Soroptimist International
Sierra Nevada Region E-Blast
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E-Blast Digest
November 15, 2018
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Greetings!
Please take the time to read this week's E-Blast so you can stay up-to-date on happenings around the Region and the nation.
Forward this email to a Friend.
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Camp Fire
– Those of us that live anywhere in Northern California are breathing smoke on a daily basis and it serves as a constant reminder of the devastation caused by the Camp Fire that wiped out Paradise and some other small towns and still is burning. Not surprisingly, Soroptimists have risen to the occasion to help our fellow members that have been displaced as well as other victims. I cannot thank the two Chico clubs enough for their swift action and continued support. I cannot imagine how stressful this is for everyone involved. Not only is the smoke intensified there, but there are thousands more people in town with shelters and camps for evacuees everywhere. SI Chico and SI Bidwell Rancho: Thank you for what you are doing. It must feel overwhelming! We support you as well as the victims, as your kindness and compassion speaks for us all. Thank you!! ---As of this writing, we have raised over $10,000! Our members’ generosity is amazing! Please see the update below from District 1 Director Lisa Fitzgerald.
To donate directly to our two Chico clubs for fire relief, please go to
SoroptimistSNR.org
.
The link is on the top of the home page. (I understand that if you donate and then share the link, it will be broken, as has happened to us a few times.)
Take One Step
– The November Soroptimist Summary is out from SIA.
Click Here
to read the whole thing. I particularly want to draw your attention to the article on the first page called “Take One Step”. You might have heard that my goal for the region is to have a stronger identity by focusing and ‘working as one’ to help women and girls. I would like us to use our “Dream” programs as the centerpiece of our work for women and girls, as these programs seek to empower women and girls through education. Narrowing our focus may be a challenge for many clubs, but this article encourages us to take one small step, perhaps giving out an additional Live Your Dream Award this club year. Or maybe you can follow up with past awardees and see if you can further help them on their journey.
Membership Survey
– Thank you to all of you that participated in the recent Membership Survey. Please see the article below from Membership Chair, Trudy Mills regarding the results!!
Soroptimist International Convention
– If you are considering attending SI Convention in Kuala Lumpur next July 19-21,
today is the last day to register for ‘early bird’ pricing.
Compared to SI Convention in Japan last summer, this is a ‘deal’ for approx. $476 (becomes approx. $548 after today). Full convention registration fee includes all sessions, convention materials, tea breaks, daily lunch, access to the exhibition, Friendship Night and Gala Dinner. Consider going!
Dress a Girl
– One last item regarding Dress a Girl: As you may or may not know, while this is not an ‘official’ region project this biennium, I have encouraged clubs to continue with it if it is a fulfilling project for your club. We will ask the District Directors to gather information so we can know how we’ve increased our impact with these dresses. It has been brought to my attention, however, that some people are making dresses with pillowcases. While this was the original starting point for the project several years ago, they no longer accept dresses made from pillowcases. Please see their instructions and guidelines
here
.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for all you do! I’m so proud to be a Soroptimist!!
Lane Parks
Governor
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Camp Fire Effort Update
Hello Soroptimists all. Thank you for your generosity at this troubling time. Your support both emotionally, and monetarily, has been overwhelming. This is still a VERY fluid situation, so we’re trying to keep everyone as updated as possible. Our members are safe, and we’re looking at emergency aid plans, short term aid plans, as well as longer term plans and recovery efforts, the latter being a very long time away. It was only one week ago today the Camp Fire started. I’m trying to post as often as I can on our Soroptimist International Sierra Nevada Region District 1 Facebook page. Other District 1 Clubs have been outstanding for housing and other needs. We are Soroptimist Strong!
Donations
:
If someone or your club would rather send checks, Please Mail Checks to:
SNR CAMP FIRE
c/o SI Bidwell Rancho
PO Box 9170
Chico, CA 95927
I asked the two Chico Clubs to let us know what’s going on from their clubs’ perspectives.
From SI Chico President Bonnie Chapman:
SI Chico has responded to the Camp Fire in a huge way thus far. I said in my eblast message today that there has never been a better time to be a Soroptimist and I mean it. We have 10 current and 5 past members directly impacted from SI Chico. Here is a quick list of our works thus far:
- Major communications on our private Facebook, joint Facebook with Bidwell Rancho and public Facebook pages about a wide range of issues from volunteering to helping in the community.
- Emergency meeting held jointly with Bidwell Rancho on Saturday, November 10 to create game plan.
- Housing resource list was created based on a survey of members to provide those in need with temporary or longer term housing solutions. This is continually updated.
- Chef Ann Leon of SI Chico has been cooking mass quantities of food which is being regularly delivered to shelters, fire command, and served in parking lots housing displaced fire victims. Soroptimists from both clubs have been delivering and serving the food.
- A local restaurant is making lunches for fire personnel and we have begun to volunteer in this effort.
- Many club members are working in shelters and donating goods to shelters.
- We have created Adopt-a-Soroptimist whereby each displaced member from both clubs has a team addressing their needs. Each team has a captain who is the contact person gathering information about what needs the member has. These needs are then communicated club-wide. We are working hard to take care of our members first.
- We have several other ideas brewing and other projects potentially in the works.
We are grateful for the support of all of our Soroptimists!
From SI Bidwell Rancho President Angie Little:
The Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise is already the single deadliest and most destructive in California history. There are no words. SI Bidwell Rancho has joined forces with SI Chico for immediate response to those affected by the Camp Fire. Our first priority was to make sure our members were safe and cared for. SI Chico called an emergency meeting on Saturday, November 10
th
, inviting SI Bidwell Rancho, to brainstorm immediate plans for housing, food, clothing, etc. for members who are affected. For the community at large, SI Bidwell Rancho has just formed a committee to directly address where our greatest needs are. Our focus will be for women and girls, not only for their immediate needs, but for the long haul. This tragedy is going to affect us all for quite some time. SI Bidwell Rancho will give the Region updates as we progress. I’m excited for the continued collaboration of SI Chico and SI Bidwell Rancho to maximize our collective impact toward easing the hardships the community is facing and will be facing. We are all so overwhelmed by the love and support of the many clubs who have been so generous. A mountain of thanks to all of you!
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SI President's Appeal
Make a difference on the 10
th
of December
Be a #WWLSoroptimist
If you are organizing a fundraising event or activity to support the SI President’s Appeal
“Women, Water and Leadership” on or before the 10
th
of December, let everyone know by
Taking part in the social media campaign, just use hashtag
#WWLSoroptimist
and share your President’s Appeal news with us
@SoroptiTweet
on Twitter and at
Soroptimist Global
on
Face book.
SI President, Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, set a goal for the 2017-2019 President’s Appeal, to
Raise £350,000 to fund 5 projects which will create change for women and girls through
Sustainable projects in Bulgaria, Kenya, Malaysia and soon Indonesia, the fifth project has not been determined. To date, £160,000 has been raised, there is still a ways to go.
What can Soroptimist Clubs and individual Members here in the Sierra Nevada Region do to support the President’s Appeal? Join in with the SI membership around the world for a common goal. We are asking everyone in the Sierra Nevada Region to show support by making their donations for the SI President’s Appeal by December 10
th
. If you can not make the December 10
th
, please make your donation when you can. Remember to send your donation with SIA’s Fianancial Transaction Form via the
Transaction Form.
Click Here
for the SIA link where articles detailing each of the President’s Appeal projects.
Thank you for supporting the President’s Appeal and I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
Best, Governor-Elect Sarah
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SNR Membership Survey Results
Thank you to all who participated in our SNR Membership Survey. The results are very interesting. Please, within your clubs take a look at it and have discussion as to how you can benefit from the results. Then implement steps to improve in the areas of recruitment, engagement and retention. Let me know if you need my assistance. I really appreciate your support.
- Trudy
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A Public Awareness Public Service Announcement:
This is a reminder that the SI Logo is being phased out by Soroptimist International of the Americas.
A Note on Sunsetting the SI Emblem
SIA no longer uses the SI emblem on its materials, as it has limited appeal—particularly among younger women and women of diverse nationalities. Your SIA Board of Directors issued a logo policy calling for all clubs to cease use of the SI emblem by the end of 2019.
If your branding does not match the SIA recommendations on the
Branding page, please consider making this task a priority for this club year. If your club does not have a favorite Marketer or Printer, please visit the NEW
Soroptimist SNR Marketing-Printing Contacts page to find a printer to assist you with updating your Club Branding. Most of these printers have already helped other clubs and may be able to provide a discount on setup charges and/or printing costs.
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Nevada Legislative Update
Now that the election is behind us, we suggest that our advocacy in November be support, in whatever way each of us and each club is able, for our friends in California who are dealing with the tragedy of fire in our region. Governor Lane's November 10 E-Blast contains a link for monetary donations and there will be more information for other needed resources.
-Trude McMahan and Barbara Agonia
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Sierra Nevada Region
Newsletters
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E-Blast Submission Guidelines
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Deadline for the weekly Blast -
By the 12th or 27th of the month. Blasts will go out the 1st and 15th of each month. Email your blasts to
[email protected].
Please note the old gmail account is no longer active.
A few pointers and notes for a successful E-Blast submission:
- Keep your intro short and place it in your email. Most of the information should be on an attached document like a call, newsletter or flyer.
- I cut and paste - please proof- read!
- Specify if it is for the General E-Blast or Officers E-Blast
- Your Attachments can be a Web Link. Don't have software to do that?? Send it in PDF and I will kindly ask our Webmistress.
- Attachments can be no larger than 5.0 mb.
- And if you don't see it - email one of us. You never know when that Cyber-Monster will eat something!
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