International Day of The Girl Child 2025 – SIA

Welcome to a day dedicated to celebrating the power, potential, and rights of girls all around the world – International Day of the Girl Child

Empowering Girls Through Tech

SI/Batangas Downtown Empowers Girls Through Tech

In today’s digital age, pursuing an education takes more than textbooks and pencils, it takes up-to-date technology and internet access. But for many women and girls, especially those facing additional obstacles, these tools can feel cost-prohibitive and out of reach.

Soroptimist International of Batangas Downtown (Philippines Region) recognized just how widespread this issue is in their community, impacting an estimated 60 per cent of local women and girls pursuing an education.

Empowering Girls With Access to Technology

Determined to be part of the solution, the club launched an ambitious and inspiring initiative for 2024-2026: “100 Smart Devices, 100 Life Changes.” Their goal is to provide 100 smart devices to 100 women and girls, and they’ve already made an impact.

“By providing these tablets, we hope to open doors to better opportunities and brighter futures for them,” says Club Programme Chair Vina Vanessa Lorilla. “We aim to bridge this gap, ensuring that no dream is put on hold simply because of a missing device. This project is more than just giving away tablets, it’s about listening to their stories, supporting their aspirations and changing lives, one tablet at a time.”

Thanks to the dedication and passion of club members, 60 girls have already received devices, supported by 650 volunteer hours. That’s 60 lives transformed, with many more to come. We are confident they will reach their goal of 100 lives changed through technology access, enabling access to education.

Projects like this bring Soroptimist International of the Americas’ Big Goal to life, investing in the dreams of half a million women and girls by 2031. Knowing that there’s a community of Soroptimists who believe in them can make all the difference for girls.

Soroptimist Clubs Host ‘STEAM Wars’-Themed Dream It, Be It® Event

Soroptimist International of El Centro, CA (Desert Coast Region), in partnership with SI San Diego and SI Alpine, hosted an inspiring ‘Star Wars’ themed Dream It, Be It: Career Success for Girls® conference in January 2025 for 70 girls across Imperial Valley. The event focused on careers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), where women currently hold fewer than 30 per cent of roles.

The day-long conference engaged girls with all seven parts of the Dream It, Be It curriculum. Project lead Ivonne Sotomayer shared, “This project was years in the making!” Acknowledging the challenges girls may face in pursuing STEAM careers, such as fear, rejection and lack of representation, the event provided a supportive and encouraging environment for girls to explore their interests and ambitions.

A highlight of the event was the Club’s first-ever Dream It, Be It education award, presented to six of the attendees. The financial award will help the recipient pursue her educational goals and live her dreams.

The success continues, SI El Centro has officially entered into a partnership with NASA, with planning already underway for the next Dream It, Be It project in January. The Club’s strong outreach across Imperial Valley led to full support from local school districts, an important step toward long-term programme success.

“This programme has now become our Club’s crowning achievement,” said Ivonne and it’s clear that the impact will continue to grow.

Congratulations to SI El Centro, SI San Diego and SI Alpine for such a successful project that’s giving girls the confidence to pursue their career goals!

Soroptimist UpliftHER: Helping Girls Overcome Period Poverty

Clubs across Soroptimist International of the Americas are working towards the 2021-2031 Big Goal: investing in the dreams of half a million women and girls through access to education. As part of this commitment, the newest member engagement initiative, Soroptimist UpliftHER, highlights obstacle that women and girls face on their path to formal education and economic empowerment.

In May, the focus turned to Period Poverty, a challenge that often forces girls to miss school due to lack of menstrual products. To help remove this barrier, Clubs across the Federation hosted drives and donated period kits to local schools, ensuring that access to menstrual supplies does not stand in the way of a girl’s education.

One outstanding example comes from Soroptimist International of Bloomington-Normal, IL (Midwestern Region), which collected over 20,000 period products for students in local schools! Partnering with 10 community organizations, the Club led a month-long drive to gather menstrual products. School representatives shared that budgets run low, leaving students without the products they need, making it difficult to attend class.

These essential supplies will help girls and women stay in class without worrying about access to menstrual products.

Thanks to this effort, girls in their community will be able to stay in school with dignity, confidence, and the resources they need to focus on learning and achieving their dreams.