Willits Soroptimists Spend Summer Giving Back

Willits Kids Club: L to R – Front row: Halie Mohr, Mackenna Gable, Valorie Mottern, & Timothy Southwick; 2nd row: Dylan Lyman, Jay Griggs, Tristian Bennett, Jessica Erwin & Kendra Mottern; back row Teacher – Laura Paeyeneers and SIW President Divora Stern

H6. By WILLITS NEWS
PUBLISHED: August 24, 2017

Soroptimist International of Willits (SIW) spends their summer vacation giving back to the community.
It started in May with the Scholarship luncheon for five special young women; future doctors, nurses and even a wildlife officer, many of whom plan to return to Willits as professionals.
Also awarded in May, was a check to South Valley High School for a special Young Parents Program-Teen Moms, teacher Mary Vickers; to assist with various needs such as reference materials for the girls.
At the beginning of June, the Literacy Volunteers of Willits, Carolyn Pavlovic, President, and Treasurer, Pam Shilling were awarded a check to sponsor a student and tutor team.
In July, Project Sanctuary in Ukiah was the recipient of a check to support the work of assisting women and children of domestic violence. Then this past week our own Willits Kids Club was another lucky recipient of a check for their program of assisting families.
These organizations have similar values as Soroptimist International – as Soroptimist translated means “Best for Women and Girls”, they support the needs of women and children. Soroptimist’s mission is to improve the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment.
Again, this year Soroptimist International of Willits will be focusing on educating youth and parents regarding Human Trafficking. This is a fairly new subject here in Willits, but a matter that needs our full attention.