It” program across 12 countries and territories. The program assisted girls in creating achievable goals for their future and introduced them to professional role models.

Join us!

Want to be part of our amazing work? It takes less than 10 minutes to fill out an introduction form at soroptimist.org/take-action/join.html. Indicate the club you wish to join locally or search for a local club in your area. Each Club has a website where you can donate or get more info on how to participate. The Noon club webpage is at soroptimistfortbraggca.org/ and the Noyo Sunrise morning club is at http://www.sinoyosunrise.org/