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Category: SIA News & FAQ’s
Soroptimist Forward
During unprecedented challenges, we have found strength in our unity to help women and girls. While the COVID-19 global pandemic created substantial barriers in our efforts, we learned, we adapted, and we persevered. Let us be inspired by our steadfast support and reflect on our accomplishments as we embark on a more brilliant future together.
COVID-19 Fact Sheet
100th Anniversary Celebration
100th Anniversary Celebration
We are excited about celebrating our Bright Past and look forward to our Brilliant Future.
A Message from 2020-2021 SIA President Penny Babb
Happy 99th Anniversary! Ninety-nine years ago on October 3, 1921, women leaders led by President Violet Richardson launched the first Soroptimist Club in California, USA. President Violet said that she “never would have considered the Soroptimist movement had she not envisioned it as worldwide and dedicated to all matters of justice and quality of life.” Today, her vision has come to life in 121 countries around the world!
We are now counting down the days to October 3, 2021—the 100th anniversary of the founding of Soroptimist! Our anniversary theme, “Bright Past, Brilliant Future” perfectly encapsulates the respect for and memory of those incredible women who had the foresight and courage to become Soroptimists and pursue the best for women. Our theme also reminds us that the Soroptimists of today are acting with the same forward thinking and courage to make our Brilliant Future come alive through our 2021-2031 Big Goal of Investing in the dreams of half a million women and girls through access to education.
Let’s celebrate together!
To help our clubs begin planning celebrations of our Bright Past, our organization’s staff is preparing a virtual “Celebration in a Box” where you will find suggestions and tools to help celebrate in your club and in your community. This Celebration box will launch in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please download our anniversary logo and view our social media tool kit for ideas.
Also, beginning in January 2021 and every month until the end of our biennium convention in July 2022, part of our history will be unveiled for you to share along with new public awareness and social media content, commemorative jewelry for purchase, or historical presentations and timelines developed from our Soroptimist archives. Social media campaigns will follow the day-to-day formation of our first club, the Soroptimist Club of Alameda County, and the Soroptimists clubs that followed.
Over the past seven months, as we have all worked through the challenges of the global pandemic, you have re-imagined your community work and how to deliver our Dream Programs while staying engaged with each other. You have demonstrated that our spirit of innovation is alive and well. If your club has not yet completed its internal assessment to prepare for our 2021-2031 Big Goal, please use the Working as One resource on our organization’s website as soon as possible to ensure your work and energy are mission based. Also, if your club needs help working differently due to restrictions because of the pandemic, please, visit the resources in the Soroptimist Forward Digital Toolkit also on our organization’s website.
Additionally, as we prepare to welcome our second century, your documented mission focused community work will join our Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women® and Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls® toward reaching our 2021-2031 Big Goal of investing in the dreams of half a million women and girls through access to education. To celebrate our Brilliant Future, please share your work and celebrations through our special anniversary social media hashtag #Soroptimist100. See the anniversary social media tool kit for more details.
What is better than celebrating with 100th Anniversary jewelry? To begin the countdown to our 100th Anniversary, we are launching two special SIA pins to commemorate and celebrate a century of improving the lives of women and girls. The first pin, item 152, is a timeless gold octagonal pin with our S logo, offset by Swarovski crystals and Soroptimist 100thAnniversary engraved on the back. Our second pin, item 153, is a highly polished silver oval, featuring our S logo surrounded by ten pearls finely interlaced around the border with sparkling cubic zirconia. Pre-order today and help us celebrate our past while we prepare for our future. Contact sales@soroptimist.org for assistance.
I look forward to the celebrations of our Bright Past, Brilliant Future starting in just a few short months! Have fun planning your club’s celebrations and remember to share using #Soroptimist100.
Enjoy as we celebrate 99 years together! And, let the countdown to 100 years begin!
Best wishes as there is more to come!
Penny Babb
2020-2021 SIA President
SIA’s Virtual Convention
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Welcome to Convention
Stronger Together
NextGen Voices: A Younger Soroptimists
Awards Recognition
100 Year Celebration
100th Anniversary Celebration
San Francisco, California, USA, October 1-3, 2021
Our 100th anniversary celebration joins Soroptimists from all four federations as we celebrate our Bright Past and look forward to our Brilliant Future.
The Fairmont San Francisco Hotel
The Fairmont San Francisco Hotel is special because of its historic significance. It marks the site of the very first worldwide Soroptimist convention in 1927. Because of its significance in our history, it was chosen as the perfect location for this event.
Mark Your Calendar
These dates in October are significant because they are close to the date of our founding. Save the date, and stay tuned for more planning details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find out who is invited, the events planned during the celebration and more!
Registration Info
Coming soon!
46th Biennial Convention
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Digital Best for Women
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46th Biennial Convention Cancelled
Bellevue, Washington, USA, July 22-25, 2020
Update from SIA President, Tina Wei-Kang Pan: It is with a heavy heart that I report your SIA Board of Directors has discussed and decided for reasons outside of our control to cancel our 46th Biennial Convention in Bellevue, Washington, USA, July 22-25, 2020. We will be terminating our contract for cause with the Hyatt Bellevue because of the global public health pandemic.
March Soroptimist Summary
Take One Step
Your club’s “@soroptimist.net” email address immediately identifies your club as part of the Soroptimist organization. The club account, powered by Microsoft Office 365, also gives your club cloud storage through Microsoft’s One Drive, and access to other productivity software. This email address is the public address SIA headquarters uses for club-based communications, including mail ballots and inquiries about your club received from non-members. So take One Step and use your club email address for all your public email needs.
Instructions on using the club email system are on the SIA website in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Membership Services team at siahq@soroptimist.org.
SIA 2020-2021 President-elect Electronic Ballot
SIA launched its first ever electronic ballot on February 28th to elect the 2020-2021 President-elect. All clubs received a link into the electronic voting portal at their @soroptimist.net club email address. Before entering the voting portal, candidate resumes and videos may be viewed on the SIA website. Clubs are asked to rank all the candidates in the voting portal. The ballot will be open until April 30, 2020 at 11:59 PM EDT.
Convention
We Want to Hear From You!
Here’s your opportunity to share your own personal video or written message about reaching new heights—whether personally, through your club or through our Dream Programs. Your message could be featured on the big screen or read during convention in Bellevue, Washington, or shared on the convention Facebook page. Submissions are due June 1. See flyer for more details!
Convention FAQ
Some of you submitted the following questions regarding convention, and we answered! We will continue to add Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to this post as we identify more information members want to know. Please bookmark the link and check back regularly for updates!
Two Dinners Sold Out
The #SIAConv2020 Friendship Dinner on Wednesday, July 22, and the Recognition Banquet on Saturday, July 25, are SOLD OUT! We updated the online portal so these events no longer appear as an option to purchase tickets. To be added to the wait list for either the Friendship Dinner or the Recognition Banquet, please email your request to siahq@soroptimist.org and we will contact you if tickets become available.
World of Dance Showcase
Although the Friendship Dinner is sold out and a waiting list is underway, our World of Dance Showcase taking place that evening is still taking applications for clubs and regions who wish to be included—even if some of your participants don’t have a ticket for the meal. Those members will be able to come in when it is their turn to dance. We want to ensure we have as diverse and inclusive of an event as possible, so don’t miss this opportunity to share your culture with all attending convention!
Privacy Policy
At its meeting in February, the SIA Board of Directors approved an updated Privacy Policy. Data privacy and security is of utmost importance to Soroptimist. The updated policy provides information on what kinds of data SIA collects; how we use it; how and by whom it may be controlled, processed or used; and the rights of our members, donors, supporters, program participants, and other users. The Privacy Policy can be found on the SIA website.
Staff Appreciation Day
Last month we celebrated SIA’s staff appreciation day. In addition to the Board of Directors honoring all staff for their contributions, hard work and dedication to the organization, four staff members were recognized for milestone anniversaries—Lori Blair, senior director of program services (20 years); Kamali Brooks, associate director of communications (15 years); Jessica Puterbaugh, director of marketing and design (15 years); and Nicole Simmons, associate director of leadership development (10 years).
Congratulations to Lori, Kamali, Jessica, Nicole and the rest of SIA’s staff for their commitment to Soroptimist!
