This Soroptimist video showcases the Soroptimist mission and the way the organization works to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world.
Contact Us
Please let us know if you are interested in learning more about our Soroptimist International club or would like to apply for one of our club's awards.We respect your privacy and will not share your email information.
Email: siPalmDesert@gmail.com
Mailing address:
SI Palm Desert
PO Box 13997, Palm Desert, CA 92255
Soroptimist House of Hope
Four gals from House of Hope holding their shower items in the laundry baskets.
"Soroptimist International of Palm Desert is one of ten Patron Soroptimist Clubs who support Soroptimist House of Hope and have done so for almost three decades. The program serves only female clients. An important part of the success of House of Hope is attributed to the intimate, family-style, residential environment. Most staff employees are graduates of the Soroptimist House of Hope. This demonstrates to the clients that sobriety is indeed achievable through the program. The Alumni Association, and other graduates, also contribute moral support to the clients through frequent personal visits reinforcing the clients’ confidence that they too can attain and maintain sobriety. Key to the HOH mission, since 1981, is for clients to maintain their sobriety and return to society as productive citizens and for those with children, to establish a stable family environment. 
Soroptimist International of Palm Desert is always looking for articulate, dynamic, positive women to join us! The SIPD Club meets Wednesdays from noon to 1:00pm, September through June and our meetings are held at the beautiful Desert Falls Country Club.
MAP IT»
We invite you to join our fun and philanthropy! Thanks for your interest in our dynamic club!
Plan your next Valentine Day early - Our next Desert Dessert Derby will be held on February 10, 2010
ABOUT US
Since chartering in 1963, Soroptimist International of Palm Desert members have provided volunteer service to our community and, by our international projects, outreach throughout the world. Soroptimists are business and professional women of all ages, cultures and ethnic groups. We are working moms and single women, business owners and corporate executives, retirees and women embarking upon their careers - women from all walks of life. The common thread that connects all Soroptimists is a desire to make a difference for women and girls.
SI Palm Desert Legacy Project
SI Palm Desert is proud that we have chosen Olive Crest as our Legacy Project. Olive Crest provides homes and services for abused children and this
year we celebrated thegrand opening of four new homes.
Tesha Vann, Associate Development Director of Olive Crest shared these thoughts with us recently. She said, "We just placed our first two children into a home. The first children are a 13 year-old girl and her 2-1/2 year-old brother. Thanks to our donors and supporters like Palm Desert Soroptimists, we were able to provide a safe home for these little souls. You all are great!" This plaque of appreciation was presented to the club and will be a permanent reminder of the support of SI Palm Desert and our commitment to this very important community project.
WELCOME TO OUR 46TH CLUB YEAR!
A Message from your PresidentDeborah Schwartz
I am excited to move into a year as the president Soroptimist International of Palm Desert. Through the four or so years that I have been a member of the club, it has become an important part of my life. I am so pleased about the friendships I have made, and just as importantly I have truly enjoyed helping others through our service projects. I am certain that this year will be no different.
I would like to take a moment to thank Susan Rosenberg and the outgoing board for all of the hard work they have done during the past year.
The theme that I have selected for this year is "The Art of Service". In these difficult economic times, we have a challenging year ahead of us and we are going to have to get creative. But, I don’t think that this is a bad thing. I think that it is an opportunity to redefine who we are as a club and to also redefine our role within the community of Palm Desert and the surrounding areas. To embrace this new opportunity, we will have to be artful about how we move forward. Even though we may not have the same amount of funds as prior years, we as a group of strong, creative women have an opportunity to leave our mark through other means, to build our own masterpiece.
With that, I want to challenge everyone to get involved. Our Legacy Project is to help children who are in foster care through our support of Olive Crest. Now that the Olive Crest homes are open, there are several opportunities to do more hands-on work, to finger paint, so to speak. These opportunities range from one time needs to regular mentoring of the kids and this is where we can help by getting involved.
I know that everyone is already very busy and on a tight schedule, but I want to throw out a challenge to everyone to do a little more. I am thinking of the impact that we can have if we each do an average of an extra half hour to an hour a month of service to the community. That service can be with Olive Crest, with House of Hope, or with any group you are interested in helping. Maybe you will make an extra special effort to participate in an SIPD event such as Readers Theater; whatever works for you. Together, we can make not just a difference, but a HUGE difference in our community.
Tap into your own creativity and chisel out your own path through “The Art of Service”. We already do so many great things and I see this year as an opportunity do even more. Thank you for allowing me to lead you through this year.
Valley Pastry Chefs shine and SIPD enjoys Chair Liz’ television interview
Our February 2009 Desert Dessert Derby was a HUGE success thanks to the very hard work of Liz Glowka and her core committee. The room looked so festive for Valentine’s Day. The party favors (heart shaped cookie cutters) were a big hit (great idea Celeste). The event (and Liz’ smiling face) made the evening news on KMIR and was covered by society page reporter Barbara Ady from the Desert Sun. All 42 cakes were sold for a net of over $4,000 and a net gain of 200 pounds of sugar and chocolate . . . Yummy! Brenda and Liz are still crunching the numbers and collecting donations, but it appears that we netted over $15,000. We can all take a collective breath now.
Call to Action on Behalf of Afghan Women
As some of you may know, SIA headquarters has
been following the story in Afghanistan with
increasing concern for the rights of women there.
For those of you who do not know, the Afghan
Parliament passed a law depriving Shiite Muslim
women of their basic human rights in
Afghanistan. The law was signed by President
Karzai. However, the law does not go into effect
until it is published in the “official gazette.”
SIA has taken action in several ways. First, the information was being sent to all club presidents requesting that the clubs and members in our region respond by sending letters to President Obama, the UN Secretary General and President Karzai of Afghanistan. Second, President Alice has sent similar letters to each of these people expressing the outrage of Soroptimist International of the Americas to the passage of this law. Third, information and these letters are on the Act Now section of the SIA web site at www.soroptimist.org.
While this was done this past April, we do not have any information about where the Afghan Parliament is in either passing or denying this law. As soon as SIA has that information, it will be forwarded to me. I in turn will forward to our District Directors. Thank you very much for your assistance in getting this information out to people and encouraging them to support our efforts to have this law withdrawn immediately. We stand with our Afghani sisters against this terrible abuse. Contact at pjfield@dc.rr.com if you have any questions.