Soroptimist International of Novato
Improving the lives of women and girls - in local communities and around the world.
Each year, Soroptimist International of Novato hosts a special meeting for people who would like to learn about our club, and might be interested in becoming a club member. Our special membership meeting will take place sometime in October. (Please return here for details when we get closer to October 2012.)
Any questions regarding membership can go directly to our membership chair, Sylvia Barry, who can be reached via email at sylvia@SylviaBarryRE.com or by calling (415) 717-0293.
Soroptimist International of Novato is delighted to announce that our federation organization, Soroptimist International of the Americas, has awarded a $10,000 grant to our local club to help Gilead House furnish the kitchen of their new home. In addition to the SIA Club grant, the Novato club has donated $3,000—funds raised locally through our many projects. The combined amount has purchased wonderful new kitchen appliances and will also fund life skills materials and supplies for health and nutrition classes that Club members will help teach.
Gilead House has been serving the women of Marin since 1998. The Gilead House mission is to bring hope to low income and vulnerable homeless or at-risk women and their children by providing transitional housing and life skills education that lead toward a stable life and permanent housing. For many years, Gilead House has supported three families at a time in a rented home; a new and larger home that will house six families was recently built in downtown Novato.
Soroptimist International of Novato has supported Gilead House for many years. In addition to annual donations of funds, the club has implemented an annual Holiday Gift program. Resident moms provide the club a wish list of gifts for their children, and club members purchase the gifts for the mothers to give their children. “It means so much to the moms and their children to see that people care. It is part of the hope that is Gilead House,” says Jacque McLaughlin, Gilead House Executive Director. “We are very thankful for this grant and the longtime support of Soroptomist International of Novato. You are making a difference,” she further stated.
For more information about Gilead House, go to: www.gileadhouse.org.
The mission of Founder Region Fellowship is to advance the status of women. This will be accomplished through financial support to women in the last year of their doctoral degree. A by-product of this support is affirmation of the importance of the recipient’s work and value as an individual.
Our hope is to support women who are working in fields that have great social importance to the world or are under-represented by women. We hope that the recipient’s work will reflect and further Soroptimist ideals. We believe that these women will become a strong voice for all women.
Founder Region Fellowship offers grants to women enrolled in graduate schools within the boundary of Founder Region who have advanced to candidacy and are entering into the last year of their doctoral programs. These grants-in-aid are proffered to assist women in the completion of their doctoral degrees.
The Fellowships are announced and formally presented at the annual Founder Region Spring Conference. The grant requirements are:
If you need more information, or need help with the application you can click here to request an application form or contact Renee Roberts at rroberts.novato@gmail.com.
Soroptimist International of Novato
P.O. Box 1267
Novato 94948
If you have questions or need more information about Soroptimist International of Novato, we’d love to hear from you.
Soroptimist International of Novato will be selling their famous “Llama Beans” again this year on Organic Gardening Day, in April, at Pini Hardware in Novato.
“Llama beans” are the ultimate organic gardening fertilizer
Llama beans are the natural output of llamas—in short, llama poop. Llama beans are one of the most desirable organic fertilizers available. They are organic, can be spread right on the garden without composting, have a compact pellet size (similar to deer droppings), are virtually odor free (can be used indoors), are almost completely devoid of weed seeds, and are not “hot” (a nitrogen analysis of about 1.7 percent).
Carole Bennett, a member of Soroptimist International of Novato, owns three llamas – Llouie, Llovee, and Lluna. She suggested packing and selling the llama beans as a way to raise funds. Llama beans are now one of the ways our organization raises money for the many local projects that our club funds each year to improve the lives of women and girls.
Carole and her husband collect the llama beans, club members make bags made of old sheets, and they fill them with approximate 2 quarts of llama beans for easy purchase. The Club sell the bagged llama beans on Organic Gardening Day, which is usually the first Saturday in May, outside Pini Hardware store at 1535 South Novato Blvd in Novato. Details will be available on this website closer to the date.
Larger quantities (unbagged) are available any time directly from Carole’s home. If you are interested in bulk quantity, please contact Carole Bennett at profcb@comcast.net or call her at 897.6830. A tax deductible donation is appreciated.
GraceAnn Walden, a well-known San Francisco food writer, food critic, restaurant consultant and San Francisco walking tour leader, recently spoke at a Soroptimist International of Novato luncheon held on March 2, 2011 at Rickey’s Restaurant at Inn Marin in Novato. Ms Walden also writes a free e-newsletter, The Yummy Report, in which she talks about restaurants, food, chefs, wine and anything of interest to foodies.
Her popular history-food walking tours of North Beach, Chinatown, and the Mission District are guaranteed to provide a great deal of local information, a very good time, and a wonderful meal at a specially selected restaurant.
SOUNDING BOARD is a live television program produced and directed completely by club members of Soroptimist International of Novato.
You can view archived editions of our SOUNDING BOARD programs on our special YouTube Channel! A special Sounding Board channel has been established on YouTube showing the continuously growing collection of videos that have been produced and shown on NPAT.
From running the cameras, writing the scripts, developing the captions and leads, directing the production, and moderating the show, club members do it all! Please see our link for SOUNDING BOARD SCHEDULE to see the variety of shows we produce.
During election time, we work jointly with the League of Women Voters of Marin County to produce lively candidates debates and other panels discussing voting issues.
Novato Public Access Television (NPAT) provides the studio, cameras, and technical support for our productions. They are shown at 7 and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings and rebroadcast on Saturday mornings at 9 and 9:30 a.m. The shows are also broadcast through CM2 in southern Marin.
Here is one of our shows.
Soroptimist International of Novato awards $1,000 annually to a woman who has primary financial responsibility for her family and is seeking to improve her economic status by gaining additional skills, training or education.
Eligibility requirements are:
•A woman with primary financial responsibility for supporting her family (including children, spouse, siblings and/or parents)
•Attend or have been accepted to a vocational/skills training program, or an undergraduate program
•Have financial need
•Be motivated to achieve their educational and career goals
•Live or work in Novato
Previous recipients and Soroptimist members and their immediate family are not eligible.
If you, or someone you know may qualify for this award you can click here to download the application form and also to download the accompanying reference form.
If you need more information, or need help with the application you can click here to request an application form or contact Renee Roberts at rroberts.novato@gmail.com.
Soroptimist International of Novato awards $500 annually to a young woman engaged in volunteer action within her community or school.
This award is in honor of the president of the first Soroptimist club, Violet Richarson, a woman of action, whose indomitable spirit and sense of personal responsibilty were demonstrated by her lifelong commitment to volunteering in her community.
The eligibility requirements are:
•Must be 14 – 17 years of age as of date of application submission.
•Must be engaged in volunteer activity.
•Soroptimists and immediate family are not eligible.
•Previous winners are not eligible.
•Must live or attend school in Novato
This award is based solely on the applicant’s volunteer work, and is an opportunity to honor a girl who might not otherwise receive recognition. She may not be the best student, athlete, or most popular, but is committed to making the world a better place.
If you need more information, or need help with the application you can click here to request an application form or contact Renee Roberts at rroberts.novato@gmail.com.
Soroptimist International of Novato, a service club benefiting women and girls, is hosting its annual membership luncheon at noon on Wednesday, October 7 at Mary’s Pizza Shack, 121 San Marin Drive in Novato. Please join us for an hour or so of good food, camaraderie and fun!
Our speaker will be Emily Gates, much-loved music teacher at San Marin High School, Teacher of the Year in Novato and Marin County, and inductee of the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.
Ms Gates will speak about the Marin Summer Theater, a new program for student actors, musicians, dancers and technicians that made its debut this summer in Novato with three ambitious productions. Young people between the ages of 13–22 from 17 different schools and universities took part. The San Marin Music Boosters sponsored the summer program with support from San Marin High School and the Novato Unified School District.
Soroptimist International of Novato is a member of Soroptimist International, an international organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world.
For more information, please contact Patricia Hess, 883-8309, or check out our website: www.soropnovato.org.
If you plan to come to the lunch, please RSVP by e-mail to Patricia Hess (hess949@comcast.net) by Monday, October 5 at the latest, so we can be sure to have enough food on the table!
We hope to see you on Wednesday, October 7!
Gilead House is a faith-based transitional home for single mothers in need located in Novato, California. Soroptimist International of Novato is a major supporter of this program that is designed to … [Read More...]
Soroptimist International of Novato awards $500 annually to a young woman engaged in volunteer action within her community or school. This award is in honor of the president of the first Soroptimist … [Read More...]
Soroptimist International of Novato awards $1,000 annually to a woman who has primary financial responsibility for her family and is seeking to improve her economic status by gaining additional … [Read More...]
The mission of Founder Region Fellowship is to advance the status of women. This will be accomplished through financial support to women in the last year of their doctoral degree. A by-product of … [Read More...]
