For over 85 years, Soroptimist of Ventura has donated time to service projects and fundraising in order to provide annual scholarships to deserving women and girls as well as to support those organizations in our community who share our mission.
Service Projects we are involved in include:
Stethoscope Program
SIV is committed to providing funds to donate quality stethoscopes, engraved with our Soroptimist logo, to nursing students at Ventura College. We have confidence the recipients will be off to a good start in their nursing education and will be able to use their stethoscopes well into their nursing careers.
STOP Human Trafficking & Sexual Slavery Annual Event:
Soroptimist International of Ventura joins with Oxnard, Camarillo, The Conejo, Santa Barbara and Simi Valley SI clubs to present the Stop Human Trafficking and Sexual Slavery Event annually. This event helps raise awareness about this rapidly growing problem in Ventura County, the state of California, our country and throughout the world. Anyone can be trafficked regardless of race, class, education, gender, age, or citizenship when forcefully coerced or enticed by false promises. We are working on education, advocacy and involvement.
Live Your Dream Award:
Awarded to women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families and seek assistance to go back to school or receive special training can apply for the Live Your Dream Award to help them improve their skills, education or training to upgrade their employment status. Recipients are celebrated at our annual scholarship awards luncheon. Winners are eligible to go on and compete for awards regionally and nationally within the Soroptimist organization. For application information click here.
Violet Richardson Award:
Teen volunteers are encouraged to apply for the Violet Richardson Award which honors young women for their volunteer efforts in their school or community in such areas as fighting drugs, crime and violence, improving the environment, feeding those in need, working to end discrimination and poverty. It is awarded annually to a Ventura teen, ages 14-17 and her volunteer organization. Recipients are celebrated at our annual scholarship awards luncheon. For application information click here.
Edna Wirt Woods/Ruth Nagel Scholarship:
The Edna Wirt Woods/Ruth Nagel Scholarship is supported by fundraising efforts, gifts and donations from our members. This scholarship fund is with the Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF) and was established in 2001.
Our club’s primary directed purpose of the fund is to award scholarships to worthy female Ventura residents who are pursuing a health-related degree or certification at an accredited community college or four-year college or university after graduating from a high school in the city of Ventura, CA. The average amount of the award is $1,000, no demonstration of financial need is required and the minimum GPA requirement is 3.0. To apply for this scholarship click here.
This scholarship was created in honor of two of our club’s long-time members, Ruth Nagel and Edna Wirt Woods. Edna became a member of SIV in 1943 and Ruth Nagel became a member of SIV in 1987. Both of these women were role models for what a dedicated member of a community service organization should aspire to be, and our club is pleased to remember them and to continue to honor their memories with this valuable community service scholarship. For more information click here.
Financial / Working Support for:
Tender Life Maternity Home- Caregivers
- 1 Family, 1 Restaurant
- Girls’ Tuition for the Day Springs School in Uganda
- Girl Scouts of the USA
Community Involvement:
Our club supports various causes within our community such as:
- Thanksgiving food boxes
- Adopting a family during the holidays
- Freedom Welcome bags for Human Trafficking victims
- Boxes for Troops
- Children’s Reading Program