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47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, March 8, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 7, 2005 Lisa Louie won this year�s top young volunteer award from the Soroptimists. She plans to use the prize money for college. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Honoring young women, community service By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune Members of Rogue Valley’s six Soroptimist clubs say tomorrow is the perfect day to celebrate local girls and women — it’s International Women’s Day. The service organizations’ annual Violet Richardson Awards honor women between the ages of 14 and 17 who appear to be Soroptimists in the making. Three area teens were given cash prizes on Wednesday for their volunteer efforts with disadvantaged girls, fighting drugs, crime and violence, cleaning up the environment and working against discrimination. North Medford High School senior Lisa Louie won the award’s top spot. The 18-year-old received her $500 first-place award because of her work in her local community and abroad. Louie recently took a trip to Mexico with her church group at Medford’s Westminster Presbyterian Church. Advertisement "We built five houses down there with cement and chicken wire and things," says Louie. "It takes about five days for the whole trip, and each house holds about seven people." Louie says she has certain plans for her award money. "It’s for college," says Louie, who hopes to attend Azusa Pacific University in California. Awards coordinator Karen Gale, a Medford Soroptimist for 16 years, says she was impressed with all of the youthful applicants. "There were so many outstanding (applicants)," says Gale. "My goodness. Such ambitious and generous youths giving of themselves for the community. It is very inspiring." Kathy Garrett-Canape, a 22-year member of Soroptimist International of Medford, says the club also gave out cash to needy female students who are primary wage earners for their families. The Women’s Opportunity Awards, given to about 10 local womenlast Wednesday, helps defray costs associated with higher education. The cash awards can be used for tuition, books, child care, transportation or any other education-related expense. "We’re trying to give the most money to the person with the most need," said Garrett-Canape. Keeping these women in school could help create another great scientist, she says. After all, it has happened before. "There was even a woman who went on to become a nuclear physicist," she said. "This is the award that makes us all cry." This year, the club’s top winner is Tammie Herbert of Grants Pass. Herbert is studying to be an occupational therapist at Rogue Community College, and was honored by the Ashland Soroptimist club with a $2,000 award. Herbert will go on to compete in a regional competition this spring where she could end up winning more money, says Garrett-Canape. In addition to cash awards and scholarships, the clubs provide support to area women and children through breast cancer awareness mammography programs, the Dunn House Shelter for Battered Women, and Kids Unlimited and SMART literacy programs. The clubs raise most of their funding support through their annual fund-raiser — The Holiday Home Tour — says Claudette Moore, a 19-year member of the Medford club that meets each Wednesday at noon at the J.J. North’s Restaurant. "We charge $15 a ticket. And we clear over $10,000 to $12,000 in that one day," Moore says. Moore, a Medford councilwoman, says the Soroptimist organization was founded in 1921 as a response to gender discrimination. "Men didn’t allow women to join Rotary or Lions," she says. No longer limited to women, Moore says club membership still remains strictly female. And all are passionate in their of support of women’s issues, she says. There are almost 93,000 Soroptimists in approximately 120 countries and territories worldwide working to make a difference in the lives of women and their children, she says. "When you get a group of busy women together, you get a lot done," says Moore. Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] Soroptimist award reception: Local Soroptimist organizations will hold their "Making a Difference for Women" awards reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday at the Rogue Valley Manor. The six service clubs are honoring five local women who are working to improve the lives of women and girls through their personal or professional activities, says Marie Quinn-Kabler - a one-year member of Soroptimist Medford. Award winners Maggie Jordan, Susan Cronin, Jarren Atkinson, Jeanne Schraub and Pat Crowley have identified and focused on a need in their communities which has significantly contributed to the improvement of women and girls’ lives, says Quinn-Kabler. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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