SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL of HANFORD
COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS

The Hanford Soroptimist Club is involved in all facets of Soroptimist Service Projects, some of which are described below.

International Goodwill and Understanding
The Hanford Soroptimist club participates, along with Soroptimist Clubs from all around the world, in the Annual President's Appeal. We do this by donating money toward this selected project. For 2007, International President Margaret Lobo has chosen "Restoring Dignity", Hamlin Fistula Relief and Aid Fund, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The goal of this project is to help those women with obstetric fistulas that cannot be completely cured and need ongoing medical care. The project will assist the women living in a special village where they can received medical care at rural clinics, as well as training in various skills such as dressmaking, catering, etc. to help them to earn an income and become self sufficient.

We also donate to the Quadrennial project "Project Independence" in which Soroptimist partners with Women for Women International, to assist women who been victims of war in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Rwanda.

The Hanford Soroptimist Club also has its own International Project. About 12 years ago we partnered with a Venture Club in Bacolod City, in the Philippines, to build and maintain a Day Care Center for Street Children. Each year we budget money for this project and maintain an ongoing relationship and regular correspondence with the Venture Club as well as their sponsoring Soroptimist Club, one of our Friendship Links, Soroptimist International of Bacolod.

Bocolod Soroptimist and Venture Club members with daycare teacher and children.

Economic and Social Development
Our primary service project in this area is our work with the Barbara Seville Shelter and Hannah's House, both shelters for women and children in our area. We have donated labor and paint to refurbish their all purpose room, line shelves in their kitchen area, prepared the soil for a garden, help sort and store donated clothing to the Barbara Seville Shelter. Our club members do some kind of project each month there. We have furnished a bedroom and made donations that totaled $2,500.00 to Hannah's House. These are ongoing projects for our Soroptimist Club.

We also help sponsor, coordinate and participate in the local "Mervyn's Childspree," in conjunction with other organizations, This past August we were able to help 125 needy children buy new clothing for school. We will also be working with Mervyns to organize and sponsor the Mervyn's Christmas Spree.

Hanford Soroptimists sponsor three children to Royal Family Kids Camp. This is a camp for abused and neglected elementary age children. The County Social Services and courts submit the names of the children. The camp is put on by several local churches. They have one counselor for every two children, there is a Grandma and Grandpa. The children are all given a birthday party and take home a book of memories. These children are given a week of love and attention.

Education
Soroptimist International of Hanford sponsors two "S" Clubs , one on each high school campus, and donates a scholarship to a member from each club annually. We also give two scholarships to the Miss Kings County Scholarship Pageant.

Health
Each year our Club provides the local United Cerebral Palsy unit with 160 patient medical binders, in English and Spanish. The patients of this unit range in age from birth to three years. These books are required to be kept by UCP and are provided to the parents of each patient to keep all the child's medical and developmental information in during their treatment at UCP.

We help sponsor and participate in the local Women's Health Day. Some of our other Health Projects include: purchased a defibrillator for the County Fire Department; furnished a Birthing Room at a local hospital; purchased a television, VCR and stand for the Renal Department of a local hospital.

Environment
We participate and donate to the Sierra Pacific Region project, Big Basin. This is a project to preserve the Redwood Trees in the Santa Cruz mountains, Big Basin Park.

We have planted trees in our city at local schools and parks, and have also donated trees in memory of deceased members.

We are contributing toward the "Endless Dreams Playground" which is a playground that is for all children, but completely accessible to physically handicapped children.

Human Rights/Advancing the Status of Women - Each year we host an Awards Program in which we honor the outstanding women in our community with several Making a Difference for Women Awards. We also give a Woman's Opportunity Award to a woman who is head of household, going back to school to improve the status of her life as well as that of her family. We give the Violet Richardson Award to a young woman between the ages of 14 and 17, for community service.

We sponsor a high school student to Girls State.