Club email: sichilliwack@soroptimist.net
Club website: www.chilliwacksoroptimist.org
The Chilliwack club was founded in 1935 and has over 20 members currently. 2015 was our 80th Anniversary being in Chilliwack.
Soroptimist International of Chilliwack participates in programs on the local level, depending on the specific needs of our community.
Soroptimist’s two major projects are the Live Your Dream: Education and Training Award for Women, and Dream It Be It: Career Support for Girls. The Live Your Dream Award helps women who provide the primary source of financial support for their families by giving them the resources they need to improve their education, skills, and employment prospects. This Award is given to a local woman who is already registered in a post-secondary education program and has at least one dependant. As of 2019 we will have a new award very similar to this one, but where the woman foes not have dependants.
Dream It Be It: Career Support for Girls is a one day conference for local girls in high school to work on building their skills to be able to pursue their dream career. At this workshop the girls work together, with members of our club, and professional women who are hand selected based on the fields on employment that the girls select when registering for this free event. Each participant has the opportunity to have a ongoing professional mentor in the career field of their choice. We have partnered up with Be Your Own Super Hero for this one-day annual event.
We also offer Chilliwack’s Woman Of The Year Award annually at our Awards Ceremony each spring, where all our annual awards are presented, including our highschool bursary for a young woman who excels in community leadership and volunteerism. We work the fair gates at the Chilliwack Fair each August, are partners with the Purple Light Nights each October, and hold a Pajama’s and Pearls fundraiser annually as well. We often hold a few social events throughout the year as well as Meet & Greet Information Sessions so our community can get to know our members and the work we do in Chilliwack.
The Chilliwack club meets at the Rendezvous Restaurant at 6:30pm on the third Wednesday of each month (excluding December, July, and August). Everyone is welcome to join us for a meeting or two before joining our club. If you think this may be something you are interested in, we would love to have you attend our next meeting.