Last Thursday I had the distinct pleasure of attending a meeting of the Sno-King Soroptimists club. Though I have found as I have talked to others, no one in my peer group has ever heard of the Soroptimists or that great work that they do.

Well, Soroptimist is an international organization that strives to bring together women who can act as a global voice for women through advocacy, awareness raising and community service. Soroptimist was founded in 1921 in Oakland, CA and comes from the latin words soror and optima and thus is loosely translated as meaning: "Best for Women."

Similar to the more well-known service clubs, members meet regularly often over lunch or in the evening. The club I visited meets at Noon the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month at the Spaghetti Factory in Lynnwood. They meet to catch up, share in a meal, learn from guests speakers, and plan for service projects.

Upcoming for all local Soroptimists groups is their selection of recipients for their annual scholarships. This includes the Women's Opportunity Award, a scholarship meant to offset the costs of higher education for women who are the primary financial support of their families. Many of the recipients are those who have overcome tremendous obstacles such as poverty, domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse.

Local clubs also recognize girls for making a difference in their communities through the Violet Richardson Award. Girls ages 14-17 are eligible for this competitive prize which awards scholarship funds on the basis of achievements in service to the community in efforts such as mentoring and supporting other girls and working with organizations that help fight poverty and discrimination.

In addition to their work locally volunteering, supporting causes and providing scholarships I was impressed by the level of education club members receive about international health and human rights issues affecting women and thus how they can go from there to educate others. One such is issue is sex trafficking and slavery. Soroptimist International kicked off this awareness raising campaign on December 2, 2007, which is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. This campaign officially launched in the US on January 11, 2008 with the first ever National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness. You can read much more about this important issue here on the Soroptimist website.

What also is interesting to note is just what role do service clubs like these play in our society today? In my work raising awareness for Big Brothers Big Sisters I find myself at a lot of meetings of service clubs such as the Soroptimists, Rotary, Knights of Columbus and Kiwanis. I have seen universally an "older" member base and heard people talking about decreasing numbers. This experience overall got me thinking of the book "Bowling Alone" by Robert Putnam. It chronicles how people have become increasingly disconnected from their community and much less likely to belong to organizations that meet regularly such as the service clubs I mentioned.

I know only what I see here through out King County, and don't get me wrong you can still find one, if not two or three, clubs of each kind in many cities. But will us Generation Y-ers who are used to making connections via the internet be willing and able to carry these long-standing groups past the baby boomer dominance? I for one think it will be interesting to see where they go and what they become because they all serve an important role in our communities through their local and international service.

For a sample:

Click to here learn more about Rotary International whose philosophy is "Service Above Self"

Click here to learn more Kiwanis, whose focus is "Serving the Children of the World"