soroptimist

It's been four months since the 27th annual celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe, but area nonprofits continue to reap financial rewards from the tournament sponsor, American Century.

The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority (LTVA) in partnership with NBC Sports and American Century Investments had over $110,000 to give out to South Lake Tahoe area groups, schools and non-profits after the end of the 2016 tournament.

They previously awarded $62,000 and is now looking for non-profits to get the remaining $51,984.

Applications from local nonprofits are now being accepted through Oct. 24 by LTVA for the grants.

Tahoe Youth & Family Services and the Girls Project would like to say the warmest "Thank you" to the generous donors that contributed to the Girls Project to better help equip girls to meet their future with integrity, self-awareness and will allow this special and much needed program to continue and to grow.

The donations from these amazing community businesses and private donors will allow this program to buy supplies for crafts, snacks, educational field trips but most importantly, help these 150 girls to become future women leaders not only in Lake Tahoe but in our society.

All 50 states and 167 countries have reported incidents of trafficking according to the National Trafficking Resource Center. They further report that the fourth ranked destination in the U.S. for trafficking is California.

The United States is taking a pro-active role in stopping this crime. Both the Democrats and Republicans announced at their conventions that they have priortized the fight to combat labor and sex trafficking.

This spring Live Violence Free, in collaboration with a multitude of partners, has been fortunate enough to expand the annual Girls Empowerment Retreat and organize the first ever Boys Empowerment Event. With the generosity of funding from Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra and MacDuff’s Public House, Live Violence Free worked closely with South Tahoe Middle School to engage 7th and 8th grade girls and boys in discovering their true potential for greatness.

The Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra club (SITS) held their 2016 Youth Awards and Scholarships presentation Thursday, honoring students from Whittell High School, South Tahoe High, Mt. Tallac High and South Tahoe Middle School for their scholastic, community service and personal successes for the past school year.

The winners:

George Whittell High School Most Improved Eight Grade Student -- Sky Rosselle

South Tahoe Middle School Most Improved Eight Grade Students--Madison Dial Tuttle, Dylan Sanders

George Whittell High School Most Improved Senior--Hazel Darlucio

Dr. Mireya Ortega of High Sierra Dental Care was recently the honored recipient of the 2016 Ruby Award given by Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra (SITS). This award honors women who are making an extraordinary difference in the lives of other women.

Members of Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra (SITS) handed out checks to 22 different project that are created by non-profits to serve the women and children of South Lake Tahoe on Thursday.

The awardees:

In a joint celebration, the two South Lake Tahoe area Soroptimist clubs honored students and women from the South Shore for their contributions to the community.

On Thursday night, members from the Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra and Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe clubs presented their annual Violet Richardson, Live your Dream, and Ruby awards at Harrah's Tahoe.

Mountain Resort Reporter Ashley Lindner meets up with Karen Houser, a member of Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra to learn about their upcoming event and she delivers your weekly City in 60 with Deputy Services Director for the City, John Hitchcock.

Community groups can now apply for grants from the Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra club.

They are accepting applications that support programs and projects that align with their Mission to “Strengthen the lives of women and youth in our community and the world."

The deadline to submit an application is January 31, 2016.

The application packet is available on our website www.sitahoesierra.org.
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Soroptimist International of the Tahoe Sierra is holding their 27th annual Elegant Evening on Saturday, April 23, 2016 in the Harrah's Lake Tahoe Ballroom.

Since this is the group's major fundraiser of the year you can count on a silent auction, and this year the ladies are stepping it up by going digital, following in the footsteps of Tahoe Douglas Rotary's successful auction last year. Even though the event is still a few months away, people can view auction items and buy tickets on line.

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra and Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe are accepting applications for the Violet Richardson Award. Each year the two local Soroptimist clubs honor young women in the community ages 14-17 who are engaged in volunteer deeds such as fighting drugs, crime and violence; cleaning up the environment; or working to end discrimination or poverty.

The route of the City of South Lake Tahoe's 50th Anniversary Parade on Saturday, September 19 has changed direction so it will lead to Bijou Park for the grand opening of the Bijou Bike Park.

So far there are 85 entries in the parade along with over 300 walkers joining in the festivities. The parade will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the 'Y' and will proceed East on Highway 50, turn right onto Al Tahoe Blvd. and end at Bijou Community Park where the city will officially open and dedicate the Bijou Bike Park with a “Party at the Park.”

The City of South Lake Tahoe invites the community to participate in the City’s 50th Anniversary Parade on Saturday, September 19, 2015. This will be a unique opportunity to showcase organizations, service groups, athletic teams, schools, etc. while joining with the entire community in celebrating 50 years of South Lake Tahoe history. The theme of the 2015 parade is Past, Present and Future.

The Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe invites the community to their 45th annual “An Evening of Food & Wine Tasting” on Friday, October 16, 2015 at MontBleu's Convention Center. Enjoy incredible wine from Northern California’s top wineries and sample a wide variety of delicious appetizers, entrees and desserts from the South Shore’s finest restaurants.

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra (SITS) recently installed President Lydia Rogers and her slate of Officers and Directors for 2015/16.

Each year, the President of the club selects a theme for her term. Lydia has selected “We are our Sisters’ Keeper” as her theme. How appropriate given that the Club’s mission is to “Strengthen and enhance the lives of women and youth in our community and the world.”

Kids reached their inner Vincent Van Gogh and Jackson Pollock this week at Tahoe Valley Elementary School during special day of BATS, Bringing Art to Schools.

Third, fourth and fifth graders were given a treat by three local artists who gave their time to help the kids get created through paint and mosaics.

Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe (SISLT) awarded eight local organizations a total of $25,000 in grants at Harrah’s Tahoe on Wednesday, April 15.

“There are so many wonderful organizations working to improve the lives of women and children in our area,” said Micky Madden, SISLT’s Grant Allocation Co-Chair. “We are honored to aid these efforts made possible by the community’s support of our annual fundraising activities.”

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra recently honored 12 South Tahoe Middle School (STMS) students for their winning Writing Festival essays. Each year the members of the club collaborate with the Language Arts teachers at STMS to provide an opportunity for students to express themselves.

Winning essays are selected from each grade level. First place and first place honors winners each won a $75 cash award, second place $50 and third place $25.

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra (SITS) is pleased to announce their 2015 Grant Cycle. Soroptimist is a coined term meaning “Best for Women”.

The mission statement of the Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra is to “Strengthen and enhance the lives of women and youth in our community and the world”. With our established mission in mind, we focus on supporting programs at our local level based on the specific needs of our community. In addition, our club is mindful of the need to enhance the lives of women and youth throughout the world.

"We made sacrifices to keep the fight outside of our homes." An emotional Sheryll Valencia spoke of why she joined the Army in 2004 and made three deployments to Iraq and now works for David & Johnson, Ltd in South Lake Tahoe. "It's important to always remember the ones who sacrificed their lives," Sheryll told the women gathered for Thursday's Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra meeting.

In keeping with its mission to bring more arts to more people, El Dorado Arts Council is thrilled to announce its new partnership with BATS, Bringing Art to Schools, an art appreciation and art history program for South Lake Tahoe students in kindergarten through fifth grade. BATS students both learn about classic works of art—their meanings, styles, and the movements that informed them—and create their own art based upon a selected theme.

The name Roberta Mason has been synonymous with Lake Tahoe Community College for the last 40 years, and her name will soon be permanently added to a college building.