2026 Live Your Dream Awards
Meet this years recipients
Soroptimist Raleigh: Empowering Girls & Women
Soroptimist Raleigh is a local club of Soroptimist International. Soroptimist is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. The name, Soroptimist, means “best for women,” and that’s what the organization strives to achieve. Soroptimists are women at their best, working to help other women to be their best. Our Dream programs are at the heart of what we do.
Our Programs
Live Your Dream
This award aids women who are the primary wage earners for their families and are seeking to improve their economic status by gaining additional skills, training and education.
Live Your Dream Plus
In our “Live Your Dream Plus” program we follow up with our awardees for up to three years, mentoring them to afford ongoing support both non-financial as well as financial.
Dream It Be It
Dream It Be It targets girls in secondary school who face obstacles to their future success. It provides girls with access to professional role models, career education and the resources to live their dreams.
Real Stories
These are the real stories of recipients of the Live Your Dream Awards. We hope they will encourage you to take the steps to achieve your dreams, big or small.
Latisha – 2021 Live Your Dream Awardee
Latisha is working to obtain her Associate of Science Degree in Medical Administration from Gwinnett College in November 2021. She sees this as a first step towards her goal of becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Latisha was raised by her grandmother as her own...
Lyndsay – 2020 Live Your Dream Awardee
Lyndsay will graduate from the University of North Carolina, Pembroke with her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology in December 2020. With this degree, she can become a supervisor in the Peer Support field where she currently works as a certified Career Support Specialist....
Shameda – 2020 Live Your Dream Awardee
Shameda’s passion has always been serving and caring for the underserved population. She will complete her current program at Durham Technical Community College in May. After passing the exam to become a Registered Nurse, she will seek work on a Labor and Delivery...
News and Events
SIA 48th Biennial Convention
In July, Soroptimist Raleigh members Carolyn Skowron and Lashonda White traveled to Bellevue, Wash., for the Soroptimist International of the Americas (SIA) 48th Biennial Convention. The inspiring event brought together nearly 700 members representing 360 Soroptimist...
Summer PuzzleMania Raises Over $9,500!
Last Saturday we held our 6th PuzzleMania fundraiser and this was a record-breaking one! With the help of our puzzlers and corporate sponsors, we were able to raise over $9,500 for our Dream programs which support women and girls in the Triangle. It was great to see...
Live Your Dream Awardee Earns Master’s Degree
Pictured above: Shanetta Edwards, middle, with her children, Amaranth, left, and Brantley, right. Congratulations to Shanetta Edwards (aka Chef Netta), a 2021 Live Your Dream Award recipient, for earning her Master's Degree in Nutrition Science from Meredith College....