Meetings: 7:30 a.m. second/fourth Tuesdays, September-June
Sunland Golf & Country Club,
109 Hilltop Drive, Sequim
Seventy years after it was chartered on May 2, 1947, with about a dozen women, Soroptimist International of Sequim is going strong.
Today, the volunteer service organization has 74 members, all devoted to the club’s mission of making a difference to women through its social and economic empowerment projects, programs and scholarships.
The word “soroptimist,” of Greek origin, means “best for women” and “Soroptimists are women at their best, working to help other women to be their best” according the group’s website at http://sisequim.org.
Serving on the club’s Public Awareness Committee, Linda Klinefelter (6.5 years) and Kathy Purcell (19) are among the organization’s biggest boosters.
“Our members work well together — we’ve got good teamwork — and any job is a collaboration that increases strength within the club,” Purcell said. “You bond when you’re working on a job together and it also gives each member ownership in the club.”
“We all have to work in tandem and we’re an excellent example of how women work together,” Klinefelter added. “When a woman joins she knows about our mission, so a joining member comes with an energy to work as team. We work from the premise there is no ‘i’ in teamwork.”
Committees include the Gala Garden Show, Gala Gift Show, Scholarships and Awards, Medical Loan Closet, Finance, Public Awareness, Membership. SHE — Soroptimist Helping and Empowering, A.I.M. High — Reach for the Stars, VIP Luncheon, Saturday of Service and Hospitality.
Purcell said the reason the club’s members mesh so well and get so much accomplished is because they’re matched on different projects according to their skills and strengths — for example, a member with lots of ideas is paired with another who enjoys putting plans into action.
She noted that among current members, they have 604 years of service to the community of Sequim. Klinefelter said the oldest current member joined in 1970 — going on 47 years.
Once only for businesswomen, the club is open to any occupation and to men, too.
“The occupations of the women include business owners, educators, social workers, healthcare workers, clerical, fire and law enforcement as well as military and the all important homemaker,” Klinefelter said. “We also have a retired military person who retired from the Nurses Corps as a colonel.”
Everyone pulls together to put on the Gala Garden Show, a project that takes a year to plan.
“The Gala Garden Show, always the third weekend in March, is our main fundraiser,” Purcell said, “and that money goes back to the community. Attendees want to know, ‘Where does my $5 (admission) go?’ so we show them a list of the things we support. I think it’s cool that people want to know where their money’s going and I kind of feel like it’s the community’s garden show — not just our garden show. We put the fun in fundraising!”
In its anniversary year, the club plans to give away $24,000 in awards and scholarships. A synopsis of awards/scholarships follows:
• Live Your Dream, $2,000 to aid the female head of household to improve her skills/ training and upgrade her employment prospects, two awards given
• Vocational Technical Award, $2,000 to aid a student enrolled in a non-degree program leading to a certificate or license
• Continuing Education Scholarship, $2,000 to a female graduate of Sequim High School enrolled in a post-secondary program, four awards given
• Violet Richardson Award, $250, to recognize outstanding contributions by young people for the improvement of the quality of life for their fellow citizens
• High School Scholarships, $2,000 to aid graduating Sequim High School senior girls, two scholarships given.
Soroptimist of Sequim also recognizes young women with its Girls of the Month who are selected on the basis of academics, service, citizenship or athletics.
“I’m investing in my future and I hope that these young women will do something that will invest in my future,” Klinefelter said.
The club also annually commits funds to the Boys &Girls Club, Dungeness Valley Health and Wellness Clinic, First Step Family Support Center, First Teacher, Greywolf and Helen Haller elementary schools, Healthy Families of Clallam County, Peninsula Behavioral Health, Mujeres de Maiz Opportunity Foundation, OlyCAP Senior Meals Program, Rainbow Girls, Sequim Community Aid and the Sequim Education Foundation.
Members also support the community by providing supplies for foster children and victims of domestic violence plus funding programs to assist them. Through its Kids Kloset, boys and girls in foster care get to choose new clothing purchased by members. It also has a Medical Loan Closet and lends out medical equipment for free, helping many in the community recuperate. Direct donations and fundraisers are used for the purchase of new and used equipment; donations of equipment always are appreciated. Call 360-504-0231.
SI of Sequim meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7:30 a.m. from September-June at Sunland Golf &Country Club, 109 Hilltop Drive. First-year dues are $145 and following-years are $130. Breakfast meetings are $11 for the meal. Members have the opportunity for friendship, professional growth and leadership, education, heightened awareness of other cultures and working with other women to effect change.
Officers and board members are Kathryn Pacelli, president; Gena Royal, president elect; Kathy Purcell, secretary; Karen Renk, treasurer; Kathy Cunha, assistant treasurer; Jane Manzer, past president; and directors Amala Kuster, Gloria Fitzpatrick, Elaine Churchill and Sandy Hutter.
Klinefelter observed, “I believe beyond our synergy in the community we come together because we work from the premise that we wished we could have been mentored as a child or teenager or to knowing and experiencing mentoring as a child or teenager.
“We want to provide that mentorship to empower women and girls to be the best they can be. Our work also goes beyond the local level. We support ideas and programs on state, national and international level.”
