Women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families and seek financial assistance to continue their education or receive training can now apply for the Soroptimist Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women. Applications are available at the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce, Valley View Optometry, or by contacting Tammy Bengtson at 209-655-8305. The application deadline is Nov. 15. The opportunity is open to those in the Oakdale-Riverbank-Escalon areas.
The Soroptimist International of Oakdale club will provide a $1,000 cash award to its award recipient, who will then advance to the Soroptimist Sierra Pacific Region level, where recipients could receive up to an additional $5,000. The program culminates with three finalist $10,000 awards.
Recipients can use the Live Your Dream Award to offset costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education or additional skills and training. This includes tuition, books, childcare, carfare, or any other education-related expense.
The Live Your Dream Award provides over $2.8 million in cash awards to head-of-household women in need each year. Since the program’s inception in 1972, more than $40 million has helped tens of thousands of women nationwide achieve their dreams of a better life for themselves and their families. A study conducted by The Fels Institute of Government, a research and consulting organization based at the University of Pennsylvania, confirmed the efficacy and impact of this program. It improves the recipients’ quality of life; builds their confidence; strengthens their self-determination and makes them want to, in turn, help others. Helping women in this way has the demonstrated effect of leading to stronger communities, nations, and the world.
Founded in 1954, the Soroptimist International of Oakdale club is part of Soroptimist International of the Americas, a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. Soroptimist, a 501(c)(3) organization that relies on charitable donations to support its programs, also powers LiveYourDream.org – an online community offering offline volunteer opportunities in support of women and girls. For more information about how Soroptimist improves the lives of women and girls, visit www.soroptimist.org.
