Most Wonderful Time of Year

That's right, it's Live Your Dream season! The online system opens today. It's a fresh slate, a chance to do what we do best: make dreams come true.

Every year more than 2,300 women receive a Live Your Dream Award. Every application season, we get to add more deserving women to that number. Last year Founder Region was responsible for adding 128 more women to that list. This year let's make it our biggest yet.

The one unifying factor across all of SIA is our Live Your Dream Awards. The program brings us visibility, and with visibility comes donors, new members, and women who need our help. Recruitment, whether for Live Your Dream applicants or new members, is fundamentally an awareness problem.

Creating awareness is a big job. This work can't be left to the club chair and a few committee members. All members of the club need to help promote the award. This month, commit to telling three people about Live Your Dream: a coworker, a neighbor, someone at your gym. Small conversations add up faster than we think.

A short story pitched to your local paper or a community Facebook page can reach people your club will never meet in person. And don't underestimate our past recipients: they are our most credible messengers. Ask them to share the application with their own networks.
Social media can have a ripple effect. Don't just post on your own club page, cross-post to community pages: PTA Facebook page, Adult Ed social media, local "What's Happening in Town" groups, or college social media sites. The more communities that see it, the more likely it reaches the right person.

Conducting a Live Your Dream Awards application workshop is one of Soroptimist's specific recommendations for identifying eligible women and supporting them through the process. Since the women targeted by this award are usually going to school, raising children, and working, they may need reminders about deadlines. A workshop plus a follow-up reminder system solves this directly. My club actually hosted a Zoom application workshop, and we picked up a few more applicants because of it.

Applications close November 15. That gives us a few months to spread the word. Let’s not wait until October to get started. Pick one outreach idea and take the first step this week: make a call, send an email, or post in a community group.

Chair Maida and all of the District Reps, Jennifer, Judy, Nancy, Debbie, and Wendy, are ready to assist you in any way they can. Reach out with whatever issues or questions you have. Let's make this our biggest Live Your Dream season yet.

In Soroptimist friendship,
Governor Jackie

 “Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.” Thich Nhat Hanh