Soroptimist International of Seaford Supports Growth of Girls

One of the major goals of Soroptimist International of Seaford is to promote and encourage the growth and well-being of girls and women through monetary donations as well as service. At the April 7, 2010, meeting, SI of Seaford had the opportunity to meet some of these girls whom the organization has been supporting.

SI of Seaford helps to fund the SMART (Skills Mastery Arts Resistance Traning) Girls, a national program at the Boys and Girls Club in Seaford which is designed to help young girls make better decisions in life. The SMART girls meet weekly, and, once a month, Soroptimist members Jane Drace and Linda Hollis attend their meeting and lead the girls in activities and discussions promoting a healthy lifestyle. In March they took the girls to the new Seaford Library and Cultural Center to find books related to this topic, including cook books with healthy recipes.

On April 13, Soroptimist members will attend the SMART Girls meeting and help them cook some of these recipes. In May SI of Seaford will help the girls host a tea. This year’s SMART Girls, under the leadership of Allison Rowe, Education Director, range in age from six to nine.

SI of Seaford also provides funding for the annual conference of Teens in Perspecitve, Inc.which provides mentoring and counseling services to low to mid-income teens across Delaware. Founded in 2004, TIP is a leadership development program for motivated teenage female students ages thirteen to eighteen. “Compassion, hope and faith are the building blocks upon which TIP programs and services to young girls are built,” according to Val Harris, social worker and director of TIP. Harris says the program strives to create leaders who give back to their community.

SI of Seaford received TIP’s Obama Community Service Award at the annual conference held in March of this year.

"Worst Recessions have the Best Recoveries"

On January 6, 2010, Chris Vane and Don Birch of Morgan Stanley spoke to Soroptimist International of Seaford about investment strategies.

Birch began by encouraging members that “the worst recessions have the best recoveries.” He advised members that getting back into the stock market is very important, but it is crucial to diversify investments in order to stay ahead of possible inflation. They recommended that people still working need to “save a lot more than anybody has ever told you,” while cautioning current retirees to be more frugal than they may have anticipated.

Vane and Birch cited the Roth IRA as being highly beneficial for all age groups now more than ever in order to allow an investment to grow tax free.