In 1982, soon after chartering, S. I. Big Bear Valley researched the domestic violence problem in the Big Bear Valley and chose Domestic Violence as its first major service project.  After appropriate training, the club started it’s own 24-hour hotline to help victims of domestic violence.  The budget was $50.  Because the program grew so large, the Soroptimist club offered the project to the community within three years.  In 1985, a board of directors was recruited and a separate 501(c)(3) organization was formed.  DOVES is the Domestic Violence service provider for San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California.  It is now largely supported by state and federal grants, besides having its own fundraising program.  DOVES as the first shelter-based agency to write and implement a six-month therapeutic and education program for shelter residents.  Other shelters in San Bernardino County have now implemented this program model.  In addition to its shelter, DOVES operates an Outreach Center in Big Bear Lake and Crestline.  S. I. of Big Bear Valley continues to support DOVES through our annual donation, which was increased this year, and five club members serve on their board.  This is a great opportunity to assist another organization helping women in the community.

The club provides funding and other support for women and children living in Faith House, a transitional home for victims of domestic violence.  S. I. Valley of the Sun donates funds and provides gift certificates for residents to shop at the Soroptimist Thrift Shop so that they can prepare themselves to re-enter society and seek employment.

The club has adopted the Progressive Women's Association rescue shelter for women who have become victims of so called "Honor Killings" in Islamabad, Pakistan.  The shelter provides a haven for women and girls who are injured by burning, mutilation and acid attacks by members of their families or tribe.  The club has raised and provided funds for the shelter.  Shahnaz Bukhari, the director of the Progressive Women's Association shelter is expected to be making a speaking tour of California and Arizona next year. She will be presenting her plea for funding to establish a more permanent home for the shelter.  It is also her intention to create a burn center for these victims.  Often she finds these women in hospitals too  afraid to treat them.  They lie in squalid conditions, untreated and dying.  Rejected by their families for transgressions asserted by males members, often mandated by fanatic clerics, they are punished or killed.  If they survive the attack, they have no where to go.  Shahnaz offers a "safe haven" for these victims often at risk of her own life. Link to PWA web site:  www.pwaisbd.org to read the full story.
Now, because of the recent earthquake in northern Pakistan, PWA is offering assistance to the women and girls who have been left as amputees.  Often they are not welcomed back to their families for they can no longer do the work they once did.  (Recently Shahnaz was featured on the NBC News broadcast of the fate of a women who was gang raped at the behest of  tribal leaders as punishment for her brother who was accused of having relations with a women.  After petitioning the courts many times, the perpetrators were finally jailed.)   

The club provided tuition funds for a young wife to complete her last year of nursing training.  The family was experiencing severe financial problems that threatened her ability to remain in school.  As a result, the young woman graduated from nursing school with an excellent grade point average and is now gainfully employed in her chosen profession.

The club hosted a tour of Peoria City Hall for Charlae’s House residents, a registered group home for girls who have been removed from their families. The purpose was to show the girls what goes on in their city and to expose them to successful women in a variety of occupations.  There was a “photo op” with the Mayor and their City Council representative, a tour of city facilities with the Deputy City Manager (a Soroptimist) and Soroptimist members, a meeting with the Police Department Public Relations Director and several members of her team, a tour of the jail and the IT department, and an opportunity to learn about the professions of the tour participants. 

The club partnered with S. I. of the Arizona Peaks to donate service project funds to an American Cancer Society
Support Group that helps women going through treatment.  The funds are used to provide, free of charge, wigs, prosthetic bras, gas cards, knit caps, and lodging for women from throughout northern Arizona who have to travel to Flagstaff for treatment.

La Paz County Health Department [Arizona] offers free mammograms to women over 50; but if any of their findings are
suspect or inconclusive, they do not have the funding to go any further to diagnose.  The club deposited $1,000 in their
account for just this purpose.  A separate accounting is kept for these funds; so that, if more are needed, they will send
 he club a written request.  Once a year they report progress to the club.

The club partnered with the local hospital to sponsor a Saturday morning Women’s Wellness Fair.  The Fair offered
free blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, asthma checks, physician question and answer sessions,
chiropractic and massage, mental health screenings, self-defense demonstrations, car-seat safety checks, and
bone-density checks.  It was attended by approximately 150 women.