HAPPY WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

Soroptimist International of Calistoga

we are

Women of Substances

We've transformed our newsletter to focus on local women who are examples of Women of Substance.

This new theme was in part Inspired by Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus, the best selling debut novel of 2022, currently featured as a mini-series on Apple TV, starring Brie Larson.

Lessons in Chemistry

by Bonnie Garmus

Bestseller list for 58 weeks and counting. The Times dubbed it as the bestselling debut novel of 2022.

The book challenges all women to aim higher and demand more, in a message that reaches across decades, just as relevant now as in its

mid-century setting.

Soroptimist International of Calistoga (SIC) is dedicated to improving the lives girls and women in our community.

Below are some of their personal stories.

Empowering Young Women:

The Philanthropic Journey

Monica Garibay

Soroptimist International of Calistoga (SIC), has dedicated decades to service, with a primary focus on enhancing the lives of women and girls both locally and globally.

SIC offers extraordinary opportunities for young women to build self-esteem and leadership skills as a result of service to their community.

Take our program S-Club Program for example. S-Club brings together high school students, adult mentors and educators to foster impactful volunteerism. The result is that the members of S-Club learn the importance of altruism and how this benefits everyone involved, including themselves.

Evelyn Garcia

S-Club

Meet Evelyn Garcia, a shining example of dedication within our S-Club. For over three years, Evelyn has exemplified altruism, particularly at the local food pantry. Her contributions include orchestrating food distribution, providing bilingual document support, and assembling nutrient-rich to-go bags.

Beyond S-Club, Evelyn actively engages in Soroptimist mentorship programs, participating in community service initiatives like city clean-ups, holiday meals for seniors, and local fairs. Her commitment extends to providing childcare during school meetings and contributing to event setups and teardowns. She also serves as a Spanish/English tutor for grammar school children.

Evelyn's passion for volunteerism reflects a desire to make a positive impact, shaping her understanding of the profound significance of giving back.

As she progresses in her education, Evelyn is poised to carry this commitment forward, utilizing the skills and values gained through volunteer endeavors to contribute meaningfully to the broader college community once she graduates from high school in June 2024. Following graduation, Evelyn plans to set a path towards Law School and eventually obtain her Jurisprudence Degree.

Evelyn's next steps following graduation is to set a path to Law School, and eventually procurement of her jurisprudence degree.

Celebrate the transformative power of philanthropy and service, embodied in young women like Evelyn Garcia. Their journeys exemplify the unwavering commitment to making the world a better place for women and girls everywhere.

Donate to S-Club

Evelyn Garcia

S-Club, Student

Monica Garibay,

S-Club, Mentor

Chamber of Commerce

Volunteer of the Year

Woman in Sports & Education (WISE)

Marion Villalba

For generations, women have been fighting for equality in many sports. While the 1950’s and 60s saw some advancements, particularly at the Olympic level, It wouldn’t be till the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments in 1972 that women were allowed equal opportunity in education programs that included school sports. In our tiny but mighty town of Calistoga with a little over 5000 residents, we see these advancements experienced within our own young women.

The Calistoga High School Soccer team has been excelling by encouraging young women to follow their passion and experience the empowerment that comes from participating in sports. Kennia, a junior at CHS expressed that she “loved watching soccer growing up with her mother."

Although challenging economically, her mother encouraged her to play at a younger age, because of her love of the sport. Her friends, however, gave her that little flare she needed to take up the sport of soccer. Kennia goes on to express “playing soccer in Calistoga is an empowering experience, it provided an opportunity to challenge societal norms and stereotypes all while showcasing one’s skills, talents and dedication out on the field.

Kennia Clavel

Her teammate Jennifer, a sophomore had a slightly different experience. She states “I decided to play soccer to distract myself and stay active. I realized when I played my focus was on the game and nothing else." She expresses how she wanted to build self-discipline and push herself outside her comfort zone. She quickly realized that soccer offered many different benefits such as teamwork and communication. “I used to think that failure was something that was really bad and something to avoid but throughout the soccer season I realized that when we were unsuccessful, it was just a way of showing us what we needed to improve on not only as an individual but as a team."

Jennifer Servin

Itzia Enriquez

Itzia, also on the 23/24 soccer team, thrived when fans would cheer them on, even in a sport that is male-dominated in Calistoga. It pushed her to work harder and achieve higher goals as a team. She stated “What I learned from playing soccer was to give it your all no matter how bad the situation was, to keep fighting for those wins because the game doesn’t revolve on your achievements but on the team's, and to always care for others."

These young girls all experienced a different life lesson, including Alexa a junior at CHS who says, “I LOVE SOCCER, and I'm proud to represent my school." Her father was a huge inspiration and encouraged her to play as a kid. He would take her out and train with her, a bonding moment for both. When her father got recruited to play in Europe, it ignited her passion even more.

However, she goes on to express her hopes of finding more teammates who share the same passion, along with more support from the community. She states, “I believe if we train off season, we will be able to improve greatly and go very far”. Without soccer she said I would not have learned “persistence and dedication." Skills, we as Soroptimists, feel are valuable assets for growth and self-worth in women.

Alexa Navarrete

Each one of these young women all learned a valuable lesson in life through the journey of soccer. As women's sports start to excel and expand opportunities for young women like Kennia, Jennifer, Itzia & Alexa, we as Soroptimists work to open doors and allow opportunities to arise with the efforts in supporting young women in their growth here and now!

Donate to Scholarships

Photos by Genesis Martinez

Read Aloud Partners Program - RAPP

Promoting books and reading for over 400 Calistoga children

by Trudy Bouligny

Jazz singer Elaine Jennings

with Mr Leonard’s 5th Grade

Did you know that SI of Calistoga has a cadre of community volunteers who love reading and books and share those loves with the lucky students at Calistoga Elementary School? All 22 classrooms at CES have a dedicated RAPPer - Read Aloud Partner - who weekly shares the pleasure of reading aloud to the classes. Some have been part of the program for over 10 years! Who are these people? A local police officer, a computer guy, a retired teacher or two, a sprinkling of Soroptimist members, a retired school superintendent, a few winery staff. Plus the impact of three engaging, colorful book gifts for every child during the school year. Our goal is to encourage families to read. To that end, we help to build home libraries which includes bilingual books for the lower grades.

Our unique RAPP program demonstrates our Club's support of community education. Check out sicalistoga.org for more RAPP information and how to donate to our Book Fund.

Soroptimist member Mary Ellen Hester

with Ms Alvarez’s 3rd grade

Another Woman of Substance

Fun Fact

Hedy Lamarr, Actress, Inventor

by Mary Givens & Linda Appleby

“Any girl can look glamorous. All she has to do is stand still and look stupid.” This quote is from Hedy Lamarr, the Austro-Hungarian-born American actress who was a film star during

Hollywood’s Golden Age. Though glamorous and quite beautiful, she was never stupid.

Lamarr was the model for Snow White and an inspiration for Cat Woman. She was also a patent holder for a secret communication system, which is now seen as the forerunner of Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and the cell phone we all carry around.

As a child, Lamarr showed an interest in acting and was fascinated by theater and film.

At the age of 5 she took apart a music box and put it back together again.

At the age of 12, she won a beauty contest in Vienna. She also began to learn about technological inventions from her father, who was a banker. At age 5, she took apart a music

box and put it back together again. While attending a private school, her favorite class was chemistry. In Vienna, her family was part of a wealthy, cultured and artistic circle.

At the young age of 18 she married an armament manufacturer, Fritz Mandl, who was 15 years older. She would accompany her husband to meetings where she learned that navies needed a way to guide torpedoes using radio control, provided the guidance system could escape being jammed. Soon she disliked being his “armpiece” and was bored with her life. In 1937 she managed to run away from Austria and went to England, where she met Louis B. Mayer, who was looking for actresses fleeing from Nazi Germany. Mayer renamed her Hedy Lamarr. Despite being under contract with MGM and playing small parts in various movies, she enjoyed inventing as a hobby. She had no formal training and was primarily self-taught. At a party she met George Anthell and together they created the concept of frequency hopping as a way to avoid Germany’s jamming of radio waves. She received a U.S. patent for the invention in 1942. Unfortunately, her frequency hopping technology was turned down by the U. S. Navy and she was never paid for her invention.

In 2017 her invention was estimated to be worth $30 billion, which would be worth $37 billion in 2023.

SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL OF CALISTOGA

SHATTERS ALL EXPECTATIONS AT THEIR

22^nd ANNUAL CRAB FEED FUNDRAISER

On Saturday, March 2, 2024, Soroptimist International of Calistoga (SIC) held their 22^nd Annual Crab Feed fundraising event at the Boys and Girls Club of Calistoga. Though an annual event, this was the first in-person Crab Feed since 2020. As evidenced by the sold-out crowd and enthusiast bidding, people were ready for this event to be back. Serving as the primary fundraiser for SIC, proceeds from this event fund all the programs that SIC spearheads from RAPP (Read Aloud Partners Program) to college scholarships.

MaryAnn Salinger, President of SIC had this to say about the evening, “Wow, what an incredible event! It was so impressive how our community came out on such a cold and rainy evening to support us. They arrived in droves and the mood was upbeat and festive. We sold out early and people were happy that we were back. Volunteers, guests, sponsors & donors, and student helpers—everyone had fun, and it ran so smoothly. It made me proud to be a Soroptimist!”

Toni Hunt, the fundraising chair, was ecstatic, "When we started planning for this event, after not having done it for four years, we weren’t sure how it would go. We couldn’t be happier with the results! It was wonderful to see so many people, from Calistoga and beyond, enjoying the crab and fantastic atmosphere at the Boys & Girls Club.

We served 800 lbs. of crab to 234 guests who generously contributed to our event to the tune of $129,310 in gross receipts! Our fund-a-need lot raised $14,250 for our education programs and scholarships. Just remarkable! We are very appreciative of this community that is so supportive of our organization."

Along with ongoing programs, this year with the funds raised, SIC plans to expand their scholarship programs to offer recipients awards for multiple years—an objective that has become increasingly important as tuition, living and transportation costs soar.

Since 1956, Soroptimist International of Calistoga has been making a difference in the lives of women and girls in Calistoga and throughout Napa Valley. The core of our mission focuses on programs leading to social and economic empowerment and addressing the challenges women and girls face as they work towards these accomplishments. To join us or learn more about the organization: https://www.sicalistoga.org

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