Author Archive: soropadmin

Annual Loonie Toonie Auction

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It’s that time of year when we start gearing up for the Annual Soroptimist Loonie Toonie Auction.

This year’s event will be held on Wednesday November 12th at Marritt Hall, Ancaster Fair Grounds. There are over 100 great auction items to be won at this loonie-toonie style auction, plus Santa’s Wine Raffle and Door Prizes.
We will sell out quickly every year. Tickets are $30 and includes a light dinner with a new caterer and a cash bar. Doors open at 5 for Cocktails and Auction Pre-view. The auction will be from 7 to 9:30 pm.

There is a Santa’s Wine Refrigerator, generously donated by a member of Soroptimist, filled with 18 Bottles of Wine that could be yours. Tickets are 5 for $20. Your Soroptomists have tickets on hand for the event and the draw, or write to us at soroptimistdaf@gmail.com for more information.

We are also looking for baskets – you know the ones that you have stored under the stairs because you can’t throw them out. We would be delighted to make good use of them.
Here’s our flyer with all the details:

Bullying Awareness

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Come and listen to the highly respected social worker, Gary Direnfeld MSW RSW, who will talk us all through how to deal with child/teen bullying and violence, including cyber bullying. Come also with your questions for Gary – he loves to interact with his audience and gear the evening around what you want to discuss rather than what he wants to discuss.

So whether you are a woman working with young people, a concerned mother or in fact a concerned child/teen then you are most welcome to come along to this free information evening. Coffee will be served.

Thursday, 18 September 2014 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (PDT)

Amica at Dundas, 50 Hatt Street, Dundas, ON

Register online (no cost):

https://soroptimist-bullying-awareness.eventbrite.ca

Flyer:

Sally Armstrong: May 8, 7:30p.m.

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Soroptimist International of Hamilton-Burlington in partnership with Grandmothers of Steel present: Sally Armstrong, A Voice of Hope.

Three time winner of the Amnesty International Media Award, Sally’s eyewitness reports from areas of conflict bring insights into human tragedy and survival that few others have covered so intimately.

Sally Armstrong, Human Rights Activist, Journalist & Author will be speaking. Book sale and signing of her latest book: Ascent of Women to follow.

Time: Thursday May 8, 2014 starting at 7:30 pm

Tickets: $30.00. Students: $15.00

Proceeds go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation, CW4WA and Bursaries, Midwifery Programme, McMaster University

Location: Winterberry Heights Church, 300 Winterberry Dr., Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada

For ticket information: http://sihamiltonburlington.ca/event/sally-armstrong-a-voice-of-hope/

SI DAF joins Twitter

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Our website first came online in 2007, and now SI DAF has joined Twitter as @SoroptimistDAF, or find us using #Soroptimist. If you have suggestions on trends or accounts we should be following, reach out and let us know!

27th Annual Soroptimist Awards Gala

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Honouring Remarkable Women in Greater Hamilton at the 27th Annual Soroptimist Awards Gala

Hamilton, Ontario — On June 6th 2014, Soroptimist International of Dundas Ancaster Flamborough will celebrate the 27th Annual Soroptimist Awards. We will gather to honour three remarkable women and the impact they have made on women and girls in our community.

We invite you to join us in the newly renovated Dundas Valley Golf & Curling Club banquet hall and enjoy their signature Prime Rib dinner (or a meatless alternative). Network with your peers, while acknowledging this year’s award winners and nominees. Individual tickets are $80 each, with seating of 8 per table.

The Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Award, our cornerstone program, has been providing funds for Education and Training grants in Dundas, Ancaster and Flamborough since 1987. This award provides cash grants for women who, as the head of their household, are seeking to improve their lives with the help of additional education and training. Over the past 5 years, nearly $15,000 has been disbursed through our award-winning Women’s Opportunity program.

The Violet Richardson Award recognizes young women ages 14-17 engaged in volunteer action within their communities or schools. The award is given to young women whose activities are making our community a better place to live.

The Ruby Award honours the first Soroptimist Federation President, Ruby Lee Minar. A ruby is also a deep red gemstone associated with wisdom, importance, vitality, strength, vivacity, power and love: all words embodying the strong and compassionate women who are our award recipients. Soroptimist Ruby Awardees are women who have worked to improve the lives of women and girls in our community through their professional and/or volunteer work. This year we recognize three nominees: Anne Marie Collingwood from the YWCA Hamilton, Sharon Gallant founder of FAB: Fit Active and Beautiful, and Natasha Dobler from Interval House of Hamilton.

Following the awards ceremony, DJ Patryk of Liquid Entertainment is eager to get us dancing; amidst the opportunity of further networking, mingling and celebrating the amazing work being done to change the lives of women and girls in Greater Hamilton.

AWARD GALA EVENT DETAILS
Where: Dundas Valley Golf & Curling Club, 10 Woodleys Lane, Dundas, Ontario
When: Friday June 6, 2014
Time: 6:30 p.m. Dinner served at 7 p.m.
To order tickets: soroptimistdaf@gmail.com

Sponsorship opportunities for the Gala are available »

About Soroptimist

With almost 80,000 members in 120 countries and territories, Soroptimist International is (we are) a worldwide organization for women in management and professions working through service projects to advance human rights and the status of women.

Soroptimist connects women: to each other, to the local communities in Greater Hamilton and to the world. Together, we focus on issues such as domestic violence, poverty, lack of adequate child care, sexual harassment, inequities in the workplace, and other challenges unique to today’s women. Over the past 5 years, over $124,000 has been raised by Soroptimist International of Dundas Ancaster Flamborough to support women and girls in Greater Hamilton area.

Contact Information
Brooke Gordon, President
Soroptimist International, Dundas Ancaster Flamborough
soroptimistdaf@gmail.com

Violet Richardson Award 2014 application

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Are you a young woman between the ages of 14 and 17 who volunteers in your community or school? Do you see challenges instead of obstacles? Hope instead of despair? If you are a young woman who believes in the power of volunteer action, then you may be eligible to win a Violet Richardson Award.

The Violet Richardson award recognizes young women ages 14-17 engaged in volunteer action within their communities or schools. This award recognizes young women who make the community and world a better place through volunteer efforts such as: fighting drugs, crime and violence; cleaning up the environment; and working to end discrimination and poverty. Volunteer actions that benefit women or girls are particularly encouraged. The deadline to apply is December 1st and the award is for $300, matched by a $200 for their charity of choice.

or information about applying to the Violet Richardson Awards program, please view our flyer »

Amarok Society

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On Thursday November 7th, the SIDAF group was honoured to meet Dr. Tanyss Munro of the Amarok Society, and to hear her truly inspiring presentation on the work she and her family have done, and continue to do, in the slums of Bangladesh.

The Amarok Society is a registered Canadian charity that “teaches very poor mothers to be neighbourhood teachers”. As it’s website states, “Teach a Mother, Change the World”. Amarok’s approach to education is based on a simple but effective principle – if you educate mothers, and ask each of them to educate 5 other mothers and children, learning spreads and brings with it social change. As Dr. Munro says, Bangladesh is at the top or bottom of all the lists countries don’t want to be on, for example the most crowded, the poorest, the most corrupt etc. It is a country where women and girls are tightly controlled and isolated by a male-dominated society, an Islamic country where girls are bound in marriage at very young ages, e.g. 11 or 12, because of the social conventions of a society that demands a higher marriage dowry to be paid the older the girl is. These young brides are then isolated within their husbands’ families, are treated like slaves, and begin to have children when they are still children themselves.

Dr. Munro shared with us stories of creativity and courage, of women who suffered physical and emotional abuse to do what they believed to be right – to educate girls and women, and by doing so, to improve the lot of entire families and villages. Her story is ultimately one of hope and celebration, of mothers struggling to provide a better future for their children, of husbands and fathers learning the value of happy and educated wives and children, of the possibility of cultural change.

Learn more about this wonderful organization by visiting their website at www.amaroksociety.org, and support them by purchasing Tanyss’ husband G.E.M. Munro’s book, South Asian Adventures with the Active Poor.

Women’s Opportunity Award 2014 application

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Are you a woman who is trying to improve life for yourself and your family? Are you going back to school? Do you need financial assistance to complete your education?

Since 1972, Soroptimist International has been helping women the world over reclaim their dreams through the Women’s Opportunity Awards program. This program provides cash grants to women who are working to better their lives through additional skills training and education. You are eligible to apply for this $2,000.00 award if you are:

  • a woman with primary financial responsibility for yourself and your dependants
  • attending an undergraduate degree program or a vocational skills training program
  • have financial need

For information about applying to the Women’s Opportunity Awards program, please contact Soroptimist International of Dundas~Ancaster~Flamborough (SI-DAF) c/o Heather Sullivan and Navneet Bains at sullivanwoa@hotmail.com.

The deadline to apply is December 31, 2013.

2013 Awards Gala: Congratulations

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On Wednesday May 22nd , 2013 Soroptimist International of Dundas~Ancaster~Flamborough (SI-DAF) hosted its annual Awards Gala to honour three special women in our community. It was an inspiring evening of celebration for our winners, recognizing their achievements with three awards:

Shamim Amini was honoured with this year’s Women’s Opportunity Award, a grant awarded to female heads of households for additional skills, training and education to enable them to upgrade their employment status to re-enter the workforce. Shamin’s story is one of courage, dedication and initiative.

Chantal Mudahogora was the winner of the Ruby Award, an award that acknowledges women who are working to improve the lives of women and girls through their personal or professional activities. Chantal is a Diversity Counsellor at the Alzheimer Society of Hamilton and Halton. From traumatic events in her home country of Rwanda, through her journey as an immigrant to Canada, and her continuing work with immigrant women and girls, Chantal’s story is an inspiration to all who know her.

Ashley Adile was the recipient of the Violet Richardson Award, recognizing young women ages 14-17 who are engaged in volunteer action within their communities or schools. Ashley is a member of the Bishop Tonnos Mathematics and Eco Club.

These annual awards provide an opportunity to celebrate and support the wonderful women and girls in our community who embody the spirit of Soroptimism: “Women at their best, helping other women to be their best”.

Annual Loonie Toonie Auction

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It’s that time of year when we start gearing up for the Annual Soroptimist Loonie Toonie Auction. This year we recognize Hello Gorgeous as the title sponsor for our event and would like to thank Brenda Russell for her ongoing support.

This year’s event will be held on Wednesday November 6th at Marritt Hall, Ancaster Fair Grounds. There are over 100 great auction items to be won at this loonie-toonie style auction, plus Santa’s Wine Raffle and Door Prizes.

We will sell out quickly every year. Tickets are $30 and includes a light dinner with a new caterer and a cash bar. Doors open at 5 for Cocktails and Auction Pre-view. The auction will be from 7 to 9:30 pm.

There is a Santa’s Dual Zone Frigidaire Wine Refrigerator, generously donated by Jigg-Saw Solutions Inc, filled with 18 Bottles of Wine could be yours. Tickets are 5 for $20. Your Soroptomists have tickets on hand for the event and the draw, or write to us at soroptimistdaf@gmail.com for more information.

We are also looking for baskets – you know the ones that you have stored under the stairs because you can’t throw them out. We would be delighted to make good use of them.

Here’s our flyer with all the details:

Annual Christmas Auction

Santa's Wine Fridge

Santa's Wine Fridge