Club email: contact@soroptimistvancouver.org
Club website: soroptimistvancouver.org
SI Vancouver chartered in 1926 and was the first Soroptimist club chartered in Canada. The Vancouver club has benefited from the support of a number of dynamic women who have worked constantly to make a difference for girls and women in our community and internationally.
We administer and give out scholarships and awards to young women and girls. These include:
- The Live Your Dream: Education and Training Award for Women, which assists 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.
- Dream It Be It: Career Support for Girls which recognizes young women ages 14-17 engaged in volunteer action within their communities or schools.
- The Helen McCrae Award which recognizes nursing students enrolled at local colleges and universities in Vancouver.
Social Housing:
- Starting in 1960, we began operating social housing to assist low-income senior women.
- We own and operate two social housing projects, such as Southwynd Place which we co-own with the Kiwanis Club of Vancouver and we independently own a 21 suite building at 546 W 13th Ave, Vancouver.
- Soroptimist Housing Committees oversee both of these properties.
Other Projects:
- We provide bags of toiletries and other essentials for sex workers who stop in at WISH Dro3p-in Centre Society located in the Downtown Eastside.
- We support Arbutus, Shaughnessy, and Kerrisdale Seniors’ Activity Centre (ASK).
- We support Second Mile Society in the Downtown Eastside.
- We provided a van to the Lion’s Club to transport disabled people.
The club has a board of directors, and club members serve on a variety of smaller committees to achieve the goals of the club. Committees include service programs, awards, membership, publicity, fundraising, and more.
We meet every second Tuesday of the month at Southwynd Place located at 8080 Yukon Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.