VIRGINIA â This is a milestone year â both locally and globally â for the volunteer organization known as Soroptimist.
The Virginia Soroptimist Club, the only remaining one in northeastern Minnesota, is celebrating its 65th anniversary of helping to improve the lives of women and girls in the community â something it has been doing since it was chartered in 1956.
Soroptimist International, formed in 1921 in Oakland, California, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Launched at a time when until then women were not permitted to join service organizations, the global entity now has about 160,000 members and supporters in 21 countries and territories worldwide.
While most people have heard of the Soroptimist organization, many are not exactly sure what it does, say members of the Virginia club, who range in age from 30 to 90.