Live Your Dream Awards!

Attendees celebrated women overcoming adversity to create a better future for their families at Soroptimist International of Abbotsford-Mission’s Live Your Dream Awards at the Fraser River Interpretive Centre in Mission, BC on Saturday, April 22.

Six BC women, the primary supporters for their households, received a combined $9,500 to pursue their educational goals. Three winners shared their stories on Saturday; stories that included dreams of becoming a joiner, journalist, and nurse. Previous award winners have graduated with degrees in education, nursing, and social work. Winners are determined by a panel of judges who assist club members in determining fund distribution. This year’s judges included a former recipient of the Live Your Dream award, alongside What’s On! Mission’s owner and publisher, Ellen Nguyen.

Each year, Soroptimist International of the Americas (SIA) gives away over $2.8 million for the Live Your Dream Awards as a part of its mission to provide women and girls with the training they need to achieve economic empowerment. Winners not only receive financial support, but the backing of a global organization believing in them and encouraging them to reach for their dreams. “Evidence shows that a quality education – more than anything else – holds the greatest potential to transform the lives of women and girls,” said Colleen Schmidt, member of the Abbotsford-Mission club. “Our Live Your Dream Awards address a common need around the world and here in our own community. They quite literally make dreams come true.”

The Abbotsford-Mission club also gave away an additional $28,000 total to their 10 community partner organizations: Abbotsford Youth Commission, Archway Community Services, Fraser Valley Brain Injury Association, Fraser Valley Child Development Centre, Lifetime Learning Centre, Mission Community Services, Mission Hospice, Peardonville House, Salvation Army and SARA for Women. Supporting community organizations, both financially and through volunteering efforts, is part of the club’s commitment to empowering women to achieve their dreams.​

Nominations for the Live Your Dream Awards open on August 1 and close on November 15. Awards are typically presented in the following April. More information about the awards are available on the SIA website: https://www.soroptimist.org/our-work/live-your-dream-awards/apply-for-the-live-your-dream-awards.html