Soroptimist awards, tea set May 9

Soroptimist International of the Sierras invites the community — women and men — to their annual Women’s Awards and Spring Tea on Saturday, May 9 from 2-5 p.m. at the Oakhurst Community Center.

Soroptimist is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment.

The local club, Soroptimist of the Sierras, was established in 1968 and is currently led by Bailey Whitcanack; Raylene Trent is president-elect.

The afternoon in May will include delights of traditional tea along with $5 mimosas, a table décor contest and valuable raffle prizes.

Honors will be awarded to local women including Women of Distinction, Women Helping Women and Live Your Dream along with grants for Realize Your Dream.

The awards ceremony will be followed by a live auction and silent dessert auction. Tea party attire is encouraged.

Tickets are available for $40 each at the Soroptimist website: www.soroptimistofthesierras.org

Each ticket includes 10 raffle tickets.

Children’s tickets are available for ages 10 and under at $10 each.

Steps forward

In addition to its annual scholarships for high school seniors, SIS also organizes the yearly Dream It Be It conference for girls and runs a chili cooking competition each fall for support.

SIS last month completed its first “Walk for Women,” a challenge issued by Soroptimist International for the past four years. The purpose was to bring awareness to the group and its purpose.

The Walk for Women is a worldwide event during the month of March to celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8). Everyone is invited to participate, not just Soroptimists.

It’s designed to help women share their stories, struggles and strengths along with steps.

“During the entire month of March, members kept track of how many steps they’ve taken each day and later met at Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park for a walk and tally,” explained member Nikki Van Velson.

President Whitcanack elaborated on the initiative.

“These steps were not only taken by our club but by anyone we could get involved — we were counting anyone’s steps who wanted to participate,” Whitcanack explained.

“Our president-elect Raylene Trent kicked off the event for us because she wanted to do something low-impact that everybody could join in on. The Walk for Women is to help increase awareness of women’s issues including things like the gender pay gap and the ‘Pink Tax.’”

The ‘Pink Tax’ refers to the extra cost of products and services marketed specifically to women, which are often priced higher than nearly identical or functional equivalent products marketed to men. This gender-based pricing affects items like razors, clothing and toiletries, generally costing women more for similar goods (World Economic Forum).

The group reported 2,889,754 steps in the month of appropriately named March.

Soroptimist International of the Sierras is growing. The club held its annual membership drive recently and, with seven incoming, the total number of women in the local club will be 32.

For more information, email sisierras@soroptimist.net.