ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership Acknowledges Major Grants Program

June 11, 2007
Contact: Jessica Levinson, Communications Director
215-893-9000 x129

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Soroptimist International of the Americas, an international volunteer organization of business and professional women dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls, received two awards recognizing two of its most successful programs, the Women’s Opportunity Awards program and the Soroptimist Club Grants for Women and Girls.

ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership named Soroptimist “Overall Winner” of the 2007 Associations Make a Better World award for its Club Grants program. It awarded the Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Awards program the “Award of Excellence.” The awards are presented annually to recognize the valuable economic and society contributions made by associations around the world. ASAE’s goal is help associations transform society through the power of collaborative action. It serves approximately 10,000 associations that represent more than 287 million people and organizations worldwide.

Soroptimist’s Women’s Opportunity Awards program contributes to society by disbursing more than $1 million annually to help women reclaim their dreams of a better life for themselves and their family. One recent example of a woman this award helped is Dawn Zolman, a single mother of a teenage girl, who lives in California. Zolman suffered through a childhood of abuse and neglect, and struggled to support herself and her child as a teenage mother. She was homeless for a time, and also struggled through her own mother’s suicide. Despite the challenges she endured, Zolman wanted to become a teacher and, above all, a better mother. With the help of Soroptimist’s Women’s Opportunity Award, Zolman can continue school, support herself and her daughter, and strive to achieve her dreams. The Women’s Opportunity Awards program also received an honorable mention from ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership in 2006.

The theme of making societal contributions around the world is continued within the Soroptimist Club Grants for Women and Girls program. Recognizing that the ambitions of clubs can sometimes surpass the resources of the club, Soroptimist initiated the program where clubs can apply directly to it to receive grants, which range anywhere between $1,000 and $10,000. Since 1997, more than $1.4 million has been disbursed to 228 Soroptimist club projects, and more than 100,000 women and girls have benefited from these projects. 

One example of these grants in action is the Soroptimist International of Pachuca club in Mexico, which received $10,000 for its Women Break Silence project. The project funded a shelter for women victims of sexual and domestic violence and their daughters, where they are provided with meals, medical and psychological attention, legal aid, and job training. Club members stated that their Soroptimist grant was fundamental for the shelter operation, and that they were able to help 185 women and children begin healthier, happier lives. 

Another club, Soroptimist of Lucena City, Philippines, received $5,000 for its “A Girl’s Dream Life” program, which provided resources for abandoned or abused girls and their mothers living in the Philippines Girls’ Crisis Center. Members refurbished household equipment for the girls, and provided clothing, hygiene supplies, computers and school supplies, and counseling and skills training. A total of nine women and 30 girls benefited directly from the project, and the club is currently sourcing other ways to continue the project.  

Soroptimist comprises approximately 95,000 members in more than 120 countries and territories worldwide who contribute time and financial support to community-based projects that benefit women and girls. Soroptimist, a 501(c)(3) organization, is a recipient of the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations’ Seal of Excellence. For more information about how Soroptimist improves the lives of women and girls, visit <www.soroptimist.org>.

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