Soroptimist International of Napa Awards Local Scholars
August 5, 2021
A global Pandemic did not get in the way of the Soroptimist International of Napa’s mission this year to provide women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment.
One of the most impactful awards Soroptimist gives out is the annual Live Your Dream Award which goes to women who are fighting hard to make a new life for themselves and their children by getting an education. This year’s first place award went to Jessica McAllister who won not only at our club level but at the District level, and Region level winning a total of $7,000! She was accepted to the nursing program of the Napa Valley College. Our 2020-2021 Runner Up is Grecia Valencia who received $1,000 and has the goal of becoming a registered dental assistant. She attends Blake Austin College in Vacaville.
The Violet Richardson Soroptimist Award honors teenage girls for their volunteer efforts. This year, Beza Mesfin was just announced the District III Violet Richardson Award winner at the Region Conference after winning at our Napa club level. She received an additional $1,000 from Soroptimist Founder Region.
At the high school level, $1,000 scholarships were awarded in the third year of the “Future is You!” scholarship program to six graduating senior girls from the Napa Valley Unified District schools: Berenice Amezcua, Dulce Maria Leon, Ailin Meza, Natalie Rodriguez, Joseline Sanchez, and Mya Wright.
President Leigh Krieger states, “This scholarship program is something that I am very proud to be part of. These young women work so hard in school and some of them have had many obstacles to overcome. These scholarships make it a little bit easier and that warms my heart.”
Soroptimist International of Napa had a new project this year aimed at engaging middle school girls to “THINK GREEN.” The project asked students who may work as teams to create a 5-10 minute virtual presentation on “How the declining environment is challenging our health.” Our winners were interviewed on the radio station KVYN and presented their information at the Napa Farmers Market. Congratulations Riley Brodie and Makenzie Matoza on their presentation “That’s so Vegan.”
Due to Covid-19, our group could not execute our annual fundraiser but were accepted to participate in the Napa Valley CanDo’s Give!Guide Campaign to earn money to support these scholarships and awards. The club is hoping to participate in the campaign again this December.
Soroptimist International of Napa is part of Soroptimist, a global volunteer organization meets the second Tuesday of third and fourth Tuesday’s of the month. The Napa club is 82 years old and Soroptimist is almost 100 years old as a non-profit organization that began in the Bay Area in 1921. Email .
Tags: #DreamItBeIt #Empowerment #LiveYourDream #Soroptimist #SoroptimistInternationalOfNapa #SoroptimistsAtWork #VioletRichardsonAward #WeCanDoIt #WomenSupportingWomen