Soroptimist International Clubs throughout the United States work with teenage girls to provide information and resources they want and need to be successful in life. As part of that program, Soroptimist International of Buena Park recently held a “Dream It, Be It” conference at the Boys & Girls Club of Buena Park.
Soroptimist International Clubs throughout the United States work with teenage girls to provide information and resources they want and need to be successful in life. As part of that program, Soroptimist International of Buena Park recently held a “Dream It, Be It” conference at the Boys & Girls Club of Buena Park.
Targeted to girls in secondary school, the program helps young ladies who might be facing obstacles to their future; grow up to be strong, successful and happy adults by providing them with access to professional role models, career education and resources to live their dreams.
Soroptimists hosted 18 teenage girls with topics that included career opportunities, setting and achieving goals, overcoming obstacles to success and how to move forward after setbacks or failures.
Soroptimist members, who come from various professional backgrounds, served as mentors and were able to share their personal experiences with the girls. Partial funding for the event was provided by a grant from the Buena Park Noon Lions Club through their annual Silverado Days Grants program.
Luz Trout, program director at the Boys & Girls Club and a Soroptimist member, coordinated and acted as facilitators for the event. Katy O'Connell, president of Soroptimist International of Buena Park said, "This is the first time to hold the 'Dream It, Be It' program as a one-day conference. We plan on continuing to build on the program."
For the past 12 years, members of Soroptimist International of Buena Park have also acted as female role models for the "SMART Girls" program at the Boys & Girls Club.
This is a small group of health, fitness prevention/education and self esteem enhancement education designed to meet the developmental needs of girls 12-17 years-of-age. Typically, this is a nine-week program in the Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation; however, Buena Park has sessions one day a week for the entire school year.
