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Soroptimist Dream Programs
- 1. 8/31/2016 144th Biennial Convention What is SIA?
- 2. 8/31/2016 244th Biennial Convention What is SIA? 33,000 members+ in 1,300 clubs in 28 regions in 20 countries
- 3. 8/31/2016 344th Biennial Convention What is SIA?
- 4. 8/31/2016 444th Biennial Convention Women and girls will have the resources and opportunities to reach their potential and live their dreams. What is the vision?
- 5. 8/31/2016 544th Biennial Convention Improving the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment. What is the mission?
- 6. 8/31/2016 644th Biennial Convention The driving forces that bring us together to helps us enact sustainable change for women and girls Vision + Mission
- 7. 8/31/2016 744th Biennial Convention Increasing Our Collective Impact
- 8. 8/31/2016 844th Biennial Convention Stronger together than we are apart
- 9. 8/31/2016 944th Biennial Convention Empowering women and girls Soroptimist Dream Programs
- 10. 8/31/2016 1044th Biennial Convention Violence against women girls Issues affecting women & girls
- 11. 8/31/2016 1144th Biennial Convention Education holds the greatest potential to transform the lives of women and girls
- 12. 8/31/2016 1244th Biennial Convention • Lifts women & girls out of poverty • Decreases mortality rates • Increases overall health • Decreases incidences of violence • Increases the ability to recover from violence • Increases the chances their children will earn an education Education serves as a catalyst
- 13. 8/31/2016 1344th Biennial Convention One of SIA’s core values and SI’s long-term theme—Educate to Lead Education
- 14. 8/31/2016 1444th Biennial Convention Helping domestic violence survivors 50 percent of Live Your Dream Award recipients are survivors of domestic violence
- 15. 8/31/2016 1544th Biennial Convention Helping domestic violence survivors • Make contact with domestic violence agencies • Give more awards to more survivors of violence • Go beyond the cash award
- 16. 8/31/2016 1644th Biennial Convention Hold a Dream It, Be It project: • Help girls avoid and overcome obstacles • Teach them about teen dating violence • Work with girls on a project to raise awareness about violence against women and girls • Continue with one-on-one mentoring girls after the project is complete Ensuring girls live free from violence
- 17. 8/31/2016 1744th Biennial Convention A catalyst for improving many specific issues affecting women and girls Education
- 18. 8/31/2016 1844th Biennial Convention Dona Gaddis Wolf SIA Board Director Please welcome
- 19. 8/31/2016 1944th Biennial Convention SIA’s newest Dream program
- 20. 8/31/2016 2044th Biennial Convention Provides girls with access to professional role models, career education, and other resources to live their dreams. Dream It, Be It
- 21. 8/31/2016 2144th Biennial Convention • Understanding their own values & aspirations • Creating achievable goals • Overcoming obstacles • Turning failure into success • Balancing stress • Turning their dreams into action plans Dream It, Be It
- 22. 8/31/2016 2244th Biennial Convention Empowering girls
- 23. 8/31/2016 2344th Biennial Convention ^ Dream It, Be It Feedback “Soroptimists taught us about making goals and being strong, independent women. It really came in handy for a bunch of stuff going on in my life.” “I liked discussing real-life issues and being able to express myself without being judged.” “I learned to be a better version of myself.” “I have more confidence.” “It is good to know I am not alone.”
- 24. 8/31/2016 2444th Biennial Convention Dream It, Be It $24,000 THANK YOU!
- 25. 8/31/2016 2544th Biennial Convention • Clubs held 443 projects • The projects impacted 8,600+ girls • 408 clubs held at least one project • Another 24 clubs supported another club’s project = 34% of SIA clubs engaged with the program 2015-2016 Dream It, Be It Projects
- 26. 8/31/2016 2644th Biennial Convention Early survey results indicate: • 82% of girls said they felt more confident about their future success • 84% said they felt more prepared to pursue their career goals Evaluating the program
- 27. 8/31/2016 2744th Biennial Convention • SI/Rosarito “started with 200 very serious girls who wouldn’t even look at us as we spoke, and now we have 250 very enthusiastic girls who are willing to share their experiences on a microphone.” • SI/San Jose Del Monte felt a little overwhelmed when they started, but were pleased with the positive response they had from the girls participating. • SI/Scotts Bluff reported that both members and girls alike “became very emotional as they all shared struggles and triumphs they have personally experienced.” Feedback from clubs
- 28. 8/31/2016 2844th Biennial Convention Clarissa, Connisha, Ja’Shonda and Kyani (of SI/Tampa’s Dream It, Be It project) Dream It, Be It participants
- 29. 8/31/2016 2944th Biennial Convention The Game of Life Chance VS Skill • Girls make the connection between unfair game and real-life obstacles they may face
- 30. 8/31/2016 3044th Biennial Convention Clarissa, Connisha, Ja’Shonda and Kyani From Tampa, Florida Please welcome
- 31. 8/31/2016 3144th Biennial Convention Clarissa, Connisha, Ja’Shonda and Kyani Blake High School in Tampa, Florida Thank you!
- 32. 8/31/2016 3244th Biennial Convention Panel Discussion
- 33. 8/31/2016 3344th Biennial Convention Thank you, girls!
- 34. 8/31/2016 3444th Biennial Convention Gigie Penalosa SIA Board Director Please welcome
- 35. 8/31/2016 3544th Biennial Convention The Power of Dream It, Be It
- 36. 8/31/2016 3644th Biennial Convention The Live Your Dream Award
- 37. 8/31/2016 3744th Biennial Convention The awards have given women the resources they need to improve their education, skills and employment prospects Since 1972
- 38. 8/31/2016 3844th Biennial Convention • Over half have experienced violence • Others face obstacles such as poverty, homelessness, teen pregnancy, personal illness, illness or death of a spouse or child Live Your Dream Award Recipients
- 39. 8/31/2016 3944th Biennial Convention “We all have an unsuspected reserve of strength inside that emerges when life puts us to the test.” Author Isabel Allende
- 40. 8/31/2016 4044th Biennial Convention We believe in our recipients
- 41. 8/31/2016 4144th Biennial Convention • 1,355 women received awards (5%+ over last year) • Nearly $1.9 million was awarded (+7%) In the 2015-2016 club year
- 42. 8/31/2016 4244th Biennial Convention Shaping Our Future In the last 4 years: We have increased the number of women we have reached by 14% and funds given by 26%.
- 43. 8/31/2016 4344th Biennial Convention • Club participation increased 3%, bringing the total to rate to 81% • 13 regions had 100% participation 2015-2016 Club Year
- 44. 8/31/2016 4444th Biennial Convention Three years after receiving the award, recipients report: How is this award transforming lives? Have increased self-esteem Have earned or are continuing to purse a degree or certificate Enjoy an increased standard of living Are serving as a role model for their dependents
- 45. 8/31/2016 4544th Biennial Convention Thank you!
Editor's Notes
- Thank you Mariza. This morning w will focus on the Soroptimist Dream Programs. But first, I want to raise the question: “What is SIA?” Is it a logo with a big S in a blue box? Is it an office somewhere on Spruce Street in Pennsylvania? No, SIA is you (gesturing to someone in front row) and it is you, and you and you and you and you (continue to gesture) and every single person in this room.
- More than that, it is each and every one of our more than 33,000 members in 1,300 clubs in 28 regions in 20 countries.
- SIA is a collaboration of members with a common vision and mission.
- And what is the vision? That women and girls have the resources and opportunities to reach their full potential and live their dreams.
- And what is that mission? Improving the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment.
- Those are the driving forces that brings us all together. And those are the driving forces that will keep us together and help us to enact sustainable change for women and girls.
- You’ve heard a lot about the importance of increasing our collective impact. And there are many analogies….. Putting all your drops in one bucket, rather than spreading them out between many different buckets.....Everyone taking one step forward together, instead of one person taking many steps forward on their own.
- The bottom line is this: We are much stronger together than we are apart. The strength of our organization lies not only in our numbers, but in our common mission and programs. And that is why it is so important we work together to increase our collective impact.
- The most important way we can do that is through our Soroptimist Dream Programs: Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women and Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls. While one program is well-established and the other much newer, they are both extremely effective in empowering women and girls.
- Now, many Soroptimists are passionate about specific issues affecting women and girls, including violence, trafficking, health care, working women, and pay equity. Violence against women and girls is an issue that is of particular importance to so many of us. And an extremely important issue when you consider that: One in three women will be the victim of physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. Woman and girls account for 70 percent of trafficking victims – a total of 4 million each year. It is estimated that of all the women who were victims of homicide in 2012, almost half were killed by intimate partners or family members; compared to only six percent of men who were killed.
- As we continue our efforts to increase our collective impact through our Dream Programs, we do not want to lose sight of our passion to end violence against women and girls. Our Dream Programs focus on education for one reason: Global agencies, both government and non-government alike, agree that a quality education – more than anything else – holds the greatest potential to transform the lives of women and girls. Education serves as a catalyst.
- Education serves as a catalyst. It lifts women and girls out of poverty, It decreases mortality rates, It increases overall health, It decreases incidences of violence, and increases the ability to recover from violence, And it increases the chances that their own children will earn an education.
- Because of this, education is one of SIA’s core values…..women and girls deserve to lead full and productive lives through access to education. It is also SI’s long term theme – Educate to Lead.
- And did you know that a recently study found that more than 50 percent of our Live Your Dream Award recipients are survivors of violence? If your club is passionate about making sure women have the resources to live free from violence, there are many ways you can use the Live Your Dream Awards. You could make contact with agencies helping women recover from violent situations and ask for help in getting applications to women eligible for awards. You could give away more awards to more survivors of violence, or you could go beyond the cash award and help club level recipients who have experienced violence in other ways to ensure their long-term success.
- You could make contact with agencies helping women recover from violent situations and ask for help in getting applications to women eligible for awards. You could give away more awards to more survivors of violence, or you could go beyond the cash award and help club level recipients who have experienced violence in other ways to ensure their long-term success.
- If your club is passionate about making sure girls live free from violence, you could hold a Dream It, Be It project in your community. This project teaches girls the skills they need to not only avoid but also overcome obstacles to their success. It teaches them to value themselves and to be resilient. You could also add a session on teen dating violence. You could work with your girls on a community service project to raise awareness about violence against women and girls. Or you could continue one-on-one mentoring with girls after the project is complete – after all, a constant, trustworthy mentor will reduce a girl’s risk of staying in an unhealthy relationship.
- At the end of the day, education – which is addressed by the Live Your Dream Awards and Dream It, Be It – is the catalyst for improving any number of specific issues affecting women and girls.
- For more on our new program for girls, please welcome federation director Dona Gaddis Wolf!
- Thank you President Sam. It is my honor to talk to you about our newest Dream program– Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls.
- Dream It, Be It seeks to provide girls with the skills and resources they need to stay the course on their journey to happy and successful adulthood. It provides girls with access to professional role models, career education, and other resources to live their dreams.
- Girls learn skills that can help them in all areas of their lives, including understanding their own values and aspirations, creating achievable goals, overcoming obstacles created by gender discrimination, turning failure into success, balancing stress, and turning their dreams into action plans.
- When girls have information about education and careers, they are empowered. When girls have the knowledge they need to avoid a violent relationship, they are empowered. When girls have positive female role models who show an interest in their lives, they are empowered. This is all a part of Dream It, Be It.
- Just consider some feedback we’ve received from girls after participating in the program: “Soroptimists taught us about making goals and being strong, independent women. It really came in handy for a bunch of stuff going on in my life.” “I liked discussing real-life issues and being able to express myself without being judged.” “I learned to be a better version of myself.” “I have more confidence.” “It is good to know I am not alone.”
- This program is only two years old this month! But it’s already off to a great start. When we introduced the program at our last convention, you embraced it from the start. As a matter of fact, convention attendees donated more than $24,000 on the spot! Those funds have gone a long way in helping to get this program off the ground and in good shape for clubs to easily implement. Our sincere thanks goes to those very special donors!
- In this past year, Soroptimist clubs held 443 Dream It, Be It projects. Those projects impacted over 8,600 girls. We had 408 clubs hold at least one Dream It, Be It project, and another 24 clubs who supported another club’s project. That means 34 percent of our clubs engaged with our Dream program for girls in one way or another.
- We also conducted our first evaluation of the program and its impact on girls. Clubs entered survey results for more than 5000 girls in our new online database. Although our analysis is not yet complete, I wanted to share two early numbers with you: 82% of girls completing the survey said they felt more confident about their future success 84% said they felt more prepared to pursue their career goals I’m overwhelmed by these numbers so early in the program. Just overwhelmed. Fellow Soroptimists – I think we have a winner with this program!
- We realize this is a new program, and some clubs may be unsure of how to go about starting a Dream It, Be It project or have doubts about its impact. My club held our first Dream It, Be It project and it was very rewarding. And, I will tell you, our the feedback from the clubs that have participated has also been very positive! SI Rosarito in the Mexico/Centroamerica Region reported that they “started with 200 very serious girls who wouldn’t even look at us as we spoke, and now we have 250 very enthusiastic girls who are willing to share their experiences on a microphone.” SI San Jose Del Monte members in the Philippines Region reported they felt a little overwhelmed when they started, but were pleased with the positive response they had from the girls participating. And SI Scotts Bluff County in the Rocky Mountain Region reported that both members and girls alike “became very emotional as they all shared struggles and triumphs they have personally experienced.” For more on the Dream It, Be It experience, let’s take a look at a short video.
- And we’ve got more than just a video ….what do you say we bring out some girls who actually have participated in Dream It, Be It? Today we have Clarissa, Connisha, Ja’Shonda and Kyani who participated in SI Tampa’s project with us today.
- Later, I am going to have a discussion with the girls but before that, they have a skit they put together for you. In Session 4 of the Dream It, Be It curriculum, girls have the opportunity to participate in “The Game of Life” where one set of players are favored simply based on chance and not on skill. Girls get to make the connection between an unfair game and real-life obstacles they may face, including body image, sexual violence, bullying, peer pressure, family obligation and more. These skits are an example of the role-play they use in Dream It, Be It to overcome obstacles. Soroptimists, please welcome our Dream It, Be It girls from Tampa, Florida!
- Soroptimists, please welcome our Dream It, Be It girls from Tampa, Florida!
- Thank you so much girls. You really brought to life some of the unfair obstacles facing girls today….and had some really wonderful solutions! As you’re taking your seats, I will go ahead and introduce each of you. How about you give us a wave as I say your name? We’ve got Clarissa, Connisha, Ja’Shonda, and Kyani. Each of these girls attend Blake High School in Tampa.
- If you’re ready, let’s get started with our first discussion question: What is your dream for the future?
- I think that’s all we have time for today. Thank you girls for being here and for sharing your thoughts and experiences. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you. Please accept this small gift from Soroptimist. And best of luck in all your future endeavors! Oh and enjoy your afternoon at Disney World!
- Next, please welcome to the stage my colleague on the board of directors, Gigie Penalosa.
- Weren’t those girls wonderful? A real testament to the power of Dream It, Be It.
- But I’m here today to talk about our other Dream Program – Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women.
- Since 1972, Soroptimists have been empowering women through the Live Your Dream Awards. These awards assist women who support their families financially and give women the resources they need to improve their education, skills, and employment prospects.
- We know that just over half of the studied Live Your Dream Award recipients have experienced violence. But there are many other obstacles they have faced: poverty, homelessness, teen pregnancy, a personal illness, and the illness or death of a spouse or child are just a few.
- Author Isabel Allende says “We all have an insuspected reserve of strength inside that emerges when life puts us to the test.” Soroptimist sees that reserve of strength in our Live Your Dream Award recipients, and we commit to supporting them as they commit to their education and a better life.
- Many recipients tell us winning a cash award made a difference in their lives, but what was equally important to them was the knowledge that an entire global organization of women believes in them. Soroptimists show we believe in them not only by financially supporting their education, but also by providing mentoring, job training, or assistance with child care, financial advice and more.
- In the 2015-2016 club year 1,355 women received a Live Your Dream Award. That’s a five percent increase over last year. Nearly $1.9 million in funding was awarded, which was an increase of 7 percent.
- Those are very good improvements in just a year’s time. But I want to take it a step further. Four years ago, we first heard about shaping our future for increased collective impact. And I want you to know, that since then, we have increased the number of women we have reached by 14 percent and the funds given by 26 percent! We really are increasing our collective impact. This is our evidence!
- Going back to the 2015-2016 club year, club participation also increased 3 percent, bringing the total participation rate of Soroptimist clubs to 81 percent. Thirteen regions had 100 percent participation again this year.
- But how is the award transforming the lives of the women who receive it? So many have told us that these awards have made a sustainable impact on their lives – not just a short-term impact of a year or two – but that the awards and recognition will help carry them through for their entire lives. Three years after winning an award, recent Live Your Dream Award recipients told us that: 92 percent have increased self-esteem, 96 percent have earned or are continuing to pursue an educational degree or certificate, 92 percent enjoy an increased standard of living, and 100 percent are serving as a role model for their dependents.
- Thank you for your support of this Soroptimist Dream Program, and for helping us increase our collective impact. But most of all, thank you for your support of such a valuable program, a program that is making a sustainable difference in the lives of so many women. I believe it’s time to announce our federation recipients. Please welcome Director Yoko Ichigatani!