Soroptimist Portland

Educate. Empower. Enable.

Our mission

Our mission

Our mission is to improve the lives of women and girls through programs that provide them with resources and opportunities – to help them reach their full potential and live their dreams.

Soroptimist International of Portland was chartered in 1926. We will be celebrating our 100th Anniversary in 2026! Women at their best, supporting and empowering women to be their best.

“Soroptimist” is loosely translated from Latin and means “best for women.” Founded in Oakland, California, in 1921, Soroptimist International now operates in 120 countries around the world. We are part of Soroptimist International of the Americas (SIA), which includes Canada, Mexico, Japan, the Phillipines, and South and Central America.

It is our passion to:

Enhance the education, health, human rights, and status of all women with our grants and award programs.
Join with other women to raise awareness about and take action against domestic violence and sex trafficking in our communities.
Provide girls with guidance, training, and resources that will prepare them for personal and career success.

Our programs

Our programs

Live your Dream Award
Dream It, Be It
ROOT: Reaching Out, One at a Time
Human Trafficking Project
SAVE: Soroptimist Against Violent Environments
Other area organizations we support

Our club participates on a local level with several cornerstone programs of Soroptimist of the Americas (SIA), including Live Your Dream and Dream It, Be It. In addition, we sponsor club-level programs and provide support to local organizations.

Live Your Dream Award

This national program provides education and training awards to assist women who provide the primary financial support for their families. Recipients may use the awards to offset any costs associated with attaining a higher education, such as books, childcare, tuition, and transportation. Click to see the tremendous impact this program has had. And hear firsthand from women about the difference this award made in their lives.

In support of this program, Soroptimist of Portland provides several cash awards each year. Award winners from local clubs become eligible for a Region award and the Region winners for a Federation award.

Many of our recipients are survivors of domestic violence, trafficking, or sexual assault. Nearly all have overcome enormous obstacles including poverty, domestic violence, and substance abuse. But in addition to changing lives, this program is helping to change society.

For questions, please contact Wanda Costi.

"No more living on the edge of despair. We couldn't have done it without the wonderful women at Soroptimist."

Dream It, Be It

In support of this program, our club partners with Girls Inc.’s Eureka! program, to provide career support to motivated girls in middle school. To see the impact this program has made in 2016-2017, check out this visual overview.

By providing professional role models, career education, and other resources, this program helps girls to grow up to become confident, successful, happy adults. In small groups, the girls learn about the importance of values, to set and achieve goals, and to develop resilience to overcome obstacles and move forward after failures.

To learn more about the program, click here. If you work with girls – or if you're part of an organization that would like to partner with us – please contact Wanda Costi.

ROOT: Reaching Out, One at a Time

ROOT is a one-on-one mentoring program for 18-23 year olds with a high school diploma or GED (or working on a GED). The program pairs a team of two club members with a participant who has been identified by a counselor or advocate.

Over a period of 1 – 3 years, our goal is to create a safe environment and establish a positive, trust-based relationship to:

Identify and build on individual strengths
Discuss problems and concerns
Teach decision-making and time-management skills
Develop life and social skills

Club members interested in participating receive special training. If you’re a counselor who knows someone who would benefit, please contact Jan Cosper.

"With your help, I've been able to be successful in college and aim higher than I ever thought possible."

Yesenia

Human Trafficking Project

Soroptimist of the Americas (SIA) launched the STOP Human Trafficking project in 2008. Given that our I-5 corridor is a major route for transporting young girls, SI Portland supports this project through awareness and advocacy. This effort includes supporting organizations that work to end sex trafficking at their conferences and fundraisers.

To report a tip or get assistance, call:

National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline: 1-888-373-7888.

Or text HELP to: BeFree (233733)

SAVE: Soroptimist Against Violent Environments

Our club is part of a coalition of area clubs that came together with the goal of reducing domestic violence in 2001. We adopted the SAVE master plan that year and donate to various organizations each year, including:

If you're interested in working with us, please contact Devon Gonzales.

Other area organizations we support

In addition to our work with SAVE, our club has supported and partnered with the following organizations:

Peace of Joe
Rose Haven
Girls Inc.
PDX Diaper Bank
Michelle’s Love
Camperships, to sponsor camp fees for kids who could not otherwise afford to attend, including:

If you would like to partner with us, reach out to Wanda Costi.

This button will be active again in 2023, for applying for next year's awards.

Live Your Dream Award

Our events

Monthly Luncheon & Meeting

Old Spaghetti Factory

11:30 am to 1:00 pm

First Thursday of each month

We'd love to have you join us -
please request more information at
siportland@soroptimist.net.

Live Your Dream Awards luncheon

In addition to our monthly meetings, we host a very special luncheon each year, at which we celebrate this year's winners of our cash awards with our members and the guests of our winners. This year's luncheon will be held on February 23.

Our monthly meetings

Our meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month. Each meeting will feature a guest speaker that supports our mission to serve women and girls. In addition, these events include a business meeting and an opportunity to network and socialize with friends and members.