SI Calistoga in the Community:  On October 26th, club members took our weekly meeting on the road and met with the Calistoga Senior Creative Living Group for lunch and pumpkin decorating at the Community Center. To see all the photos, click here.

News from the Health & Environment front:  Click here to see a recent article, "Doctor's Bright Idea," in the San Francisco Chronicle about Dr. Laura Stachel and the development of the solar suitcase (see Project Accomplishments 2010-11 for SI Calistoga's commitment to this project).

Download the entire meeting and event calendar for 2011-2012, revised as of 11/8/2011, here!

Left to Right:  Joan Warner, Helen Pelayo, Anne Marie Clifford, Indira Lopez, Bruce Currer,
Xandra Smith, Paulette Solt, Jonathon Mills and Lindsey Taylor.

Calistoga Soroptomists Recognize

Those Who Enrich Lives...

MARCH 16, 2011

Soroptimist Violet Richardson Award: For Community Service

Lindsey Taylor, 2011 Award Winner

Calistoga High School Senior Lindsey Taylor is the recipient of the Violet Richardson Award. She is being recognized for her work with 4-H, and will receive $500 herself, and another $500 for her organization.

Taylor has been a volunteer staffer at Las Posadas Demonstration State Forest 4-H Camp for three years. In her application she said, "I feel camp fosters an environment of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity."

She added, "Being a staffer has made me realize how important it is to give back to the community."

The Soroptimist Violet Richardson Award is a recognition program for young women ages 14-17 engaged in volunteer action within their communities or schools. The award is given to young women whose activities make the community and world a better place.

Soroptimist Women's Opportunity Awards

Xandra Smith, 2011 Award Winner

Xandra Smith is the recipient of the Women's Opportunity Award, a $3,000 grant given to a female head of household to help her pursue her education.

Smith has three children, ages 9, 12 and 16. She was working at a convalescent home, and was laid off with the rest of her staff when the company went bankrupt at the start of the economic downturn. She applied for over 350 jobs.

Determined never again to be without options, she researched fields with good growth opportunity, and found out she a passion for nuclear medicine. She enrolled in classes at Santa Rosa Junior College, and is pursuing programs in radiation therapy and diagnostic medical sonography.

Along the way, she has completed certification as a phlebotomist (which will allow her to work in the chemotherapy field as well), a massage therapy certification, and is currently completing her emergency medical technician certification.

"Receiving this scholarship is a great honor and will help towards my tuition, books and transportation costs for school," she said. "The end result not only benefits myself and my children, but the hundreds of lives that will be made better due to my education and training. I look at it as an investment that will continue to give."

Smith added, "I had no expectations of winning, and I almost didn't turn in the application. Since notification of winning, my fire burns a little bit stronger, knowing I have a financial boost. It also helps to feel like I have people who don't even know me rooting for me. It is very heart-warming."

The Women's Opportunity Awards program was established in 1972 to assist women with primary financial responsibility for their families to obtain the skills-training and education necessary to improve their employment status and standard of living for themselves and their family.

Soroptimist Ruby Award: For Women Helping Women

Joan Warner and Anne Marie Clifford, 2011 Award Winners

The Ruby Award of $1,000 goes jointly to Joan Warner and Anne Marie Clifford of St. Helena for their participation in the Get on the Bus program.

Get on the Bus is a state-wide interdenominational program begun 11 years ago which provides bus transport to children so they can visit their parents who are in prison. Initially, it was only for mothers, but recently, father visits have also been added.

Last year, 58 buses made the trip. Napa Valley children ride Bus "U," which leaves from Santa Rosa. There are two trips annually, on Mother's Day and on Father's Day. The group provides the bus, insurance, three meals for the children and their caretaker for the day, blankets and a teddy bear. The children have a four-hour visit, where they can sit on their mother's lap, read a book, and play games.

Warner said there are over 8,000 women at Chowchilla Prison, and the average age is 36. "There are over 200,000 children in California who have a parent in prison," she said. "We can't change what happened. But children love their mothers. These trips... it's heart-breaking, but it's also a very positive thing for kids to face reality."

The Soroptimist Ruby Award acknowledges women who are working to improve the lives of women and girls through their personal or professional activities.

Two other women received certificates of recognition:

Indira Lopez, for her work with the Calistoga Family Center and such projects as Plaza Comunitaria, domestic violence counseling, and ALAS Program (women's business program), emergency fund; and as the first elected Latina school board member.

Helen Pelayo, Napa Emergency Women's Services housing advocate and case manager, for her work with the battered women and children, especially in Calistoga.

In addition, Police Chief Jonathan Mills and Police Technician Paulette Solt along with St. Helena Hospital's Regional Director of Materials Management Bruce Currer received certificates of recognition for their support of the "No Drugs Down the Drain" program, for safe disposal of old pharmaceuticals.