Programs & Awards
The Soroptimist mission is to improve the lives of women and children in local communities and throughout the world. In order to accomplish this goal, the organization administers the following programs. Not all programs are offered by every club.
Live Your Dream Award
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Ruby Award
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Violet Richardson Award
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Confluence High School Achievement Award
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Continue Your Dream Award
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Women in Agriculture Award
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Live Your Dream Award ✳︎ Ruby Award ✳︎ Violet Richardson Award ✳︎ Confluence High School Achievement Award ✳︎ Continue Your Dream Award ✳︎ Women in Agriculture Award ✳︎
Click on each of the awards for more information including application or nomination details.
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The organization’s major project, this program assists women by giving them the resources they need to improve their education, skills and job prospects. It is a grant program that provides cash to women who have made the commitment to improve their lives and the lives of their families through training and education, but who lack the financial resources to do so. Currently, Soroptimist International of the American River awards between $1,000 and $5,000 to one or more deserving woman in our community. Are you or do you know a woman who is working toward a better life? Application period open August 1 through November 15 LiveYourDream.org is a movement fiercely dedicated to ensuring every woman and girl has the opportunity to reach her full potential, be free from violence, and live her dreams. Live Your Dream Brochure
Savannah Denzin, 2026 Live Your Dream winner
Cheyenne Ragsdill, 2026 Live Your Dream winner
Annabel Gutierrez, 2026 Live Your Dream winner
Anonymous Recipient, 2026 Live Your Dream winner
Gabriela Acosta, 2026 Live Your Dream winner
Interested in applying? Download the application here.
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This award honors past recipients of the Life Your Dream Award who are still providing the primary financial support for their families and in need of resources to improve their education, skills and employment prospects.
Ashley Robles, 2026 Continue Your Dream winner
Jill Kuykendall, 2026 Continue Your Dream winner
Apply here.
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The Violet Richardson Award honors young women between the ages of 14 and 18 for volunteer action such as fighting drugs, crime and violence, cleaning up the environment and working to end discrimination and poverty. The award is named after Violet Richardson, the president of the first Soroptimist club in Alameda County in 1921. Richardson believed in personal responsibility and the motto, “It’s what you do that counts.” She lived her life accordingly, as an active member in her community who was committed to creating opportunities for girls and young women. Soroptimist established this award to honor the memory of this unique woman and her dedication to volunteer action.
Kaia Davis, 2026 Violet Richardson winner
Riley Davidson, 2026 Violet Richardson winner
Lila Mendez, 2026 Violet Richardson winner
Wava Studebaker, 2026 Violet Richardson winner
The application can be downloaded here.
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This new award, in collaboration with the Auburn Gold Country Fairgrounds, acknowledges women who are pursuing a higher education in agriculture.
Alexis Limbird, 2026 Women in Agriculture winner
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This award acknowledges women who, through their personal or professional efforts, work to improve the lives of women and girls. Formerly the Making a Difference for Women Award, this new name honors Soroptimist International of the America’s first federation president, Ruby Lee Minar. Honorees are ordinary women who have worked in extra-ordinary ways to benefit women and girls. Nominate yourself or another extraordinary woman you know for her achievements!
Natalie Pohley Zapata, 2026 Ruby winner
Have an extraordinary woman in mind? Fill out the Nomination Form and email it to siamericanriver@soroptimist.net.
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Under the influence of Melany Hall, this award honors passionate and resilient young women enrolled at Confluence High School. They demonstrated the determination and tenacity to overcome obstacles, carve out their own path to success, and uplift other women along the way.
Emilee Roeder, 2025 Confluence HS Achievement winner
Noell Hilty, 2025 Confluence HS Achievement winner
Violet Navarro, 2025 Confluence HS Achievement winner
Alexis Patterson, 2025 Confluence HS Achievement winner
Application here.
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For outstanding service to the community.
Shelly Bokman, 2025 Community Service winner
Tracy Zimmer, 2025 Community Service winner
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The Laurel Society is our way of recognizing those members who choose to make on-going personal gifts or donations in support of the Soroptimist Mission. The Laurel Society was established in 1994 as a permanent recognition program to honor individuals dedicated to the Soroptimist organization and its mission. Soroptimist had just completed the Five in Five campaign, which exceeded the goal of reaching $5 million in five years to establish a reserve fund to secure the long-term financial health of the organization. Many members wished to continue their financial support for Soroptimist after the close of the campaign. The Laurel Society was created to show appreciation to donors for gifts that would ensure continued funding for Soroptimist programs. The Laurel Legacy program allows members to make planned giving via their estate through a bequest, an IRA or 401(k), gift of life insurance, a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder trust. Our Laurel Society Members: Cheryl Foley, Ann Bryant, Diane Van Der Linden
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In recognition of their efforts to support the mission of Soroptimist and our Club in a way that goes above and beyond. “If not you, who?” These words were the call to action of life-long community advocate Annabell McCord. A two-time Mayor, city council member, planning commissioner, teacher, parliamentarian, business owner, parent, foster parent, and Soroptimist for decades, Annabell embodied community involvement and community service. Annabell was a force to be reckoned with. She gave generously of her time and talents throughout her 93 years, more than 50 spent here in Auburn, inspiring many other women to do more than they ever thought they could. This award, named in honor of this indomitable spirit of Auburn, is given to one of our own, recognizing her contributions–for Soroptimist, for community and for business. Previous award winners: Merrill Kagan-Weston, Lisa Bloom, Ann Bryant, Kathy Dunbar, Pat Ferguson, Norma Rash, Esther Greenhalgh, Audrey Wade, Pamela Bliss, Ineke Van Der Linden, Diane Cone, Christina Wilson, Cheryl Foley
Lee Ann Vaughan, 2026 Annabel McCord winner
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Career Support for Girls will help girls grow up to be strong, successful, happy adults. Dream It, Be It targets girls in secondary school who face obstacles to their future success. It provides girls with access to professional role models, career education and the resources to live their dreams.
Inspired to help us continue and grow these programs? You can support our work by making a donation.
In addition to the awards and scholarships above, Soroptimist International of the American River has many other programs and activities that benefit the community including our Angel Project which donates holiday gifts (450 in 2025!) and our Valentine Pajama project which both benefit community members in need.
Angel Project
Continuing the tradition started by former group Soroptimist International of Historic Auburn, SOAR distributes Christmas trees at business locations in and around Auburn. These Christmas trees are decorated with Angel tags, each with the description of a child in need and a gift they are hoping for. Generous members of the community select tags, and purchase gifts, hoping to bring joy to the children who need it most. By collection time, any gifts not already purchased are bought by SOAR. The presents are then distributed to the respective local agencies so that they can be given to the children. We distributed over 450 gifts in 2025!
We purchase Pajamas (around 50 pairs) and work with local agencies to provide them to women and children in need along with cookies and sweets. It’s a lovely tradition that is enjoyed tremendously by the club and community.
Valentine Pajamas
Partner Organizations
At the local level Soroptimist International of the American River (SOAR) focuses on assisting local non-profit agencies that center their activities on woman and girl centered needs: substance abuse recovery, transitioning foster youth, educational needs, human trafficking, domestic abuse and violence, and crises intervention are a few examples. SOAR members are constantly inspired by the strength and courage of the women and girls we help, and we often watch them move from lives of despair to lives filled with hope.
As an alternative public high school, Confluence High School’s curriculum emphasis is on real-world learning and life skills provided by advisors, mentors and community businesses. The young women students frequently face personal challenges and their stories of overcoming these are inspiring. It’s our club honor to provide support to these students as they navigate their early careers.
Acres of Hope is a spiritually-based renewal center that provides a safe family environment and a healthy living program for women with children. Their balanced approach sets the foundation of change and breaks the cycle of homelessness. Our club provides support for this program in the way of scholarships and other forms of giving.
The goal of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is to prevent abused, neglected, abandoned, and at-risk children from becoming lost in the Juvenile Dependency and/or Delinquency Court system. Our club is just one community club who ensures CASA provides these life-changing programs through philanthropy and special projects.
Women of Worth provides emergency services to women and their children escaping domestic violence and human trafficking. They offer programming to help women rebuild their lives, restore their dignity and recover their self-sufficiency. Our club supports this organization with scholarships, pajamas at the holidays and other projects.
Our club works with Health Education Africa Resource Team (HEART), a Christian faith-based humanitarian organization to empower women, children, and youth in Kenya which strategically intervenes to promote sustainable health, education, and economic strengthening. We support this group by our donations and work efforts during periodic travel to Kenya
