Soroptimist International of Raleigh partnered with The Salvation Army Center of Hope to provide three Dream It, Be It workshops for women staying at the family shelter this spring.
The Center of Hope program supports women and their children experiencing homelessness by helping families secure permanent housing while meeting immediate shelter needs. Through this partnership, Soroptimist members facilitated workshops designed to encourage personal growth, resilience, and planning for the future.
The workshops were held on April 27, April 30, and May 4, 2026, from 6:30–8:00 p.m., under the theme:
My Present, My Future, My Plan.
A total of 14 women participated in the program over the course of the three days, with four women attending every session. Soroptimist members planning and facilitating the program included Roxanne Aaron, Traci Haas-Thompson, Betsy Miller, Jaclyn Reinhart, and Mary Woodard. The Dream It, Be It Committee especially thanks Tara Ayers, a Licensed Professional Counselor, who facilitated the first workshop on rising above obstacles.
Over the course of the three days, the committee presented three workshops using the Dream It, Be It curriculum. On April 27, Tara Ayers presented on the topic, “Rising Above Obstacles.” Ayers walked the participants through several exercises wherein they identified common obstacles in life, obstacles that they have faced themselves, techniques to overcome such obstacles, and outlets for managing stress related to the presence of obstacles in their lives. Ayers held a contest for the participants to describe a stress-relief activity for each letter of the alphabet, and the participant who identified the most stress relievers won a free counseling session with Ayers, herself. Following the session, each participant received a raffle ticket which, if they presented at the second session, would give them a chance to win a special prize at the second session. This incentivized participants to attend the following workshop.
On April 30, Jaclyn Reinhart presented on the topic, “Creating Achievable Goals.” Reinhart taught the participants about the characteristics of “SMART” goals—that goals be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Ensuring that goals satisfy these criteria makes it far more likely that such goals will be achieved. Reinhart then separated the participants into small groups and the Dream It, Be It Committee facilitators worked with each participant on personal goal-setting, and assisting the participants to break down their larger goals into bite-sized, achievable pieces. The majority of participants had goals related to independent living, completing school, or taking the next step in their career. The committee members drew for the raffle from the tickets provided at the previous session. Participants were reminded that if they attended all three sessions, they would be eligible for a raffle to win a Chromebook, which further incentivized participants to return.
On May 4, Mary Woodard presented the final topic, “Balancing Stress.” Woodard presented on how stress and mental-health challenges can make it difficult to overcome obstacles and achieve dreams. She reviewed causes of stress, physical and mental manifestations of stress, and identified both healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms for handling stress. The program concluded with a yarn activity where the participants stood in a circle and each described their dream before throwing the ball of yarn to another participant. In the end, everyone’s piece of the yarn was interconnected, symbolizing the connectedness between all of us and how we can rely on and support each other in achieving our dreams. Finally, the committee drew for a laptop, which was won by a participant named Jodi. She was grateful for the laptop as it will help her continue with her next step of securing long-term employment.
