Women form local chapter of Soroptimist International to help others

Date: 3/22/2011

March 23, 2011

By Lori Szepelak

Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD — Child safety advocate Kathy Picard is among several area women who have already stepped up to the plate to join a new group forming to improve the lives of women and girls in the city.

The new group is being organized by Soroptimist Inter-national of the Americas (SIA), an international volunteer organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world, according to Nicole Simmons, Soroptimist's membership director, who is based in Philadelphia, Penn.

"While we have 36,600 members who support our mission of improving the lives of women and girls, there is a great need to extend our reach to enable more women and girls to realize their potential," Simmons said. "We also know that the needs of volunteers have changed. While people are volunteering now more than ever, they want to use their time effectively and make a difference right away with hands-on experiences."

Picard, of Ludlow, is a perfect example of the type of woman Simmons described as needed for the new initiative.

"An important mission of mine is to improve the lives of women and girls, especially abused innocent ones," Picard said during an interview at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Holyoke.

Picard was one of the many area residents who lined up early on the morning of March 5 to meet U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who recently published "Against All Odds, My Life of Hardship, Fast Breaks and Second Chances."

Brown recently disclosed he had been a victim of sexual abuse in his early years and Picard noted she could relate to what Brown had experienced.

"I have the ability to speak about sexual abuse since I am a survivor," she said, adding, she spends her free time raising awareness in all areas of child safety at colleges, correctional facilities and libraries.

"Like any other city, providing help should be endless and a top priority," Picard said, who was born and raised in Springfield.

Simmons noted that SIA has members in 19 countries and is divided into 28 regions. The northeastern region consists of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Currently in Massachusetts, there is only one club, SI of Haverhill-Merrimack Valley.

Ideally, Simmons would like to see at least 25 volunteers signed up for the Springfield group so that an informational meeting could be scheduled. She noted that the local group would be participating in the Soroptimist Live Your Dream campaign and the Soroptimist Women's Opportunity Awards.

Live Your Dream is a public awareness campaign that the satellite group can implement locally to raise awareness of the Soroptimist mission while encouraging women from all walks of life to follow their dreams.

"This campaign will be the groundwork for the second role of the group, the Women's Opportunity Awards, Soroptimist's major program," Simmons said.

She added through the program, Soroptimist assists women who provide the primary source of financial support for their families by giving them the resources they need to improve their education, skills and employment prospects. Each year, more than $1.5 million is disbursed through cash awards at various levels of the organization.

"We are looking for women who want an opportunity where they can be involved, make a difference and work with others in order to give another woman a hand up," she explained. "We need women who want to empower girls and young women to be confident and have a strong sense of self."

Volunteers like Picard will find there are no dues or meeting requirements, but Soroptimist encourages the group to meet as needed to perform their volunteer activities.

For more information on how to get involved, contact Simmons at (215) 893-9000, ext. 139, or via e-mail to Nicole@soroptimist.org.