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The Soroptimist Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women (formerly the Soroptimist Women?s Opportunity Awards) provides women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families with the financial resources to offset costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education or additional skills and training. Recipients can use the award for tuition, books, childcare, carfare or any other education-related expense. Each year, more than $1.6 million is provided in cash grants to women in need. Since the program?s inception in 1972, approximately $30 million has helped tens of thousands of women achieve their dreams of a better life for themselves and their families?leading to stronger communities, nations and the world.

The Live Your Dream Award starts at the club level where award amounts vary. Soroptimist International of Vista will provide a monetary award of an amount yet to be determined. Club-level recipients then become eligible for region-level awards granted in each of Soroptimist 28 regions. The first-place region recipients then become candidates for one of three $10,000 finalist awards.

Interested in applying for the Live Your Dream Awards?

You are eligible to apply for the Soroptimist Live Your Dream Awards if you:

• Provide the primary financial support for yourself and your dependents. Dependents can include children, spouse, partner, siblings and/or parents.

• Have financial need.

• Are enrolled in or have been accepted to a vocational/skills training program or an undergraduate degree program.

• Are motivated to achieve your education and career goals.

• Have not previously been the recipient of a Live Your Dream Awards (formerly called the Women?s Opportunity Award)

• Do not have a graduate degree.

• Are not a Soroptimist member, an employee of Soroptimist International of the Americas or immediate family of either.

If you meet all of the above eligibility requirements, please use the Soroptimist of the Americas website (soroptimist.org) and scroll down to find the  Live Your Dream section and application for the 2018/2019 awards program. Deadline for submission is November 15, 2018.

Dream It Be It Program

The goal of the new Soroptimist global program Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls is that through education and access to role models, girls will be empowered to pursue their career goals and reach their full potential. Surveys, interviews and focus groups conducted by SIA concluded that girls in secondary school need access to mentors and trusted adults who can share their knowledge and experience. The curriculum will cover career opportunities, setting and achieving goals, overcoming obstacles to success and moving forward after setbacks or failures.