BURBANK – Women from all walks of life were honored on Tuesday, March 25, by Soroptimist International of The Verdugos (SITV) for being role models and trailblazers for women everywhere.
Young and old, students and professionals, survivors and advocates — these women were recognized for their work towards the betterment of society.
“March is International Women’s Month. So in celebration [of this occasion], we’re honoring and recognizing outstanding women and young women in the community [for] trying to make this world a better place and [for] helping women and young women in our community,” SITV President Edith Fuentes said to Asian Journal.
Seven individuals were honored in Tuesday’s ceremonies, which was held at Woodbury University in Burbank, California.
“Woodbury is proud to host this program,” said Woodbury University President Dr. Luis Calingo during his welcome remarks.
Calingo is one of three university presidents in the United States who are of Filipino descent.
Empowering women
Calingo (who is also the first Filipino to become the dean of an American business school) said that education is one of the most important meanest empower women with the knowledge, skills, and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in society.
“Education is important for everyone, but it is especially significant for women. This is true note only because education is an entry point to other opportunities, but also because the educational achievements of women can have ripple effects within the family and across generations,” Calingo said.
“At Woodbury University, we strive to empower people to do extraordinary things by teaching entrepreneurship, civic engagement, design thinking, and transdisciplinarity. The women we honor today are, by any measure, extraordinary,” Calingo further stated.
Debra Jean Collins, 51, was given the 2014 Woman of Courage “Ruby Award” for her work as a writer, motivational speaker, and inspiration to women, who face tremendous adversities and abuses in their lives.
Collins (who recovered from alcohol and crystal meth addiction) is now the author of her biopic, Crossing Over Boundaries — a firsthand account of her long journey through child abuse, self-destruction, recovery and self-discovery.
“I want to help organizations and help people heal. I want to help women and young women, especially anybody who’s gone through any type of abuse,” Collins told Asian Journal.
“The only way for us to ever grow and be more compassionate is to reach out and touch other people,” Collins added.
Alina Scott, a 17-year-old athlete-mentor and volunteer for the North Venice Little League was presented the “Violet Richardson Award” for overcoming the challenges of being an underdog athlete, and for inspiring young girls and women athletes to become true champions.
Holding back tears as she received her award, Scott said that it was “an incredible honor” to receive the Violet Richardson Award, and that she is very thankful for the recognition. She has been playing softball since she was 8 years old, but her coaches and people around her kept discouraging her and telling her that she wasn’t good enough.
“I just kept practicing, until I got better. By the time I was 12, I was able to show my old coaches, my dad, everyone else that I was able to play. And being in a sport, where boys think they’re better than you [isn’t the best.] So being able to show everyone that I can come back and be a champion makes me feel 110 times better,” Scott said.
Garnet E. Reyes, 24, was honored with the “Women’s Opportunity Award” for being a single mother who epitomizes the true meaning of what it means to be a survivor, a dreamer and a believer. A single mom with two little girls, Reyes works as a teacher’s assistant at Pasadena City College and is also a part-time college student.
“It’s an extreme honor,” Reyes said of the recognition. For Reyes, the award is a validation of her efforts as a parent and as a survivor who is trying to make her own positive mark in the world.
“Most of the time people don’t get [the] validation and recognition they deserve. In a sense [this recognition] makes me feel like I’m on the right path for my children, to give them a successful life that I didn’t have when I was young,” she said.
Reyes also said that as a single mom, she can serve as an example to her daughters and help them realize that they, too, can be successful on their own.
Reyes went on to say that she dreams of one day starting up her own nonprofit — one that helps “at risk” juveniles, especially young girls from Cypress Park.
“If I can stop at least one child, male or female, from joining a gang, it would [be] my success in life — because I’ve seen from firsthand experience that it’s a horrible life. They feel like when they join a gang, they have nobody [to help them], but they do have somebody. But they just need to know [that] and be guided to the right path,” Reyes added.
Other women honored by SITV included runners up for the respective categories. They were Catherine Yesayan (Ruby Award), Heather Abrams and Sarin Mousessian (Violet Richardson Award), and Rosa. Raudales (Women’s Opportunity Award).
Inspiring and making dreams happen
According to Fuentes, SITV has been doing these awards for a long time. In fact, the Women’s Opportunity Award started in 1972, as the “Training Awards Program.”
Fuentes said that the Women’s Opportunity Award recognizes single mothers and female heads of households, who are trying to get back into the workforce or into school so that they could better themselves and their families.
“They are women who have gone through challenges and some other difficulties in life. And a lot of them are domestic violence survivors, homeless, and [living in] poverty,” she said.
The Violet Richardson Award (named after Soroptimist International’s founder) is given to young women, who, at a very young age are already doing exemplary volunteer service to their communities.
The Ruby Award, meanwhile, is given to courageous women, who make a difference in the community by inspiring other women to also have courage and stand up against abuse, poverty, and other forms of adversity. According to Fuentes, Collins (who experienced incestuous abuse in the past) is a true woman of courage. Collins came out in the open and talked about the abuses she faced. She inspires other women in abusive situations to stand up and fight for themselves.
“Now she’s going out, speaking openly to the public about her experience, hoping she can save another woman from her pitfalls,” Fuentes said of Collins.
“That’s why we’re awarding some of these women. They have become role models and inspiration for young women and other women.”
“We are here to help them. We want them to be inspired, to aspire, and to make their dreams happen,” Fuentes added.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend March 29 -April 1, 2014 Sec A pg.9)
