Join Our Club!

Become a Soroptimist

Are you ready to help improve the lives of women and girls in our community? 

Take action and join our club to help those in Upper Montgomery County Maryland!

In Club year 2018-2019, SIUMC gained 8 new members representing more than 20% membership growth. The new member demographic of recent retirees and women still working made Membership Retention a top priority. To facilitate the integration of these new members into our club and enhance the membership experience of all club members, we not only continued with our monthly hands-on project in addition to our monthly Business Dinner Meeting but we applied for and received a grant to provide our two 8 week Dream It Be It: Career Support for Girls program to a second high school-Quince Orchard High School (QOHS). The QOHS grant opened up the opportunity for 10 more members to participate in the DIBI program. The QOHS DIBI program was scheduled to be given lunch time on Fridays which did provide a window for our working members to also participate in DIBI.
Johann Dretchen
Dream It Be It Regional Chair, former SIUMC Club President

Being a Member

Expectations

We know our members have different time-constraints and obligations.  Our Club activities provide flexibility based on schedules and skills. Our wide variety of activities allows something for everyone. You don’t have to do it all!

"After attending my first gala with the Soroptimist I knew I wanted to be a part of this group. I love everything about their mission - empowering young girls and women, and providing the resources to allow them to become their best selves. I love the outreach on such a local level and the Dream It Be It program is amazing. I also love that I get to share my gifts (particularly cooking) with Rainbow Place and the monthly community outreach programs - Comfort cases, Nourish Now, and so many others. This is a group of loving caring women whom I am honored to be a part of."
Lori Kirkland

Being a Member

COVID-19 Impacts

We have remained active during COVID-19, holding meetings, events, and Dream It Be It all online.  With some members still uncomfortable getting together in person, we have been able to go to a hybrid method to meet, both on Zoom and in-person. We have established some activities to keep members engaged including a book club, crafting to uplift the needy and elderly, and cooking for Rainbow Place.  We have resumed in-person volunteering, working with groups to have only our people there and wearing masks.

Being a Member

Financial Requirements

Each club member is expected to pay annual club dues. Since we are a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, dues are tax deductible. We ask each member to contribute to our annual auction which is our only big fundraiser for the year.

"As a newly retired person, I was looking for opportunities to give back to my community where I could witness first hand the positive effects of my volunteering. A friend introduced me to Soroptimist and I went to the Gala where I saw the wonderful results this club makes in the lives of women and girls. There were so many opportunities to give my time to different groups and organizations. I joined in June 2018 and spent a lot of my time participating as a mentor in the Dream In Be It program. These girls truly appreciated what we were doing to help them!"
Debbie Blair

Being a Member

Regular meetings

In normal times, our monthly business meeting is held at Il Porto Restaurant in Gaithersburg.  We have resumed these meetings and have adjusted the agenda to include Zoom access for members that cannot be in person. Our meeting briefly go over activities and needs and we typically host some excellent speakers.  Meetings are not mandatory but it gives us a chance to socialize and get to know newer members.

Get started on the membership process