Soroptimist International - Soroptimist International of the Twin Cities

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Soroptimist International

For almost 100 years, Soroptimist International (SI) has advocated for human rights and gender equality, through education and empowerment. Though women and girls make up half of the population, they remain consistently discriminated against, and their human rights are often ignored.

Founded in 1921, our network of just under 65,000 club members in 118 countries works at a local, national and international level to Educate, Empower and Enable opportunities for women and girls. Our goal is to help women and girls achieve individual and collective potential, realize aspirations, and have an equal voice in communities worldwide.

Empowering - SI's advocacy work stems from our work at the United Nations (UN). We have 26 representatives at 8 UN Centers across the world working to ensure that the voices of women and girls around the world are included in international decision making.
Educating and Enabling - Soroptimists take action with projects that address poverty, education, health, violence against women, and gender equality. Local Soroptimists take the lead, steering projects in communities all over the world, while Soroptimists in other countries provide financial support.

Learn more about Soroptimist International past and current projects, global advocacy, work at the United Nations, members, and leadership at https://www.soroptimistinternational.org/

Past International Service Projects

Opening Doors to a Bright Future (2021 - 2024)
This imitative focused on 5 projects across 5 continents supporting education (like skills, job training, reproductive/health, and secondary schooling) for women and girls, empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and providing opportunities for economic growth. Read more about each project...

Cambodia Uganda Georgia Trinidad & Tobago Malawi Paraguay

The Road to Equality (2019 - 2021)
A combination of projects and advocacy working to address child marriage, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, rights of older women, migration, and human trafficking. Examples include

Partnering with girls soccer leagues in India to foster young leaders, combat child marriage, and support investment in girls' education
Launching a global media campaign to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and the Free A Girl Movement - hosting global webinars with working with grassroots leaders to educate people on these topics and advocate for change
Sponsoring schooling and leadership academies for girls in Kenya, empowering young women to become catalysts of positive change within their communities

Job skill training in Georgia (the country)

Using soccer to empower girls in India

Supporting education in Uganda

Women, Water, and Leadership (2017 - 2019)

Launched five projects in five continents to educate, empower and enable women and girls to lead in water. Programs promoted the inclusion of women in water resource governance as experts and leaders from education and capacity building, through to design, implementation and monitoring.

Educate to Lead Nepal (2015 - 2017)
Supported job skills programs, teacher training, micro lending initiatives, scholarships for secondary education, reproductive health education and more, for over 1,000 women across Nepal.

See Solar, Cook Solar (2013 - 2015)
Seven projects promoting the use of renewable energy in rural areas to help raise income and improve health for women and girls. They included providing power to pump water for irrigation, to process crops and power cottage industries, to light homes, schools, and hospitals in Fiji, Uganda, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and Mali.