SITS News March 12, 2026

Published March 12, 2026

President Paula opened today’s beautiful meeting.

Invocation: Lydia’s invocation today: It is said in Buddhist teaching: We are all just one accident, one unexpected phone call, one diagnosis from a very different life. Stay humble, be grateful, don’t take anything for granted. Nothing good or bad is permanent.

Guests: None

Sunshine: Prayers and positive thoughts for all those affected by the Iran war. Healing thoughts for our Maria who has the flu.

Today’s Business Meeting was quite busy!

We received thank you notes from Vista Rise Collective, Bread and Broth, and Between Horses and Humans for our donations to their worthy causes.

We discussed our FUNdraising timelines.

April 1 at 7 AM, Tickets for our Mad Hatter Tea Party go on sale online! Don’t be “foolish” and miss the date.

We will start the online auction during the Mad Hatter Event and also pick the winner of the Vacation Raffle Drawings. You don’t have to be present to win!

The club received a copy of the proposed Policy and Procedures draft. Everyone has 2 weeks to look over the proposal and respond with concerns or changes. The Board will meet on April 1 and we will vote on the recommendation on April 9th at our Business meeting.

Next week we will have our yearly Award Ceremony at the STAR office in South Lake Tahoe. 2307 James Ave.

If you are bringing food, please arrive at 7 am. If you are attending, please arrive at 7:15, we have so many people to celebrate that we will need the entire hour from 7:30-8:30 so come early to get your breakfast and get settled.

We touched on the idea of a larger event for our fundraiser next year in honor of our 50th anniversary. Much more discussion will be done!

PLEASE CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING FOR DRUG STORE PROJECT THIS YEAR, MARCH 31st. Our club Sponsors this event and it needs our support. Contact Theresa to help. [email protected]

Welcome to our LATEST SPONSORS!

Special Thank you to the following new sponsors for SITS! We appreciate each and everyone of you!

Club Sponsors for 2026 include Paul & Cookie Rork, El Dorado Savings Bank, and Coldwell Banker Select Real Estate!

Event Sponsor for 2026 now includes Kerry & Wendy David!

Let’s keep them coming everyone! We can provide for our community based on all the funds and support we receive. We are partners in strengthening our community and the world!

Our fundraising is in full swing! Partner with us in any way you can as together we work to enhance the lives of women and youth in our community and around the world.

• Become a Club or Event Sponsor! This can be a business or an individual. Look to the column at your right who has joined us so far!
• Purchase a Vacation Stay Raffle Tickets. See a member to email our team at [email protected]. We have two separate raffles and we will sell only 200 tickets for each opportunity, so your odds are great! One raffle is for a beautiful condo stay at Maui Kamaole in Kihei, Maui! It is generously donated by Jean Bergner and Cookie Rork.The second raffle opportunity is an “Anywhere in the World” Timeshare, and we mean it! the winner will select from a timeshare exchange such as RCI or Interval International and choose a timeshare wherever they want to play.
• Attend our Mad Hatter Tea Party at Valhalla Tahoe on May 17, 2026. Tickets and details to follow soon.
• Donate items or register to bid on Our Annual Online Auction!

COMMITTEE HAPPENINGS

We’re a busy group!

• Fundraising/ONLINE AUCTION is key to the funds we provide back into our community through scholarships, books, life essentials, and so much more. Members who requested specific donors were given their hard copy letters. We have more donation requests that need a member for follow up, so please contact. [email protected] to help out!
• Fundraising/VaCa Stay Raffle! Thanks to the Bergners, Prestellas, and Rorks, we again have the opportunity to sell vacation stay raffle tickets as a big part of our fundraising. Tickets will be $50 each and only 200 will be sold for either an “Anywhere in the World” timeshare (thanks Jeanne), or a beautiful condo on Maui (thanks Cookie and Jean). Selling all tickets can net our club $20,000 for the work that we do in the community. Two lucky winners will be drawn at our Mad Hatter event at Valhalla on May 17!.
• Donations are already coming in! Go to Sits2026.org to view or donate items.

• Dream it be It: Over the past couple weeks, members of SITSters at LTCC, Girls Group at Mt. Tallac and the S club at STHS have made St. Patrick’s Day inspired favors for Meals on Wheel and other community groups to brighten their day. These groups are supported by SITS with funding and member participation through the Dream it Be it committee. See photos below.

• HWHW (Healthy Women/Healthy World) is organizing a Monthly Movement series. Each will take place following our business meetings around 9 am. Join us and bring a friend! Save the dates and let’s move!

1. Today, Mar. 12 we took a beautiful 1 hour walk around the trails near the community college. See the photo below!
2. Apr. 9, May 14, and June 11….activities will be announced.

• Technology Committee continues to be available to our ladies to learn more about our google account, our mail, and whatever else you need to help you be more efficient. Technology isn’t a fad, so get the amazing assistance that you need! Get a hold of one of the ladies at [email protected]

SITS Member Reminders

Quarterly Member Dues for Jan-March and Happy Dollars: These funds are how we pay for our overhead expenses, so they are very important. Thanks to our Tech team and Treasurers, we continue to evolve into the most efficient payment and accounting methods. Use THIS LINK or QR Code to PAY YOUR WEEKLY, QUARTERLY, or YEARLY DUES AND HAPPY DOLLARS! *Be sure to use the drop down menu on the service charge and click “Other”, then type in “0”. You will not pay a service fee in doing this.

SITS Committee Signups~ Go to our signup listing site for this year of fun committee options here!

NEWS team signups are here!

Our Soroptimist apparel line is ready for purchase! Liz Prestella’s Torq’d clothing line for women is our supporter of this endeavor. Members and appreciators of SITS are now able to purchase apparel and items from her website. See what items are offered and to order go here. Thank you to the SITS team and to Torq’d for all of the hard work.

SOROPTIMIST CONFERENCES!

• SNR conference celebrating 50 years from June 5-7, 2026, in Reno.
• Biennial Soroptimist International conference will be held in Incheon, South Korea from July 22-25, 2026.

NON-SITS

Fun and Opportunities in Tahoe

There’s actually so much going on so you’re going to want to check out the EVENTS tab on www.southtahoenow.com, but here’s a few to get you started!

This is the 39th Season of Tahoe Arts Project!

Living Voices-“Our Revolution” will be presented in our LTUSD schools March 23-27, 2026, with an evening Community Presentation at LTCC on Wednesday, March 25, 2025, hosted by the Lake Tahoe Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution in collaboration with TAP and LTCC.

Encompass Youth was the spotlighted organization at the Tahoe Knight Monsters Hockey Game on March 11th at 7:00 PM, and earned a percentage of ticket sales. Thank you for all who supported this worthy cause and had fun watching our team WIN!!!! Plus it was Pucks and Paws night so lots of doggies were around.

Sierra Nevada Alliance, in partnership with The League to Save Lake Tahoe, invites you to join upcoming community litter cleanups and get connected with future volunteer opportunities!

Cleanup Dates:

•  March 27
•  April 6

These cleanups will take place along Fallen Leaf Lake Rd in South Lake Tahoe, with time permitting to cover nearby Kiva Beach. The data gathered from these events directly supports local litter-reduction solutions — like the plastic water bottle ban and the installation of cigarette butt containers at popular recreation sites.

???? Register for a cleanup and learn more

(You’ll be redirected to The League’s volunteer page to create an account and sign a waiver.)

And if you’d like to hear about more ways to get involved — from restoration projects to community events and education efforts — join our Sierra Nevada Alliance Volunteer List!

???? Sign up here to stay in the loop

Have any questions? Contact Shannon Flynn at [email protected].

Thank you for helping keep Tahoe clean and our Sierra community strong — we can’t do it without you!

Tahoe Alliance for Safe Kids is working with the schools to promote bike safety and also to come up with new rules for school cell phone use.

Drug Store Project: This year’s date is March 31st. Volunteers from the community are needed! Email Theresa at [email protected] if interested.

Community Safety Tidbit: South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue is linked into a program purchased by El Dorado County. It’s the SMART911 program. Go https://ready.edso.org and create an account. Emergency services can gain important information on your home and who is in it as they are responding. You can provide as much or as little information as you want. Things like an elderly parent, pets, family members, Oxygen tanks in the home, etc., help first responders help you. Please take the time to check it out and SHARE.

Vista Rise Collective (previously Live Violence Free) is always looking for volunteers. There are many opportunities, for both direct and indirect services. Cash donations are always welcome, but every Tuesday they accept non cash donations such as furniture, clothing, etc. For more information about volunteering, donations and/or services provided click here.

PETAL KINDNESS is a non-profit organization that rescues flowers to uplift others and helps divert green waste from landfills. They are in desperate need of vases. Drop them off at 2941 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Leave behind wooden pallet wall.

Petal Kindness rescues these flowers from the landfill and provides them to non-profits, hospitals, senior centers, and community-based organizations to bring comfort, joy, and healing to our local community members. Donations and volunteers are always needed!

Blood donations are desperately needed . Please see details here and make your appointment today!

Looking for up to date resources in our community? Barton Health has a list for all of us and it is actively updated! SHARE this link with others!

ALL YEAR LONG!

LTCC Basic Needs Center is looking for food donations. A variety of foods and basic need items are on the list. Click here for full list and drop off details

If you’d like to donate through our club, please bring your donations to the monthly business meeting and Lisa C. or Andie will make sure they are delivered to the college. Please include an estimate on the value as LTCC needs to keep records of that information.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue has a quarterly newsletter to keep us all updated on fire safety info. Their goal is to help people learn about the fuels reduction products they are working on, seasonal fire safety info and other fire dept related news. Click here to sign up for the newsletter

Saint Joseph Community Land Trust has changed their Motel to Home (MTH) program from a loan program to a grant program and we’re hoping this will attract families living in substandard housing, who would like to live in a more permanent and adequate home. Please click here for more details

Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless seeks community support in keeping people cared for.

Our South Shore community has been able to sleep better knowing that our homeless population has an indoor option. This winter season marked the 10th anniversary of the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) providing warm beds to the most vulnerable in our community.

The office hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 12-4 at the Red Lodge, 1137 Emerald Bay Rd.

More details here

Between Horses and Humans continues to grow! If you’re a lover of youth and a lover of horses, this is a program for you! You can keep up on their information by reading their newsletters here! Volunteers and donations are always needed. BHH Update-they are soon relocating to the Amacker Ranch!

Food Assistance Guide for So. Lake Tahoe. If you know of anyone in need, please share this information. Click and print!