Legacy Scholarships Honor Two Borrego Soroptimists

Tuesday evening, June 9th was this year’s Borrego Springs High School annual Awards Night  ceremony that took place at the high school gym. The event is always well-attended by students  and their families, and this year was no exception. 

In attendance also were several local philanthropic groups that were there to award scholarships  to the many deserving graduating senior students in the crowd. One such group was Soroptimist  International of Borrego Springs (“the Club”), represented that evening by Sally Theriault,  former President of the Club, and Jenny Huntley, Treasurer.

Soroptimists in Borrego Springs champion education for women and girls through several  programs, but its main focus has for many years been providing scholarships to local Borrego  Springs High School graduating senior girls. This year, thanks as always to the generosity of so  many wonderful donors, this group was pleased to give out two Ruth Hoosier 4-year  scholarships and four Arlene Oakes Community College-Vocational Scholarships for a grand  total of $9,000 this initial college year (and the guarantee of additional funds awarded as students  continue their college pursuits as long as they prove upcoming college attendance and provide  grade transcripts that meet requirements). 

Ruth Hoosier Memorial Scholarship

The Ruth Hoosier Memorial Scholarship is a four-year scholarship, awarded $1,500 per year for  a total of $6,000 (an increase from prior years). Applicants must be female graduating students  from Borrego Springs High School who are attending an accredited four-year college or university. Ruth Hoosier was a founding member of Soroptimist International of Borrego Springs in 1962. She and her husband owned and operated a women’s clothing store in The Mall  until the early 1990’s. Ruth was very involved in her community and Soroptimist, where she  chaired the annual fashion show. Upon her death, Ruth’s family contributed money for a  scholarship in her memory. 

More information can be found at: Ruth Hoosier Memorial Scholarship — Soroptimist Of Borrego  Springs 

Arlene Oakes Community College-Vocational Scholarship

The Arlene Oakes Community College-Vocational Scholarship provides $1,500 per year for up  to 2 years of a community college or vocational program, which must be used within 3 years of  graduating Borrego Springs High School. Arlene was a member of Soroptimist International for many decades, and an invaluable member of the local club. She was a passionate advocate for  students, and upon her passing, her family contributed ongoing funding to the Scholarship Fund. More information can be found at: Awards and Scholarships — Soroptimist Of Borrego Springs 

The Continuing Education Scholarship provides $1,500 per year for up to 4 years of a 4-year college; or $1,500 per year for up to 2 years of community college or vocational school for women who wish to continue their education. More information can be found at at: Continuing  Education Scholarship — Soroptimist Of Borrego Springs 

Your Donations Help Support Local Women

The Club’s scholarships are made possible by donations it receives from various donors throughout the country who have a connection to our small community. As such, most of them  understand the special hardships faced by local young women as they try to make their way  beyond high school to pursue a promising career path through higher education. These donors would have been proud to see the results of their generosity in the smiling faces of the  scholarship recipients on the evening of June 9th. 

The Club also funds its scholarship by raising donations through fundraisers its many volunteers  work diligently on throughout each year.

These include: 

• Its local phone book directory (the “Blue Book”). This directory used to be an annual  publication but is now being published every 2 years. The Blue Book includes both  residential listings (white pages) and business listings by categories (yellow pages),  which are both FREE to the listers. Club volunteers have been busy over the past month  and a half calling residents and businesses to update their listings. The Club raises  donations through its sales of the books, and also by selling ads from businesses who  want more attention drawn to themselves. Paid ads run from business card size to full page color ads. The books and the ads are priced reasonably so are affordable and are a  great local resource. Ad sales are open now through June 30th, so don’t miss out! For  more information, please follow this link: Borrego Springs Local Services | Facebook.  The upcoming edition will be for 2026-2027 and is expected to be ready for Borrego  Days in October, so make plans to pick yours up at the Soroptimist booth. 

• Hawaiian Shirt Sale. This is a fun event that is usually held in early Spring. Volunteers  dress up in Hawaiian dresses and leis while selling gently-used Hawaiian shirts that are  reasonably priced. The last event was held outside at The Mall, and the Club is planning  on holding another event next February. Be on the lookout for the Club’s sign letting you  know they are there. The Club also accepts gently used Hawaiian shirt donations to re sell at future fundraisers. 

• Annual “Circle of Art.” This is the community's oldest non-profit fundraiser and has been  taking place since 1989. On the second weekend of March, Borrego Springs comes alive with creativity as it hosts the Circle of Art at Christmas Circle. Each year, up to 50 artists  are carefully selected to participate in the show. Circle of Art features a wide variety of  artistic media, including oil and watercolor painting, photography, sculpture, pottery,  weaving, mixed media, and jewelry. This popular outdoor juried art show is free and  open to the public, welcoming residents and visitors alike to enjoy art in a relaxed desert  setting. The Club earns donations via the artist’s fees and a percentage of their sales, and  for the 2027 event, will also be accepting sponsorships. The 2027 event is scheduled for  the weekend of March 13th and 14th. Interested artists can find more information and sign  up with the ZAPP application at this link: ZAPP - Event Information - Circle of Art 2027. 

• Annual “Toast to Borrego” wine tasting fundraiser, This event has been getting residents  and out-of-town guests in the holiday spirit in early December for what is about to  become its 5th consecutive year. The Club raises donations via ticket sales, sponsorships,  donated gift basket raffles and donated special items auctions. The popular “themed” gift  basket raffle is made possible by the donations of time, creative efforts and money of so  many of the Club’s volunteers. Club members usually begin coming up with their themes  and start planning their baskets as early as late Summer. This event also includes unique  auctioned-off special prizes like special “experiences,” tickets to events like the Zoo or  the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, etc. The event is always festive, with wines from  popular local wine broker Kimberly Jones, who also donates some of her wines to the  event, plus beautiful music which has in past years been provided by local musician Steve Hunter, a highly regarded pianist, composer, and musical director whom we are  fortunate to have living here in Borrego Springs. For more information about Steve  Hunter, follow this link: Steve T Hunter. Last year, the Club was also honored to have  Martha Deichler, former principal of Borrego Springs Elementary School and later  Borrego Springs Unified School District Superintendent, help with the auction process.

This is also a fun event for Club volunteers. Almost all Club members help in some way  to put on this event. Some show up early to set up, while others work as pourers behind  the wine bar and at the non-alcoholic drink station, help at the food stations, run  appetizers from the kitchen to the event floor, sit at the entrance tables, help park cars,  help basket winners to their cars with their prizes, and stay late to clean up. Tickets to this  year’s event are not yet on sale but the date has been set for Saturday, December 12th, so  mark your calendars! The following link leads to more information and pictures from last  year’s event: Toast to Borrego | 4th Annual Fundraiser — Soroptimist Of Borrego  Springs). 

Four-year and two-year scholarship applications are available through the Borrego  Springs High School during the Spring, while the Continuing Education scholarships are  available all year. 

Donations can be made to Soroptimist International of Borrego Springs via: 

• Zeffy. Use the official Soroptimist of Borrego Springs website to securely process your  zero-fee contributions. Zeffy ensures 100% of your funds go directly to local programs  supporting women and girls. 

• For direct community donations, the Club also manages membership payments and  specific event ticketing through their custom Zeffy Member Page. 

• If preferring to make a donation by mail, please make check out to “SI Borrego Springs”  mail a check to: Soroptimist International of Borrego Springs (or “SI Borrego Springs”) P.O. Box 504 Borrego Springs, CA 92004 

The Club wishes to thank its many donors for their generosity, and it looks forward to  being able to continue its scholarship program for many years to come!