WELCOME to SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL of LOS BANOS!

President's Theme - "Improving Lives Through Awareness"

President Carolyn Nazabal
Club Mail: P.O. Box 667, Los Banos, CA 93635-0667
Meetings: 2nd, 3rd and 4th Mondays, Noon, at St Johns Lutheran Church Hall, Los Banos

Message from President Carolyn:

Soroptimist means the best for women and children and I believe one of the best ways to do that is through awareness of issues facing women and children in the community. Issues that will be areas of focus this year include: domestic violence, childhood obesity and women's health issues such as breast cancer and heart disease.

Awareness alone is not enough. We must educate women and the community as a whole on prevention. It is easier to prevent the disease than it is to treat the disease after it has developed. Here are some statistics that show how prevalent these issues are:

• 25% of kids under 10 years of age have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other factors that contribute to heart disease
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women over 40
• 500,000 women die each year of heart disease
• Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women
• 1 in every 8 women will develop breast cancer in her life time
• 1 in 4 women been abused at some point in their lives
• 2-4 million women are assaulted by a male partner each year

These facts are frightening, but we together we can make a difference.

Another area of focus will be the continuing efforts of the Saturday of Service Committee to helping the homeless in our community, many of which are women and children.

The club certainly has a busy year ahead, but I know everyone will give 100% to make this another successful year.

President Carolyn

Revised October 18, 2006