Governor's Page
October 2009
Dear Members of Southern Region,
I have the honor to serve as Governor of Southern Region for the 2008-2010 Biennium. If you are not a member of Soroptimist International we hope that you will look at our website to learn more about the work of Soroptimist Clubs in Southern Region.
My goal this year is to continue on the path of the Renaissance Campaign. The members of the board and the coordinators are looking forward to working our clubs in the four areas of Membership, Public Awareness,
Program and Fundraising.
Southern Region has 24 clubs with a diverse membership in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Puerto Rico. As we do our work to Recruit and Retain our membership we must REMEMBER, we are women at our best helping women and girls to be their best. We must remember too that we are part of an even larger organization
Soroptimist International (SI), with over 90,000 members in over 125 countries and territories serves its local, national and international communities through Awareness, Advocacy and Action. This is the largest worldwide classified organization for women and we support its programs and fundraising efforts. To date, Soroptimist International of the Americas has contributed $800,000 for Project Sierra to provide homes and services for homeless children and destitute families in Sierra Leone. The 2008 SI President’s Appeal continued for the second year to support the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. In 2009 The President's Appeal is called "Hopes and Dreams for Everyone". The goal of raising funds for this project is to prevent human trafficking from Moldova by providing life skills education and sustainable living conditions for vulnerable children.
Please check the soroptimistinternational.org website for more information. Soroptimist International is divided into four Federations.
We are part of Soroptimist International of the Americas (SIA). When we go to conventions and conferences we are reminded of how diverse our own Federation is. The Americas Federation consists of nineteen different countries with about 40,000 members.
We rely on our membership to accomplish the goals and programs of Soroptimist. As we strive to “Recruit, Retain, Remember”, my theme for the biennium,we provide the opportunities that members look for to support and further the goals of the organization. To do the work of “women helping women and girls,” we have many dedicated members to fulfill our commitments. This past year our Region grew as 11 clubs met the goals to get at least 4 new members. We continued to do fundraising, as that is how we support our programs.
In the area of Program, fourteen of our clubs participated in the Violet Richardson Award and the region’s award went to Brittany Young, nominated by SI/Greater Ft. Lauderdale. Seventeen-year-old Brittany developed “A Spring of Hope” charity to help a small community in South Africa bring clean water to a local school. The award included a certificate, a $1,000 contribution to Spring of Hope and a $1,000 award to Brittany. Further information about the organization is available at www.aspringofhope.org.
Every club in Southern Region participated in the Soroptimist’s signature project the Women’s Opportunity Award thus adding the bonus of a laptop computer to the first place winner of the region level competition. The Women’s Opportunity Award is given to women who are getting an education and their goal is to be able to reenter the work force and better provide for their families. The region’s three Women’s Opportunity Awards this year were: 1st place ($5000) to Anne “Maya” Sage nominated by SI/Tampa, 2nd place ($3000) to Jessica Sager nominated by SI/Holiday Isles, and 2nd place ($3000) to Melissa Edwards. nominated by SI/Huntsville. Soroptimist International of the Americas provided these cash awards. To date, Soroptimist International of the Americas has distributed $17 million to help women with these awards.
The Region “Making A Difference” award was presented to Linda Smith, founder of Shared Hope International, a not-for-profit organization that fights sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Linda spoke passionately about her experience confronting sexual trafficking and supporting the victims of this exploitation at our conference. As the Southern Region “Making a Difference for Women Award” winner, Linda received a $300 cash award from Southern Region. She also received a $1000 donation from SI/Stuart who nominated her for the award. Next year this award will be called the “Ruby” Award named after Ruby Lee Minar, the first Federation President.
Each of our clubs identify needs in their local communities and have programs to support them. Please look at our websites to get more information about these programs.
I love the Soroptimist organization and I have seen how our clubs are also committed to its mission “to improve the lives of women and girls in our local communities and throughout the world.” I look forward and continue to support Southern Region with the help of our board and every member’s dedication, passion and enthusiasm.
Governor Nidia Bernstiel
Soroptimist is an international volunteer organization for business and professional women who work |
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