Soroptimist International of
Moreno Valley
improving the lives of women and girls
in local communities and throughout the world

Service Projects  Service Projects   Service Projects   Service Projects

Throughout the year, Soroptimist members are actively involved in a myriad of projects and fundraisers that ensure women and girls enjoy equality, live in safe and healthy environments, have access to education, and have leadership and practical skills.  Some of these projects are highlighted below.
 

RCRMC Child Abuse
and Neglect Unit

Community Assistance Program

Cultural Heritage Center

Cultural Heritage Center is a non-profit group in Moreno Valley that helps low-income youth with free instruction in music, drama, dance and academic tutoring.  Their thrift store is the group's primary source of funding.  Soroptimist donated time to sort a backlog of thrift store donations for sale.  A Soroptimist  and her husband, co-owners of a local glass company, donated and installed a wall of mirrors for the studio. 

Kenya Fundraiser

In June 2008, Soroptimist partners with African Pride in a fundraising project that provided direct aid to a village in Nairobi, Kenya that was impacted by ethnic cleansing after the 2007 election and resultant economic hardship.  Soroptimist sells Kenyan handcrafts, made by one of the villagers, and sells them at Soroptimist events throughout the year.  To date, over $5,000 has been raised, which helps the village with food, wheel chair equipment, and children's educational expenses.

    Touch of Home

Touch of Home Support 4R Military is a nonprofit community service corporation that supports deployed military in Iraq and Afghanistan with approximately 100 monthly morale-boosting "love packages" containing recreational supplies and personal care items.  Soroptimist supports this project by donating a myriad of "love package" supplies and $500 to offset postage expense.  In September 2010, Soroptimist members met to sew 150 cooling neck bands for the troops in Afghanistan.

For more information about Touch of Home, click here

Kids Kingdom Orphanage

Soroptimist members help support El Reino de los Niños (Kids Kingdom) orphanage near Ensenada, Mexico through monetary donations and large quantities of school supplies.   The orphanage relies on charitable donations for support, and the contributions of Soroptimist makes it easier for the orphanage to funnel their meager funds to other necessities.  Through e-mail, our club receives on-going feedback from the orphanage’s staff about their needs and the students’ progress.   Besides creating international goodwill, it is gratifying to witness the degree that students overcome social and economic hardships to achieve their potential.

Riverside County Regional Medical Center Foundation

 
Each year Soroptimist donates financial support and a designer tree to the Festival of Trees
benefiting RCRMC Neonatal Unit.  At the Festival of Trees gala, Soroptimist donate $1,000 to Fund A Need toward the purchase of Neonatal ICU equipment. Members serve as event volunteers at the annual Golf Classic benefiting Mobile Health Units.  Soroptimist provide financial support and serve as event volunteers at the annual Spring Garden Tour benefiting RCRMC Child Abuse and Neglect Unit.

              Born Free

Born Free is one of the programs offered by the Riverside County YWCA which provides shelter and support to pregnant women so they can get off drugs and alcohol and subsequently have their baby born free from addiction.  In additional to financial contributions, Soroptimist helps support this program by donating hand-crafted bags full of gifts and person care items for both mom and baby. 

Holiday Adopt-A-Senior

Annually, Soroptimist gets referrals from Moreno Valley Senior Center to adopt low-income seniors for the holiday season.  Members assembled gift baskets containing food, personal care items and holiday gifts.   Soroptimists added the personal gift of friendship as they delivered the gift baskets and spent one-on-one time visiting with the senior shut-ins.  Besides spreading holiday cheer, the program helps ease some of the loneliness felt by the elderly. 

ADV Mother's Day

Each year for Mother's Day, Soroptimist donates hand-crafted tote bags filled with gifts and personal care items to the mothers housed at Alternatives to Domestic Violence Shelter.  

Soroptimist
Saturday of Service

Soroptimist Clubs around the globe participate in "Saturday of Service" projects in their community the first Saturday of March each year to mark International Women’s Day in a special way. Saturday of Service is a day to emphasize and provide visibility to our organization by raising awareness about the Soroptimist mission to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world. 

On Saturday, March 5, 2011, Moreno Valley Soroptimists and 6 other Soroptimist clubs in the Inland Empire partnered with Kohl’s and other volunteers to put together backpacks for young girls who are survivors of trafficking in San Bernardino.  These bags provided young girls with pajamas, underwear, stuffed animals, personal hygiene items, journals and letters of encouragement from Soroptimist members.  

Other Local Soroptimist Service Projects in 2010-2011

Adopted Family For Christmas:  Members donated a decorated Christmas tree, food, clothing and assorted gifts to a local family (mother and 5 children).  Our club also donated $250 in Winco gift cards to the family.

Student Mentoring:   Soroptimist volunteers time for one-on-one mentoring, reading aloud to students in support of the “Reading To Achieve” program, and serving as a sponsor for Badger Springs Middle School in Moreno Valley Unified School District’s Adopt-A-School program.

Project Linus:  Soroptimist donated 22 handmade blankets to help children displaced from Japan's earthquake and tsunami

Help For The Homeless and Seniors:  Soroptimist delivered $500 in breakfast foods and pantry items to the Transitional Living Shelter when free breakfast meals were not available to the children during school breaks.  Through member's personal donations, $110 in groceries is delivered each month to low-income seniors at the Moreno Valley Senior Center.

Soroptimist International 2011 President's Appeal
Birthing In The Pacific                      

Every year on Human Rights Day (December 10), the president of Soroptimist International invites all Soroptimists to join her in donating to an international fund to be used to help women and girls.  The 2011 December 10 Appeal is dedicated to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality in Papa New Guinea, where the overall maternal mortality rate is 733 deaths per 100,000 live births.   The main purpose of this project is to roll out a tiered model of practical education programs, provide support for birthing attendants and improve access to supervised deliveries in functioning  health facilities. Past projects have provided: protection and help for women AIDS sufferers in Uganda and the Ukraine; scholarships for girls in Mongolia and Rwanda; vocational training programs and shelter for vulnerable women and children in Paraguay; education and nutrition for abandoned children in Vietnam; malaria protection for pregnant women and young children in Benin, West Africa; enhanced access to education for girls in impoverished areas of Pakistan; support for long term patients at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia; prevention of human trafficking from Moldova by providing life-skill education for vulnerable children.

• 129 mothers, caring for and providing for their babies independently, have completed their education or vocational training
• 200 families have been stabilized  
• 48 former street children have reconciled with their families

                                   

In support of Project Sierra, members of Soroptimist International of Moreno Valley collected their loose
pocket change and held fundraisers.  These efforts raised $2,000 for Project Sierra. 

Slavery's New Face: 
Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls

Slavery is a harsh reality for millions of people the world over who find themselves trapped in an exploitative and abusive system, bought and sold like objects, and treated with no dignity or human decency. Soroptimist is raising awareness about the complex and devastating crime of sex trafficking, which largely affects women and girl children.

Soroptimist International has joined the 'Stop the Traffik’ Coalition, a global movement against the trafficking of people. It has more than 1,000 organizations in 50 countries and a grass roots following of ordinary activists around the world.

Moreno Valley Soroptimists are actively involved in working with Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE) committees in Riverside and San Bernardino counties to increase local awareness of human trafficking.

In March 2011, seven Soroptimist clubs in the Inland Empire partnered with Kohl’s and other volunteers to put together backpacks for young girls who are survivors of trafficking in San Bernardino.  These bags provided young girls with pajamas, underwear, stuffed animals, personal hygiene items, journals and letters of encouragement from Soroptimist members.  

If you suspect an incident of trafficking in the United States, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center’s 24-hour toll-free hotline number at 888-373-7888. Callers can receive a number of services including crisis intervention, urgent and non-urgent referrals, tip reporting and comprehensive anti-trafficking resources.  Visit Soroptimist's Sex Trafficking FAQ and Stop Sex Trafficking sections for more information..