SI FC announces events and celebrates the joy of our Soroptimist successes on this blog. Welcome!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Recognizing SIFC's Special Spirit

Soroptimist International of Fort Collins celebrated Bernie Fuller's 45 years of Soroptimist membership during club's Holiday Meeting December 18th. Soroptimist Fort Collins values each and every one of our fantastic members and loves to show it! — with Roberta Kunze (left), Sharon Lynne Kunze (middle) and Bernie Fuller.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Help African Women With Your Shopping!

Isn't it fun for shoppers to find a new store to explore? And isn't it even more fun to know that when you purchase a gift from that store you are actually making a difference in this world? HELP has just released their web store www.biggerthanbeads.com for just that experience! Bigger Than Beads features the Wamama artisans of Masese, an impoverished village just near the source of the Nile River in East Africa. Through the sale of this lovely jewelry you will be helping women provide for their families and help fund the school started for children unable to attend school due to their extreme poverty. Not only that but you will find this jewelry is amazingly beautiful. It is not only made from recycled paper but it is crafted with an eye for loveliness.
Give a gift that gives twice! Help us help women and children that are hungry and without hope if their beads don't sell.
Most of all, have fun shopping!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Soroptimist Fort Collins Adds Exciting New Product Line to Fall Fundraiser!

Great news! Our Fort Collins club is introducing the Women's Bean Project products to our array of foods  available for our fall fundraiser. Purchasing any of our nuts, candies, or butter braids will help our efforts to assist women and girls locally and worldwide, but the Women's Bean Project will also assist Colorado women.  Program participants come from backgrounds of unemployment and poverty, and the program helps women develop the work and interpersonal skills needed to function independently in the workplace and community.

The Women's Bean Project offers attractive gift baskets and bundles, cookie and bread mixes, salsa, dip and rub mixes, and jewelry.

Between now and December 4th, Soroptimist International of Fort Collins will make 35% of all sales when you visit the Women's Bean Project website at www.womensbeanproject.com. All products apply and there is no minimum purchase. Just use the campaign code SOROPTIMIST12 at checkout. To get started, click here www.womensbeanproject.com Thank you for your support.




Thursday, March 1, 2012

Annual Book Sale a Resounding Success








Our annual book sale February 24-26 at the Foothills Mall was an outstanding success!


We had many dedicated members contribute lots of time and effort to hold this fundraiser that benefits so many! This year we raised a total of $20,729.91!! WOW!!

Each year Soroptimist International Fort Collins (SIFC) partners with The American Association of University Women (AAUW) to hold the sale. Proceeds will be split between the two clubs and will go to many good causes.

A special thank you to SIFC's Book Sale Chair Mary Robinson, and Sorting Chair Judy Robinson for the many hours of hard work they put in to make the sale a success! Many members worked long and hard on the sale and deserve a pat on the back!!

Our club has been holding the sale for so many years that it operates like a well-oiled machine! Many thanks to so many seasoned club members who keep things running smoothly.

Good going, everyone!!

Awards Given to Outstanding Women





Soroptimist of Fort Collins was very proud to present awards to seven outstanding women at our annual awards night dinner on February 21.

The Ruby Award for women helping women was given to two winners:
Louann DeCoursey, Executive Director of SAVA (Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center) and to Fran Richburg of Project Self Suffiency (PS-S).

Louann DeCoursey has served as the Executive Director of SAVA since 2008, and during that time has worked hard to ensure that victims of sexual assault are able to access the services they need. Louann has led SAVA in an emergency expansion to reach victims in Weld County when the Secual Assault Resource Center in Greeley was forced to dissolve. She has also established SAVA as the sole partner to the Colorado Dept. of Corrections to ensure that the state complies with the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Louann has not only upheld SAVA's mission, but has established it as a competenet business partner in Northern Colorado.

Fran Richburg of Project Self Sufficiency has become beloved to staff members and program participants alike during her 16 year tenure. Fran goes the extra mile for each and every program participant she assists. She has been the champion of the PS-S Mental Health Fund since its inception. The caring she exhibits for families she serves, along with her extensive knowledge and skills, has made Fran an invaluable asset to the organization.

The Violet Richardson award recognizes teenage girls for outstanding contributions to the community through volunteer work. This year's first place award of $500 was given to Angela Natrasevschi for the outstanding work she's done with the Colorado Meth Project. A matching donation was also awarded to the Colorado Meth Project.


The second place award of $200 was given to Karen Perez, who has worked diligently speaking to high school students about awareness of sexual assault, creating awareness in young women about their rights.



Our club honored three young women who are working toward financial independence with educational and career goals. All have overcome significant difficulties in their lives and have reached out by volunteering in their communities and are making a difference in others' lives as they work toward overcoming their own obstacles with the help of Project Self Sufficiency.

Lisa was the first place winner of our Women's Opportunity Award and was awarded $1,000. She has two daughters, and is working toward completing a nursing degree. She has an exemplary academic record, and gives back by volunteering in her community.

Rebekah was our second place winner, receiving $500. She is the mother of a six-year-old and is also working toward a nursing degree.





Jeni was our winner of the Living Her Dream Award and received $1000.
She has overcome many obstacles but has persevered and will be graduating in May from CSU with a degree in Political Science. She has a daughter, and volunteers for her church with a cheerful attitude. She also has become a mentor and support system for many of her neighbors, providing child care so they can study for exams, assistance with resume writing, or just moral support as they work to better their lives.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Members Enjoy Orientation Night



Our Fort Collins club enjoyed a great night this past Tuesday at Carolyn Wade's home for a new member orientation honoring SIFC's two newest members, Linn Shaw and Jan Bren. We played a game of "Soroptimist Trivia" with Shelley Chaput as our moderator. Two teams were formed, Team Linn and Team Jan, where we raced to answer questions about our club that had been submitted beforehand by members. The final score was Team Linn 18, and Team Jan 16! Mary Robinson awarded each team member a small chocolate heart as a prize for each winning answer! We also enjoyed a variety of desserts and snacks, plenty of laughs, and the outcome was that we all learned more about the history and status of our organization.

Our president-elect Lois Peltz presented an educational slide show at the beginning that provided lots of background of information about our club, which was a good review for everyone, even the more seasoned members.

A few of us supplied an anonymous baby photo, and members guessed which one of us the photo belonged to. There were lots of adorable babies, but it was harder than you might think to match a name with a photo from long ago!

Thanks to Carolyn for hosting a fun evening, full of friendship and humor. It's great to be making a difference in women's lives while we have fun, too!

Monday, January 2, 2012

SIFC Seeks Outstanding Woman for Ruby Award


Soroptimist of Fort Collins is currently accepting nominations of outstanding women in northern Colorado who truly make a difference for women or girls. Nomination deadline for the Soroptimist Ruby Award: For Women Helping Women is January 27, 2012 and completed applications will be accepted by mail or email.

The Soroptimist Ruby Award: For Women Helping Women (formerly the Soroptimist Making a Difference for Women Award) honors women who, through their professional or personal efforts, are making extraordinary differences in the lives of women or girls. Their work has had a significant impact, and also inspires and encourages other women.

Soroptimist of Fort Collins has recognized numerous outstanding women in the past. Some of our past honorees include: Sister Mary Alice Murphy, Victoria Lutz--Executive Director of Crossroads Safehouse, Nicole Gawronski of Project Self-Sufficiency, Wendy Stine of Harmony Foundation, Dr. Sue Ellen Charlton from CSU, Wendy Cohen of 2Hearts4Lacy, former State Senator Peggy Reeves, and Past Fort Collins Mayor Nancy Gray.

Nomination centers on an essay explaining how the nominee makes a difference to women. Soroptimist of Fort Collins looks forward to recognizing our honoree at our Living Her Dream program February 21.

The writable nomination form is available on our website www.fortnet.org/sifc or by email. Email your completed nomination to sifortcollins@hotmail.com or mail the nomination to Soroptimist International of Fort Collins, PO Box 270816, Fort Collins, CO 80527-0816.