International women's organization distributes more than $1.5 million in award money

October 1, 2008
Contact: Jessica Levinson, Communications Director
215-893-9000 x129

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Soroptimist, an international volunteer organization for business and professional women whose mission is to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world, recently honored the 2008 finalists of its Women’s Opportunity, Making a Difference for Women and Violet Richardson awards. In total, more than $1.5 million was disbursed through these programs at various levels of the organization.

Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Awards
Mispah Evangelio of Aklan, Philippines, Joyce Snow of Annapolis, Maryland, and Colleen Sword of Weeland, Ontario, Canada, were the three women chosen to receive the finalist Women’s Opportunity Award, Soroptimist’s major project. The program provides women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families with financial resources to offset costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education or additional skills and training. The program begins at the Soroptimist club level, where award amounts vary. Club level recipients then become eligible for a $5,000 cash award. Three finalists receive an additional $10,000. The awards can be used for tuition, books, childcare, carfare or any other education-related expense.

Twenty-four year old Evangelio, a member of an indigenous tribe in the Philippines—the Ati (Aeta)—suffered painful discrimination and grew up in dire poverty. When she was 7 years old, a local family brought Evangelio into their household to do chores. In exchange, she was sent to an elementary school. As one of two Ati children in the school, she experienced ridicule and humiliation from her classmates, but she held her head high and went on to complete high school. Soon after, a Catholic missionary sister met Evangelio and decided to send her to Aklan State University. There, Evangelio studied for a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Her schooling was interrupted, however, when her parents became ill. Being the only unmarried daughter, Evangelio returned home to care for them. She took whatever jobs she could, but her salary wasn’t enough to support her family or to enable her to live her dream of becoming a college graduate and a teacher. In addition, Evangelio became pregnant. The man was unable to support her financially and she now has the added burden of being a single parent. But Evangelio hasn’t lost hope that one day she will finish her studies and help her tribe. As a Women’s Opportunity Award federation finalist, she now has the financial help she so desperately needs to live her dream of obtaining a college education and becoming a teacher.

“I am grateful that benevolent hearts learned about my situation and gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dreams,” says Evangelio. “I am an Ati and I am proud of our traditions and customs, and I want to set a good example to our people that we can improve our lives through education. I want to prove to everyone that an Ati like me can rise above personal and cultural hardships.”

When Joyce Snow was a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a nurse. But life took a brutally different turn. As a child, she was raped by a relative and later in life, gang raped by eight boys. When Joyce became an adult, she married an abusive man, eventually summoning the courage to leave him after 14 years. The trauma of those events pushed her into a life of despair, drugs and prostitution. She eventually ended up in a homeless shelter, where she decided she wanted a new life. Snow signed herself into a rehabilitation facility and was beginning to turn her life around. Then, she experienced the trauma of a home invasion and was brutally beaten and raped. Her ex-husband, learning of the incident, supported her during the trauma. Snow returned to him, but not long into the reunion, he began to beat her again. Snow escaped to another shelter, leaving everything behind, including her 18-year-old son who now lives with his grandmother. Clean from drugs for five years now, Snow still suffers from post-traumatic stress, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Despite these obstacles, Snow has never let go of that dream she held inside as a young girl—to become a licensed practical nurse and eventually a registered nurse, working in geriatrics. She has fulfilled part of that dream by working for 15 years as a certified nursing assistant and patient care associate. Today she works part-time at an assisted living and Alzheimer’s care facility, where she demonstrates genuine care for the residents and is using her cash grant toward completion of her degree in licensed practical nursing. “My richness comes from helping others and knowing I’ve made a difference in someone’s life,” Snow said.
Thirty-nine year old Colleen Sword of Welland, Ontario, Canada, has faced difficult challenges her entire life. She takes medication to control epilepsy and has a learning disability as a result of having childhood seizures. But her life struggles don’t end there.  Sword is a single mother of four children under the age of 10—two have autism, one has epilepsy, and one has seizures. In addition, Sword is a full-time student at Brock University in Ontario, where she’s enrolled in the four-year combined honors psychology and behavioral science technology program.
Because of her own personal experiences, Sword has always had a great desire to learn more about the effective treatment of autism. “I would not change any of my experiences because they have made me the strong, determined person I am today.”

Sword continues to maintain high averages in her courses, despite her hectic schedule. “At times I find it difficult to manage school, children, therapy and appointments, but I must continue to fight for my children,” Sword says. Because she does not have a supportive former husband, Sword struggles financially as a single mother, and plans to use her grant monies to support her family and her education. She was especially concerned about the cost of providing many of the important lifelong necessities that two of her children will require as a result of their autism. “I believe that inside all autistic children are real people, waiting to be given the chance to shine. I want to give them that chance!” said Sword.

As recipients of the Women’s Opportunity Awards, these three women can achieve their educational dreams and provide better lives for their families. Each year, more than  $1 million is provided in cash grants at various levels of the organization to women in need. Since the program’s inception in 1972, approximately $20 million in Women’s Opportunity Awards has been disbursed to about 25,000 women throughout the world.

Read more about the 2008 Soroptimist Women's Opportunity Award recipients

Making a Difference for Women Award
Anne K. Ream of Chicago, Illinois, is the recipient of Soroptimist’s 2008 Making a Difference for Women Award, which acknowledges the efforts of women who through their personal or professional activities work to improve the lives of women and girls. The program begins on the club level, where the type of recognition varies. Award recipients at the club level are eligible for additional awards at other levels of the organization. The finalist receives a $5,000 donation to the charitable organization of her choice.

Ream received this award in recognition of her work to give victims of sexual violence voices and faces by eradicating their feelings of isolation. When Ream was raped 18 years ago, she had no examples of how to survive the brutal assault, no one to tell her how to begin rebuilding her shattered life. Not until she became an anti-violence activist did Ream realize how many other women had lived her nightmare and gone on to reclaim their lives. 

In 2003, Ream founded The Voices and Faces Project (TVFP), a national non-profit survivors network that works to encourage sexual violence victims to speak out and rebuild their lives. The project shares names, faces and stories in order to shift the national and international discourse on rape and abuse, one in which victims are too often blamed and perpetrators too infrequently held accountable.

“The Voices and Faces Project was created for and is largely funded and staffed by survivors who have rejected the shame, invisibility and silence thrust upon them by the broader culture,” says Ream. “We know that being public is not the right choice for every survivor and we honor those who choose not to do so. But by speaking out, we hope to reverse the attitudes that make it difficult for all survivors to rebuild their lives.”

In recognition of her efforts, Ream received a total of $6,000 from Soroptimist and the local club that nominated her, Soroptimist International of Chicago. She will donate her money to TVFP.

Read more about Soroptimist's 2008 Making a Difference for Women Award recipient

Violet Richardson Award
Cindy Berman of Rancho Santa Fe, California, is the recipient of Soroptimist’s 2008 Violet Richardson Award, which recognizes young women between the ages of 14 and 17 for volunteer service to their communities. The Violet Richardson Award program begins on the Soroptimist club level, where award amounts vary. Club-level recipients then become eligible for a $1,000 cash award, with a matching $1,500 cash award for the charitable organization of the recipient’s choosing. The finalist receiveds $2,500 to donate to the charity of her choice. 
Touched by the poverty of women in Guatemala, Berman, now 18, decided to do something about the problem. She started an online viral fundraiser that focuses on micro loans.
“I admire the power of micro loans because they are very small loans, typically $50 to $100,” Berman says. “Yet, instead of being temporary support ‘band-aids’ they promote the development of businesses to provide a substantial income for individuals to break the cycle of poverty.”

Berman got involved with Project Concern, a non-profit health and humanitarian aid organization dedicated to preventing disease, improving community health, and promoting sustainable development, and developed Amigos Para Siempre, a fundraising project designed to give women adequate economic opportunity. She launched a micro loan fundraising website, and taught students at her school how to develop their own fundraising websites in support of the project, and then conduct their own online campaigns to spread awareness among their friends and families. To date, Berman’s project has raised almost $9,000 for women in Guatemala. Berman, who is now a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, will donate her $2,500 to Amigos Para Siempre.

Read more about Soroptimist's 2008 Violet Richardson Award recipient

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa., Soroptimist is a 501(c)(3) organization offering programs that improve social and economic conditions for women and girls. Programs include the Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Awards, which provide cash grants for women seeking to improve their lives with the help of additional education and training. Each year, more than $1 million is disbursed to deserving women through this award-winning program. Soroptimist also sponsors the Live Your Dream campaign in recognition of the power of women and their dreams. Visit the campaign's online home at: <LiveYourDreamCampaign.org>. For more information on how Soroptimist improves the lives of women and girls, visit <Soroptimist.org>.

###