Soroptimist club making a difference year round

In March of 2006, Soroptimist International of Pahrump Valley was formed and over the nearly 17 years that the group has been operating locally, it has been able to have a profound impact on the lives of hundreds of others who call the area home.

Most recently, the local Soroptimist Club was able to make the Christmas season just a little more merry for dozens of the town’s older citizens with its very first Christmas for Seniors effort.

Spreading Christmas joy

“In 2021, some of our members were at a Christmas party and were told about three women who were in a local facility. They had no family to visit them and were not going to be receiving any Christmas presents,” Soroptimist International of the Pahrump Valley President Linda Fitzgibbons explained.

With the holiday looming, the group wasted no time in gathering a few items and making a special trip to visit with those women. “It was very heartwarming to know that we were able to brighten their day and show them that there are people who care about them,” Fitzgibbons remarked.

Six months later, at a club planning meeting, the members decided to take that initiative even farther in 2022 and that was when Christmas for Seniors was born.

“It seems that there are a lot of great Christmas projects already established for the children in our community, but we didn’t know of any for the seniors, especially senior women,” Fitzgibbons said. “We formed a committee and came up with several agencies we worked with such as the Guardianship program through Nye County Health and Human Services, Pahrump Health and Rehab, Salvation Army, Nathan Adelson Hospice, Inspirations Memory Care Unit, Sober Homiez and Grandparent of the Students in Transition program.

“We asked the community to help us supply our seniors with slippers, socks, blankets, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, dish soap, paper towels, toilet paper, puzzle books and miscellaneous cleaning products, as well as a few specialty items that were requested for some seniors living in a memory care unit,” she continued. “Through the help of our community members, as well as other organizations like the LGBT Club, the Nevada Silver Tappers and the NyE Communities Coalition, we were able to distribute 62 Christmas boxes full of items.”

A year full of activities

Christmas is far from the only time of year that the Soroptimist Club is engaging the community, however. With a whole new year ahead of them, the group’s members have a full slate of upcoming activities that anyone can join in on.

The first in its 2023 lineup will be the Human Trafficking Community Forum, which Soroptimist International of Pahrump Valley is sponsoring in recognition of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The forum is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Nye County Commission Chambers, 2100 E. Walt Williams Drive. The two-hour discussion will kick off at 1 p.m. and is open to everyone, free of charge.

“Want to learn more about what is being done locally to help victims? Then please attend this free symposium we are hosting,” a post on the group’s Facebook page encourages.

Following the Human Trafficking Forum, the ladies of the local Soroptimist Club will then turn their attention to their biggest fundraiser of the year, Mardi Gras.

“The 2023 Soroptimist Int. Pahrump Valley Mardi Gras fundraiser is one you won’t want to miss!” the group assured. “Dinner, raffles, silent and live auctions, music, fun and our fabulous dessert dash. Make plans to join us.”

Set to begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, Mardi Gras will take place inside the Pahrump Nugget Events Center. Tickets are available now and can be reserved by sending an email to SIPVMembership@gmail.com

Bunco is another source of revenue for the Soroptimist Club, which hosts two bunco nights per year, the first of which takes place in March while the second is in October. “Join us for a game of Bunco, where you could just win some cool prizes!” information from the group’s website events calendar states. “Refreshments will be provided.”

For information regarding time, date and cost to participate in the Bunco nights, send a message to the aforementioned email.

The month of April will then see the Soroptimist International of Pahrump Valley’s Women’s Faire. Slated for Saturday, April 15 at the NyE Communities Coalition Activities Center, the Women’s Faire, “…targets women’s health and wellness as well as other women’s issues,” as detailed by Fitzgibbons. The event is free and open to anyone interested in stopping by.

The group’s next formal fundraiser of the year will take place in May at the picturesque setting of Sanders Family Winery. Billed as the Spring Fashion Show, the event will feature an array of ladies garbed in fashionable outfits strutting their stuff on the stage, along with a silent auction, pick-a-prize game and plenty of food.

Other Soroptimist programs

There’s even more to the local Soroptimist Club, with Fitzgibbons giving the Pahrump Valley Times a rundown of some of its other flagship programs.

“We have programs for women and girls’ education, and our Live Your Dream program is an award program that provides funding for head of household women to go to school,” Fitzgibbon summarized. “Our Dream It, Be It program is for high school girls and provides career support and the tools needed for education and career goals. There’s also our Ruby Award, for an outstanding woman in our community who gives to other organizations that help women and children. And we also have our Pink Flamingo Flocking year-round!

“We are a very active group and are always looking for opportunities to fulfill our vision of helping, ‘Women and girls to have the resources and opportunities to reach their full potential and live their dreams’,” Fitzgibbons continued. “If anyone is interested in learning more about Soroptimist, please contact our membership chair at SIPVMembership@gmail.com or call me at 775-764-1261.”

Soroptimist International of Pahrump Valley meets twice a month on the first and third Tuesdays of each month in room 31 at the NyE Communities Coalition campus.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com