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Capitola Soroptimist Club Meets March 14 — You are Welcome to Join!

Our next Club meeting is set for March 14 at 4 p.m. at United Way of Santa Cruz County, 4450 Capitola Road, Suite 106, Capitola. As always, the meeting is free and open to the public. We’ll be focusing on finalizing details of the Live Your Dream awards ceremony, nominations for the FY 2023-24 board of directors, a budget analysis and the review of newly drafted by-laws.

Five Single Moms Win Our 2023 Live Your Dream Awards

We, Capitola Soroptimists, work all year to raise funds to enable us to present Live Your Dream awards to women who are enrolled in or have been accepted into a BA or technical training program, are the heads of their households and have a demonstrated need. Typically, our winners are single moms and this year is no exception.

We are proud to say that through our multiple fund-raising efforts, we earned enough to fund five Live Your Dream awards, two more than we typically present to our winners. These hard-working moms will be honored at a special awards ceremony on March 28th.

Here are the winners and their stories:

• Amanda, 28, is the divorced mother of two children, 11 and 2 years old, both of whom have special needs. She is currently a nursing student at Cabrillo College. Nursing runs in her family—her great grandmother, grandmother, an uncle and an aunt, are or were nurses. “I want to be able to give my children more opportunities and help families in need one day—people like me,” she wrote in her application. “I am a single mother, but I don’t want my kids to think anything can stop you from pursuing your dreams.”
• Tammi, 52, calls herself a late bloomer who never had career goals as a young woman. But when her now 11-year-old daughter was born, her point of view changed significantly. She is pursuing a business training certificate program, which she believes will give her greater career opportunities. “By going back to school, I can really see how pushing myself is bringing up my self-esteem,” she said. “Having job security is something I strive for and I want my daughter to see the hard work that goes into achieving a dream.”
• Renee, 39, has a 10-year-old son, and is pursuing an Associates Degree in Human Services at Cabrillo College in the hope of helping others make changes in their lives and find resources and services they need to thrive. “Being a first generation college graduate means everything to my son and me,” she wrote. “I really want to show him how important education is while also building a stable future for us.”
• For Nanci, 27, working full-time, taking liberal arts with communication classes part-time at Cabrillo College and raising her 9-year-old daughter alone are serious challenges But, she is not deterred. “My dream is to become a lawyer one day and help as many people by continuing my school journey,” she wrote in her LYD application. “…receiving my associates degree will allow me to qualify to apply to law school and achieve my dream,” she added.
• Similarly, Camilia, 35, mother of a 5-and-a-7 year-old, had been working full-time and raising her two children while attending Cabrillo College’s nursing program, until the contract under which she was working expired. Since then she has exhausted her savings, receives no child support, is looking for work and is unsure how she will continue her educational pursuit. “I am in the second semester of the four-semester program,” she wrote. “My savings has carried us through the first semester of nursing school, but that has run out. I live in a very expensive area and am struggling to find ways to pay for my bills while attending the program.”

And the winners of the “Dinner for 6 Plus” are…

Our “Dinner for 6 PLUS” raffle drawing featured the daughters of our members Rose Odland and Allison McClure—Uma and Mila Odland and Phoebe McClure—who pulled the winning tickets for us! Here are the happy results:

• 3rd prize—Dinner for 2 at Trestles Restaurant = Richard and Judy Houck of Davis
• 2nd prize—A sailing cruise on Monterey bay for 4 = Margo and Norm Wobschall of Fair Oaks
• 1st prize—Dinner for 6 at a private Santa Cruz residence = Richard Ramsay of San Mateo

Support our non-profit organization by making a tax-deductible contribution!

Soroptimist International of Capitola-by-the-Sea is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment.  We are a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and your contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Tax ID 94-9771973.