Catherine DiyakonovLord Byng Secondary SchoolViolet Richardson Award (2022) Recipient Thank you so much, Soroptimist International of Vancouver, for the Violet Richardson Award! I am incredibly honoured to be recognized by an organization that enables women to reach their full potential. In grade 9, I founded the Girls Will Stay Initiative as a club in my school with the mission to help girls stay educated, healthy, and sheltered on both local and international levels through fundraisers and community outreach events. We hoped to encourage women to stay in underrepresented careers and to fight back against any gender stereotypes they may face. When the Girls Will Stay Initiative launched, no more than…

Sophia YangPrince of Wales SecondaryViolet Richardson Award (2022) Recipient I would like to thank Soroptimist International of Vancouver for recognizing my community service with a Violet Richardson Award. Throughout high school, I have had the privilege to be involved in scientific research and one of the things I also dedicated a lot of time to is providing disadvantaged groups with access to the same opportunities. As a volunteer at the organization Lives for Literacy, I have mentored aspiring researchers from around the world in conducting studies that address different global issues. Being active in the community is important to me and I plan to continue helping others through my volunteer…

Manpreet DhesiTamanawis Secondary SchoolViolet Richardson Award (2022) Recipient My name is Manpreet Dhesi, I am a grade 11 student at Tamanawis Secondary School. Firstly, I would like to thank Soroptimist International of Vancouver for being acknowledged for my community and school wide, volunteer efforts. As a volunteer I run a club at my school known as girlscantalktamanawis in which we strive to make a positive impact through issues we see within the community and throughout my school. I am also one of the co-founder’s of GenConnect. We help seniors feel more comfortable in this new era and assist them in connecting with their community and grandchildren. With the help and…

Micah WuSteveston London Secondary SchoolViolet Richardson Award (2022) Recipient I would just like to give thanks to the Soroptimist International of Vancouver for recognizing my efforts in the Richmond community. And I greatly appreciate being given the Violet Richardson Award by a wonderful organization that continues to provide a place of support, empowerment, and comfort for all women. Project Bloom is my community initiative, where I distribute origami flowers with encouraging messages, and origami craft kits with tutorial videos. Through this, I am able to spread my love of origami to the community, as well as joy and encouragement to others. Originally I was inspired to start my project through…

We have received a letter from President of Soroptimist in Gdansk, Poland: … over 2 million Ukrainian refugees – women and children have come to our country so we, the Soroptimists, try to do our best to help them. Our club offers support in many ways and one of them is to help Ukrainians who want to go to other countries. So far we have managed to help 2 families thanks to the Soroptimist contacts. Now I am dealing with a request from a young woman, who is hosted by one of our club members. She is a graphic designer and would like to continue her education in Canada. She…