Dec 11, 2023 By Melissa Gibson 3 min read

Helping women and girls attain educational and other goals is the primary focus of Soroptimist International of Fayette County.

Each year, women can apply for the Live Your Dream Award, funds set aside for women who are the head of their household and seeking higher education to improve their economic standing.

“Depending on our budget, we typically award $1,000 to $1,500 to women in the community. Last year we were able to award a total of $5,000 to several women,” said Lisa Malago, district board director. “The funds don’t necessarily go toward college tuition. Women can use it for day care expenses, fuel to get back and forth to class or to buy books. We want to remove the barriers women find when going back to education.”

The other program offered by Soroptimist is Dream It Be It, aimed at supporting and inspiring young women for their future.

This past spring, the nonprofit hosted its first event in Fayette County, bringing together a group of young ladies, ages 9-13, to learn about feelings, prioritizing, empowerment and how to handle stressful situations.

“The girls had a yoga class and we talked about stress relief,” Malago said. “We decorated journals and discussed writing down thoughts and feelings.”

Each young woman was given a bag full of gift cards, feminine products and fun items donated by community and business partnerships.

“The feedback was phenomenal and hopefully, we formed some relationships and gave these young ladies access to mentors and other women they can look up to,” Malago said.

Talking with the grandmother of one young attendee, Malago learned the teen had taken up yoga when she was feeling nervous. For the organization, those kinds of results make it all worthwhile.

The nonprofit is currently planning a fall event for women ages 14-18. During that event, they plan to create a vision board, talk about plans for the future, and offer encouragement and tips about how the teens can meet those goals.

In addition to the two-day retreats for young women, the organization is also looking at the absence of the availability of womens’ hygiene products.

They launched an initiative called Period Positive, partnered with a local salon, and hosted a hygiene product drive.

Once women in the community became aware of the need, the soroptimists were able to donate four large bags full of feminine products to local school districts.

“We hope to continue to engage in the community. We’ve been here since 1956, and many don’t realize we’re here and what we’re trying to accomplish,” Malago said. “We hope to continue to partner with businesses and have written a grant for local billboard coverage. We want to get the word out there.”

The club is always looking for new board members who want to contribute ideas and want to accomplish amazing things for the women in their community.

To donate funds or learn more, visit https://www.soroptimist.org or call 724-323-4567.