For over 85 years, members of Richmond Soroptimist have worked to help women and girls in our community and beyond, while building lifelong friendships and having fun.
We invite you to give us a hand by joining us as an active member, a one-time volunteer, a guest at one of our events or as a donor.
We have made adjustments after the changes that have occurred over the last few years, emphasizing our theme: WIN-what's important now. Our group meets twice a month, on the first and third Thursday of the month at noon. We are now meeting in person at the Richmond Golf Club. Our business meeting for members is on the first Thursday of each month. The second meeting of the month is for a program or event planning.
After renaming our yearly spring fundraiser a couple of years ago, we made the decision to use the original name of this very successful event this year. It will be Culinary Caper, a chef show with food, wine, beer and special tastings. The funds raised by this event will be distributed to local community groups through a grant application process. In addition, annual awards are given to a woman who is sole support of her family and is furthering her education, a young woman who volunteers in the community and high school graduates who are heading to college.
Culinary Caper 2025 was a terrfic success! It was a pleasant day with a bright, sunny blue-sky that covered Rockefeller Lodge. The food was delicious, the auctions were lively and the liquid refreshment of wine, craft beer, spirits and sparkling waters, pleased all. We want to thank our wonderful guests for their enthusiasm and generosity. This support will enable us to give back to our community in the forms of grants, awards and scholarships. A special acknowledgement goes to our many volunteers, who were family and friends of our members. Their help was invaluable.
Over the years our fundraising efforts have allowed us to give grants to local community organizations that help people in need. Some of the groups which have recently received service grants from us are:
Early Childhood Mental Health,
Jelly's Place,
Quinan Street Project,
Rosie the Riveter Trust-Rosie's Service Corps,
St.Vincent de Paul-St. Callistus Church Conference,
Ujima Family Recovery Services,
Weigh of LIfe,
West Country Salesian Youth Club
In addition to the grants we give out to community groups, there are two individual awards.
VIOLET RICHARDSON AWARD
A teenager (14-18 ) is honored for community service. The award is $500.
LIVE YOUR DREAM
This award, given by the SI/Richmond Club, assists a woman who has the primary financial responsibility for her family to obtain the skills, training and education necessary to improve her employment status and standard of living. Two $2,500 awards will be given.
HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS
In the spring, we will give two $5,000 scholarships to a local high school graduating senior who will be heading to college.
On November 21, 2024, we upheld our long tradition of having our Service Grants luncheon where we award grants to local non-profit agencies. Representatives from these agencies were inspiring as they told us about their work in our community. Their work is impressive and awe-inspiring. We met at Richmond Golf Club. it was a grand afternoon.
Soroptimist International of Richmond was chartered on March 23, 1939. Our club was sponsored by Soroptimist of Berkeley and led by Charter President Christina Cameron, who was the Assistant Superintendent of Schools. There were 18 charter members. Currently we have 28 members. Our club is part of Founder Region of Soroptimist International of the Americas.
This year, 2025, we celebrated our
86th anniversary!