So many of us live our lives in baby steps. Some have the courage to take a giant leap. We help those who have that courage.
If you are the primary financial support for your family; if you have been accepted into or are currently enrolled in a vocational/skills or undergraduate program; if you need financial help to continue your learning—you may qualify for the Live Your Dream grant program.
If you know a woman who is in this category, please let her know that we want to help. Click the link below for the application and reference forms. Annual deadline is November 15. Grant monies may be used for anything that supports the applicant’s efforts, including ferry tickets or electric bills!
Applications are now closed for 2025. Application will reopen in the Fall of 2025
2025 LYD Recipient Ashley
North Kitsap Soroptimist look forward to getting to know this year’s Live Your Dream award winner, Ashley. Ashley is currently enrolled at Olympic College, working on her prerequisites for the nursing program at Olympic College.
Her dream is to become a nurse on a psychiatric floor. “I would be able to give back to people in very similar places to where I have been. My ultimate goal is to be the light I wish I had on my darkest days.”
Ashley is currently working and maintaining her class load at Olympic College. Her position deals with young students who have multiple disabilities or behavioral struggles. While these students are not always the easiest to work with, a coworker says she shows determination, flexibility, and compassion, “showing up every day with a smile…, ready to make a difference.”
2024 LYD Recipient Kayla
My name is Kayla, a mother to two amazing children, and someone who continues to push for her dreams. My children are my world, and they are the reason I continue to fight for a better life! Six years ago, I was ‘unhoused’ living in a tent, in the middle of Tacoma, and on the verge of giving up. I have had to overcome adversity most of my life, but it has only made me who I am today. Today, I am currently in the RN program at Olympic College accomplishing goals I never thought were possible. I have been able to maintain a 3.9 overall GPA during prerequisites and the RN program, achieving the President’s list every quarter. Every single day I wake up I am grateful for where I am in life today. My main hope is to inspire others who are struggling and reinforce the idea that anything is possible. I want to become a nurse to advocate for the most vulnerable populations of people and make a change in my community. We have a lot of needs in our area that are being overlooked and I am here for that help and change. I would love to continue to pursue my dreams of becoming a nurse practitioner and possibly have a role in politics to make some real changes in the community regarding those suffering from SUD. I have a lot of big dreams and I am honored that I was chosen by the North Kitsap Soroptimist. We need to show each other kindness and continue to advocate for those who need us most!
2023 LYD Recipient Michelle
Michelle is a current student at UW Tacoma, studying to become a social worker,while a single mom of three young children all with special needs. Michelle was a foster parent and her children were adopted from foster care. Michelle’s experiences and challenges have only made her more devoted to helping other parents, foster parents and children deal with similar problems by obtaining her dream job.
2022 LYD Recipient Sandra
Sandra is a single mother with three children at home, and working toward a bachelor degree in social work, hoping to pay it forward to other families in need. Sandra is currently living here in Kitsap county and commutes to UW Tacoma.
She and her family “have been privileged to … transition out of homelessness and recovery from trauma.” Challenges of her long commute for classes and the strain it places on her car, along with sharing the one computer with her school age child add to the stress she deals with as a single mother.
With this award from North Kitsap Soroptimist hopefully the financial stress Sandra deals with will become more managable.