SIGS News - Soroptimist International of Greater Sacramento

Volume 17, Issue 2
October/November 2013
Soroptimist International of Greater Sacramento
SIGS News
www.sacramentosoroptimists.org
October/November Highlights
October 1 Lunch Meeting, Erika Gonzalez, Opening Doors
Inside this issue:
District V Meeting & Realignment 5
Opening Doors provides tools and support for survivors of
human trafficking, refugees, immigrants, and others.
Multiple interconnected programs empower them to achieve
self-sufficiency and reach their business and personal financial
goals. Opening Doors has served victims aged 13-54, and 80% are female and 50% are
children. There is a great need for services in our area, as Sacramento has been identified
by the FBI as a hub for human trafficking and among the top cities experiencing an epidemic
of child prostitution.
Member News & Activities
6
Oct 12 Snack'n'Sew, 8:30am-noon, Marilyn's home
SNR, SIA, SI News
7
Meeting Info, Calendar
8
President’s Message and Club
Business
2
SIGS Service: WE, Bras & More
3
SIGS Fundraising
4
Bring a sewing machine and/or scissors. We’ll be working on small duffle gift bags for
women veterans to be honored at the April SNR Convention, and items for Hidden Support,
Children's Receiving Home, and Women's Empowerment .
October 15 Lunch, Avoiding the Diabetic Epidemic
SIGS Meets
First & Third Tuesdays
Lunch Meetings
12:00 noon – 1:15 pm
(Sign-in begins at 11:30)
Piatti’s
571 The Pavilions
Fair Oaks Blvd
Evening Meetings
As Announced
Diabetes affects one out of seven people in California. What happens when sugars
overwhelm the body? Dr. Christine Lee, the author of The Essentials of Diabetes and The
Essentials of Insulin, will be talking about what causes diabetes, how it
damages the body over time and how to control it. A doctor of pharmacy,
Dr. Lee has worked with people with diabetes for the past 20 years.
Saturday, October 26, Sierra Nevada Region District V Fall
Meeting
Our Lady of Grace School, Linden Road, West Sacramento (See page 5 )
November 5. Lunch Meeting: Rachel Iskow, Mutual Housing
Rachel Iskow is Executive Director of Mutual Housing, a positive and permanent solution to
housing needs of low-income families. Mutual Housing owns and operates 1009 homes in
18 multifamily communities and provides education and
counseling to enable the residents to create councils
and take leadership roles to manage the communities.
November 19. Lunch Meeting: Sugar
Mama’s
What do you do when you’re laid off from your bakery
job? Hear the inspiring story about two ladies who faced that question and made the
ultimate jump to start their own, which today shows a long list of 5 star ratings on Yelp.
Just in time for Thanksgiving --
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President’s Message
2013 - 2014
Board of Directors
President Marilyn
Goodfellow
President-Elect Susan
Gower
By President Marilyn Goodfellow
We have started our busy SIGS club year and can take a larger view
of Soroptimist impact. Our District 5 section of the Sierra Nevada
Region (SNR) will meet on Oct 26 to witness a Golden Ticket
Membership Drive to assist clubs and to vote on the Realignment
project to balance the number of clubs in each of the Districts.
For our District 5 Winter meeting, mark March 8 on your calendar,
and then plan to be in Reno for the Sierra Nevada Region (SNR) Convention, April 25-27, when
all 60 clubs are represented. Sense the collective impact when 350+ Soroptimists are in the
room!
And for an even larger and longer view, consider our section of the
world, our Federation, Soroptimist International of the Americas
(SIA), which will meet in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on July
23-26 next year.
VP Service Sally Johnson
VP Program Carolyn Walters
VP Membership
Lori Edwards
VP Ways and Means
Kathy Stassi
VP Communications
Paula Maw
Secretary Jean Foster
Treasurer Stephanie Paia
Director, First Year
Cynthia Hennesey
Director, Second Year
Janet Garland
Director and Immediate
Past President
Yolanda Cuesta
Next Board Meeting
October 8, 6:00 p.m
Kathy Stassi’s Office
Our SIA President, Cheri Fleming, is encouraging Club Giving to be
10% of funds to enlarge programs for women and girls. Another focus from this level is "The
Live Your Dream" sign-ups of members, families, friends and colleagues which were at 25,000
last year but are headed towards a goal of 100,000! This is a branding activity so
corporations that are prospective donors can see that SIA has
substantial numbers of supporters. That step is easy and can be at
www.LiveYourDream.org for SIGS members right now and for
individuals who want to engage in our mission but may not be
initially attracted to the club model. It does help the larger
picture! (See page 7 for more)
Anyone ready to 'pencil in' Vancouver dates!?
Board Meeting Highlights
Secretary Jean Foster reports that the Board discussed the following and/or took the following
actions at the September 10th meeting:
 Regrettably accepted Jane Castillo’s letter of resignation
 Resubmitted grant application to the SNR Endowment for funding of the Women’s
Empowerment Craft Event.
 Thanks to Paula’s husband for his guidance, the club now has Directors & Officer’s
insurance
 Exploring the possibility of partnering with Rotary of Sacramento Foundation for the
Women’s Opportunity Award
 Discussed ways to relay information to SNR, which wants to accumulate in one report all
activities from all clubs related to trafficking. This report will show the impact our clubs
have on this issue.
 Brainstormed alternative sites for the craft faire.
 Approved new flyer for the olive oil sales.
 Approved Superstars minimum of $50
Financials
Treasurer Stephanie reports that as of Sept.30th the General Fund balance is $5,843.67 and
our service fund balance is $22,217.09.
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SIGS Works and Celebrates at Women’s Empowerment Gala
October 3, 5:30 – 9:00 p.m.
By Stephanie Paia
This year, 10 SIGS members and 3 guests will be attending the Gala. And, SIGS members are
sponsoring at least three graduates to attend the Gala. A special thank you to Laura Laskowski,
Millie Stone, and Cindra Smith for making this a possibility.
SIGS has six members joining the WE decoration committee the day of the event to transform the hall into a beautiful tribute
to the WE graduates' ongoing success. Thank you Faye, Cynthia (Hennessy), Susan (Gower), Stephanie, Sally and Marilyn.
Special thank you's to Susan and hubby, Mike Schultz, for lending an additional hand by helping WE transport the decoration
supplies to the hall. Hats off to Marilyn and Sally who toiled away over their ironing boards pressing all the tulle to be used for
the Gala decorations. Last, but certainly not least, a round of applause to Mary Ellen for single handedly assembling the trifold bio's as part of the centerpieces that feature the WE graduates.
Tickets are still available, so contact Stephanie or www.womens-empowerment.org if you want to attend or sponsor a
graduate.
We’re Filling the Bins at Lunch Meetings
Sally Johnson reports that we are filling the boxes at lunch meetings to help groups in need with toiletries and other goods.
Thanks to everyone, WIND Youth Services and Wellspring are benefiting from our donations.
WIND and Wellspring both accept individual (hotel) sized toiletries, so be sure to collect them while
traveling. Women's Empowerment appreciates dishes, pots and pans, cutlery, etc., for Kitchen
Starter Kits for graduates' new beginnings. WIND Youth Services always need socks, underwear,
professional clothing and food donations for the teenage women. Kathy Stassi is our contact with
WIND, and Paula Maw works with Wellspring.
23 Women’s Empowerment Graduates have New “Hidden Support”
By Faye Holliman
We had 23 graduates this year and we bought 23 bra and 46 panties. We spent $329.75, which is $14.34 apiece for the items
(under budget). Paula, Carole D, Stephanie, Sally and I did the shopping and then the sorting and bagging at Kathy's home.
Paula, Marilyn, Laura Laskwoski and Faye distributed them out to the group. The group was very appreciative of the bras
and one of the women put her bra on over her T-shirt. Hugs were given and received freely. The group as a whole gave us a big
Thank You and really appreciated their new support. Walking out, Laura had tears in her eyes and said that this was the most
moving experience she had had in a long time.
Support the Tatas
“Save the Tatas” often refers to support for breast cancer prevention and cure. Well, the
phrase “Support the Tatas” has been used for bra recycling drives. Cynthia Hennesey is
coordinating SIGS’s efforts; she reports that bras are one of the most requested items
in women's shelters and transitional programs. Our club is donating what we collect to Women's Empowerment and St John's
Shelter for Women & Children—so far we have collected 78 bras!
Gathering and donating gently used bras enhances the self-esteem of the women receiving the bras. And donating rather
than tossing these bras keeps all the fabric, foam, metal, plastic and elastic out of our landfills a little longer. Look at
www.brarecylers.com and www.sierraclubgreenhome.org for more information.
Cynthia is asking all District V clubs to let us know how many have been donated since June 30, 2013 and the service agencies
receiving them. This effort is part of the grant that we received from the Region last year to expand Hidden Support and
initiate this program. We’ll report Club and District totals to District V Director, Kati Treichler, so that she can share them with
the Region.
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Ways and Means Is Everyone’s Committee
Vice President for Ways and Means Kathy Stassi needs everyone! Her committee has many challenges this year: first to
ensure our olive oil fundraiser raises $6000 and second, to ensure that all 34 of us submit our service commitments of $50
each (more is always appreciated).
And the third challenge is a tough one. As noted in the last news letter, only $30 of each of our annual $150 goes to support
club operations (about $90 goes to SNR and SIA, and $30 goes to our retreat). Therefore, to make up the projected gap in our
operations budget, we have to contribute or raise another $2850! In the past, we’ve done it through garage sales, store cards
and other miscellaneous projects. No garage sale this year, but we have added a $3.00 fine each
meeting for forgetting your name badge.
 Grocery store cards (Raley’s/Bel Air and Savemart) could raise about $250
 Name badge fines could raise about $50
 Santa’s Letters are projected to raise $600.
With these internal fun and easy fundraisers, we’ll have a start. Adding monies from 16 Superstars
could get us another $800 if they go to the operations fund. And basket raffles at club meetings could
raise another $200 or so….anybody want to donate?
Any other ideas? Kathy would really appreciate everyone’s help in making this easy for all of us. One idea would be for each of
us to pay $30 for the annual retreat in April rather than having it come out of our dues. What do you think?
Olive Oil Flows as Fundraiser
By Kathy Stassi, VP Ways and Means
Our fundraising goal for our Olive Oil is 75 cases. We’ve sold (and I am counting spoken for cases) 21 cases, so 54 more
cases to go in order to make our goal. So the good news is, we are almost a third of the way there, and it’s
not even Christmas yet! Please think of who you can sell or gift to your friends, family, neighbors, and
business partners. Let me know how many bottles you plan to buy.
And while we didn’t sell any at the Carmichael Park event, we had a great time letting people know
about Soroptimist, making connections, and handing out Santa Letter forms.. Thank you Marilyn
Goodfellow, Stephanie Paia, Sally Johnson and Faye Holliman for welcoming folks to our booth.
The Ways and Means Committee will be looking at different ways to market our oil and appreciates
all help and ideas.
Countdown to 75 Cases: 21 Sold, 54 to GO!
Have you joined Something Extra for Extra Credit?


We now have two opportunities to raise funds through grocery shopping: We’ve added a Raley’s/Bel Air card to
the Savemart option. It’s such an easy way to support SIGS. Here’s what you need to do:
 First, join Raley’s Something Extra rewards program. Go to
www.raleys.com and click on Something Extra and follow the instructions to
enroll.
 Once you are enrolled or, if you are already a member, sign into
your Something Extra account and click on the green “Get Started” button.
When selecting SIGS, you can search for us by name (Soroptimist International of Greater Sacramento) or zip code
(95831). Confirm your selection.
Designate the percentage you wish to donate to SIGS and that’s it.
After that, every time you shop and use your Something Extra card or account number, SIGS will receive a donation!
You will receive a Something Extra card in the mail but you do not have to carry that with you. At checkout you can simply
input your account number (phone number) and your donation will be automatically credited. How easy is that? If you need
help, contact Marilyn, Stephanie, or Yolanda.
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Sierra Nevada Region District V Fall Meeting
Saturday, October 26,, 2013
Hosted by SI West Sacramento at Our Lady of Grace School, Linden Road, West Sacramento
Check-in and breakfast 8:30 am, Program 9:00 – 2:00
$25 registration includes lunch
This event is a perfect opportunity to show prospective members what Soroptimist is all about. SNR is supporting us by helping
cover the cost for bring up to four prospective members. Governor Janice & Governor-Elect Jackie will be presenting reports
on SIA activities from the Governors' RoundTable, new member information, the Women Honoring Women Who
Serve celebrations, and much more to get us excited for
the second year of the biennium. In addition, we’ll be
voting to ratify the proposed redistricting
recommendation from the SNR Redistricting
Committee (see below).
This is a great time to show your friends and associates that we are a
group of business and professional women who are striving to make a
change, as attested by our members in the photo at last Spring’s
meeting.
The deadline to register is October 19: let Marilyn know if you plan to
attend. Please join us and our District Director Kati Triechler to make this a successful event!
Sierra Nevada Region’s Proposal to Realign Districts
Our Faye Holliman is the District V representative on the Region’s Nominating/Realignment Committee and has been
participating in many discussions. She reports that for the first time in years, SNR is changing district lines. Representation at
the Board level is based on district representation, and the size of current districts ranges from four clubs to 14 clubs. With the
new alignment, districts will be more equitably represented. We’ll also discuss the changes at our District Meeting in October
and vote whether or not to support them at that time. If supported by the districts, the proposal will be voted on at the SNR
Annual Conference in April, 2014. If not, the committee will be asked to reconsider the proposal. Proposed districts are:
District 1
Burney Fall River
Anderson/Cottonwood
Yreka
Trinity County
Redding
Downtown Redding
Red Bluff
Chico
Bidwell Rancho
Quincy
District 3
Sacramento
Greater Sacramento
West Sacramento
Metro Sacramento
South Sacramento
Placerville
North Sacramento
Rancho Cordova
Elk Grove
Cameron Park
District 5
Winnemucca
Elko
Washoe County
Reno
Fallon
Truckee Meadows
Truckee Donner
South Lake Tahoe
Tahoe Sierra
Susanville
District 2
Colusa County
Marysville-Yuba City
Grass Valley
Nevada City
Sierra Foothills
Davis
Greater Davis
Winters
Woodland
Orland
District 4
Loomis Basin
South Placer
Roseville
Lincoln
Historic Auburn
Colfax
American River
Auburn
Citrus Heights
Folsom / El Dorado Hills
District 6
Greater Las Vegas
Metro Las Vegas
Las Vegas Valley
Pahrump Valley
Hawthorne
Yerington
Smith Valley
Carson City
Carson Valley
Comstock
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New Members Bring New Energy
All clubs thrive on new members. Thanks to Carol Little for ensuring that we grow by
sponsoring Laura Laskowski , who was inducted at our first meeting of the year. VP
Membership Lori and President Marilyn helped welcome her into the club, and held an
orientation on September 11.
Please invite friends, neighbors, business associates and others to join us in helping
women and children locally and globally, and having a good time doing it. Lunch
meetings and the upcoming District V meeting are great ways to introduce them.
Superstars: A Way to Honor a Special Event & Give to SIGS
You too can join the Superstar program. Your $50 adds to our funds and makes sure you are “fine free” for the year. It also
enables you to honor important event, or to brag about business, personal or family accomplishments.
Superstars has four members: a great start to the year. Stephanie Paia joined because her niece and fiancé
set a date to be married (finally!). Susan Gower and Corrine Hood joined to celebrate “retiring” from their full
time jobs and entering the next active phase of their lives (they’ll be asking how they ever had time to work?).
And finally, Sally Johnson is a Superstar, but your editor can’t remember why, other than she does a fabulous job
leading Service!
Happy Birthday To Jean Foster on October 12, Stephanie Paia on October 17, and Corrine Hood
October 19, all wonderfully balanced Libras. Healing Thoughts to Jane Castillo. And to Penny
Brown, Thoughts of Living Life with Ease during the next six months. She requested a
on
leave of absence from SIGS due to work and family responsibilities.
Ravishing Readers
A small but mighty group met in September to discuss Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver (it was the same night as our new
member orientation…just too many things to do). Corrine will let you know where our October 9
meeting is when we’ll be discussing The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith. Future meetings are:
 Nov 13, Book Thief by Marcus Zusak at place TBA
 January 8, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson at Paula Maw’s
 February 12, The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood at Kay Bell;s
 March 12, The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman, and place TBA
 April 9, Mud Bound by Hilary Jordan at Leslie Campbell’s
 May 14, Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter at Sharon Gilbert’s
 June 11, Standoff by Sandra Brown, at Faye Holliman’s
Tasty Sips
Corrine Hood reports that Tasty Sips (used to be Tasty Tarts) had a great time at Ruth’s Chris Happy Hour last
month. The group is combing all the specials and happy hours to find fun, affordable places.
Why do we have these social events? Just to get to know one another better in addition to our lunches, away
from volunteering, no other reason, just being friends. Hope you can join us next month on the third Wednesday, October 17,
location to be announced.
SIGS on Houseboats in the Rain
Let it rain, let it rain and it did on Saturday, when Cherie Fields, Susan Gower and her husband Mike, Kathy Stassi, Corrine
Hood and Faye Holliman went to the Annual House Boat Tour in Sausalito. The tour as a whole was fun, and some of the boats
were decorated beautifully. A couple were OMG and one was almost “I can't believe it was on the tour.” But overall it was a
great day, even with the rain. We met at the Spinnakers for lunch and were able to see all the boats that were out for the day.
It was a great SIGS outing.
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Got Candidates?
Susan Gower is coordinating this year’s scholarship and awards program. Watch for information from her on
seeking candidates for:
 Women's Opportunity Awards (WOA), SIA’s signature program. This scholarship goes to women
heads of household who are in college or training programs.
 Violet Richardson Award, which goes to a high school woman who is volunteering in the
community. This will be the last year that SNR and SIA will be giving the award, so let’s do a great
showing this final year.
 Ruby Award (Women Helping Women), given at the club and region level to a woman who is doing much in the
community to improve the lives of women and girls.
Trafficking Awareness Increases: SNR Gathers Info
Remember when we hosted a District V meeting with a panel on Human Trafficking in March 2008? We hardly knew what the
term meant then, and trafficking victims were often treated as criminals rather than victims of criminals. Well times have
changed, and the work of SIA, other agencies, and our own region has helped increase awareness. We’ve had speakers from
and contributed to Courage House, My Sister’s House, and other groups helping victims. We’ll hear from Opening Doors on
October 1, who has been working in this area for years. And recently, we all
received information from Carolyn Walters about the Department of
Homeland’s Security Blue Campaign and new phone app that provides a way
to report tips on child predators and traffickers.
And now the Sierra Nevada Region is gathering information from all clubs in the region on their activities. Carolyn Walters is
leading our efforts to report what SIGS has done to address trafficking. She’d appreciate any recollections from others.
SIA’s Live Your Dream
You don’t have to be a Soroptimist to join the Live Your Dream online community. Anyone can, so spread the word to your
friends and others. Joining helps everyone connect with people online to do volunteer work offline that helps women
and girls to live their dreams. You can choose your level of engagement in one of four programs that help
women and girls (click on the links for more information on what you and others can do):




Be a part our award-winning Women's Opportunity Awards Program, providing
economic assistance for women to gain essential skills and education.
Work With the Workplace Campaign to End Domestic Violence,
Educate teenagers, parents and school personnel about Teen Dating Violence, and promote an understanding of
healthy vs. unhealthy relationships.
Raise awareness about sex slavery with STOP Trafficking to prevent exploitation of women and girls
SI’s Global Voice
The Global Voice is Soroptimist International’s monthly electronic news and is an inspiring compilation of what clubs are doing
around the world, and what Soroptimist leaders are doing at the global level. In September, SI
heard about 411 club projects, reported that US$347,140 was raised and that 39,967 women
and girls were assisted. Our representatives to the United Nations attended eight meetings
and delivered two oral statements.
In Paris, Soroptimist International President Ann Garvie spoke about the importance of
education for women and girls at the first Forum of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in
Official Partnership with UNESCO on 23 September 2013. She described the work of
Soroptimists around the world and set out key priorities for ensuring that women and girls
access the tools they need to succeed.
Lunch Reservations
ME E TING AGE NDA
11:30-12:00
Registration, Menu Selection &
Visiting
12:00 – 12:15
Announcements & Introductions
12:15 – 1:15
Lunch & Program
First Meeting of the Month
1:00 – 1:15 Business Meeting
Piatti Ristorante & Bar, The Pavilions, Fair Oaks Blvd.
Cost: $22
Judy Dean coordinates reservations for our lunch meetings at Piatti restaurant. Please respond
promptly to the reminder she sends out prior to each meeting, and send your reservation to
[email protected].
Please make your reservations by Friday before the meeting in order to assure an accurate
count to Piatti. We don’t want to discourage last minute attendance by you or guests, but
please have it be the exception and not the rule.
We will choose our lunch from a menu of three selections after arriving at the restaurant. Please
arrive in a timely manner so we can submit our orders promptly.
PUBLISHED BY
S I OF GRE ATE R
S ACR AME NTO
www.sacramentosoroptimists.org
PO Box 601504
Sacramento, CA 95860
Marilyn Goodfellow, President
[email protected]
SIGS News Editor
Cindra Smith
[email protected]
The cost is $22 and will cover our own lunches as well as the those of our speakers and guests
who are potential members. Checks or correct change will be greatly appreciated!
Cancellations and No-Shows: notify Judy Dean as soon as possible and she will do what she can
to avoid the cost to the restaurant and to you. However, last minute cancellations and no shows
must pay for their lunch, as the restaurant will charge us for those.
Guests: Guests and potential members are always welcome.
Contact Lori Edwards, VP Membership, if you would like her to
send a letter inviting your guest to membership.
Have Fun,
Get It Done
Name Badges & Pins: Please wear your name badge and pins.
Contact Lori Edwards if you need a new one.
2013-2014 Calendar
December
3 Luncheon Meeting, Holiday Stockings & Program
4 Hidden Support at Women’s Empowerment
7 Salvation Army Bell Ringing
13 -14 Women’s Empowerment Set Up & Craft Faire
January
7 Luncheon meeting (business and program)
21 Winter Mixer (Evening)
February
4 Luncheon meeting (business and program)
18 Luncheon meeting
March
4 Luncheon meeting, Grants, WOA & VRA
8 SNR District V Winter Meeting, hosted by North Sac
18 Luncheon Meeting (program)
April
1 Luncheon Meeting (Business and Program)
15 SIGS Annual Meeting and Retreat
25-27 SNR Conference, Reno
May
6 Luncheon meeting
20 Luncheon Meeting (program)
June
3 Luncheon Meeting (Business and Program)
10 Joint Board Meeting
17 Installation Dinner (Evening)
July 23-26 SI Biennial Convention, Vancouver, BC, Canada
July 26-27 SNR Development Retreat, Atlantis, Reno
Important Links
Sierra Nevada Region
www.soroptimistsnr.org, ID = Soroptimist, Password = Synergy
Soroptimist International of the Americas
www.soroptimist.org, ID: your email address
Password: your member number
Soroptimist International, www.soroptimistinternational.org
ID = member Password = Cambridge