Trenton Area Soroptimists' Annual Awards Banquet 2017

Photo from left: Stephanie Sutherland, Vanessa Estrelinha, Jessica Rudd, Colleen Rounsavall, Ellen Eston-Jacobs

Three women were given monetary awards for their ambition and contribution to society. The Soroptimist International of Trenton Area, which is a service organization of hard-working women dedicated to improving the physical, mental, and emotional health and lives of women and girls, each year recognizes special women in our area.

The Grand Event in Trenton was the venue for the annual awards banquet on March 28. The judges for the various awards, local professional and business people, evaluated each participant’s application based on set criteria and essays delineating their contribution to women and society. Attendees at the banquet were the award winners and their guests, the judges, and of course, the Trenton Soroptimists.

To qualify for the Soroptimist International of Trenton Area’s Soroptimist Prime award, a young woman who is attending high school in our five-city region must be actively helping to make her community and world a better place through volunteer efforts. The winner, Stephanie Sutherland, resides in Brownstown and is a senior at Riverview High School. Stephanie started a new organization called Cinderella’s Closet when she noticed that several girls felt left out from homecoming and prom dances because they could not afford the price of a new formal dress. She organized a shop located in her school’s library and solicited dress donations from the community. More than one hundred different dresses were available to the forty girls who took advantage of Cinderella’s Closet. Older styles were then donated to the Salvation Army.

The Virginia Wagner Award is designated for women who are attending a college or university in pursuit of a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Judging is based on effort toward education, scholarship, extracurricular activities, and financial need. Livonia resident, Lauren Rudd, is a Western Michigan University freshman who hopes to pursue a career in business or criminology. Lauren worked during high school and is currently working to offset college costs with a goal to graduate debt-free. Her application has been forwarded to the Soroptimist District where the winner of each of the four districts in Midwestern Region will receive an additional grant. Lauren’s mother, Jessica, accepted on her behalf while she is in Kalamazoo attending classes.

The Live Your Dream award, formerly known as the Women’s Opportunity Award, assists women who have the primary financial responsibility for their families to obtain the skills, training, and education necessary to improve their employment status and standard of living for themselves and for their families. The award is appropriately renamed because it helps women who have faced economic and personal hardships to live their dreams. Vanessa Estrelinha of Windsor, Ontario, Canada received this award. Ms. Estrelinha had overcome many personal obstacles to pursue her dreams. Growing up with parents who were addicts and bipolar, she was a victim of regular physical and emotional abuse. Becoming a new mother to her daughter, Vanessa sought counseling and adopted a healthy lifestyle. In 2012, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, but she followed a holistic approach to manage her symptoms. Ms. Estrelinha will receive her degree in Fitness and Health Promotion from St. Clair College in April.

Two other women received special recognition for their contribution to our community. Cato Fashion’s Woodhaven manager, Colleen Rounsavall, and district manager, Chris Gauthier, regularly contribute new clothes to First Step, Vista Maria, and Chrysalis Boutique. Ellen Eston-Jacobs, Cato’s assistant manager, accepted the recognition for Ms. Gauthier.

If you are interested in Soroptimist membership, please contact us at trentonareasoroptimists@gmail.com or visit us on Facebook at Soroptimist Trenton, MI.

Pat Bryan, Soroptimist International of Trenton Area, Public Awareness/Awards Committee and Publicist