Benson-Valavanis wins Soroptimist award

Alexa Benson-Valavanis, president and CEO of the North Valley Community Foundation, is being honored by Soroptimist International of Chico with its Ruby Award for her lifetime of service to Chico, Butte County, and the nation, especially women and girls.

The award was created to recognize and honor the first federation president of Soroptimist, Ruby Lee Minar, and the local organization is advancing BensonValavanis’s nomination for the organization’s regional and federation Ruby Award.

Benson-Valavanis, a Chico State University graduate, was hired to rebuild NVCF in 2005, and engineered a new business model mobilizing social entrepreneurs and philanthropists locally and around the globe. Under her leadership the foundation, run 75% by women, has grown from serving a dozen clients to more than 500 clients, engaging tens of thousands of donors while reinvesting more than $100 million to causes in Northern California, the United States and throughout the world.

She will receive $1,000 to donate to an organization that serves women and girls and be celebrated on Wednesday at a SI Chico Zoom meeting.

Soroptimist International, a service organization since 1921, focuses on improving the lives of women and girls, has been in Chico since 1930 and is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The Ruby Women Helping Women Award is an annual award for women who have significantly enhanced the lives of women and girls through professional, business and volunteer activities. Past winners of the SI Chico award include Rashell Brobst and Diane Puckett.