SIKC offers several awards ranging in amounts from $250-3,000. For more information about this financial opportunity through SIKC that benefits head of household women actively engaged in career training, email Marie Parker, the LYD Chair, at LYD@KCSoroptimist.org and visit the SIA LYD website.
“Receiving this award has given me confidence. It gave me the confidence to go forward and write my law school application personal statements with complete candor. I took so much from my community while in active addiction that this is a way for me to make amends and be a role model for my daughter and other women.”
– USA Recipient
SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL OF THE AMERICAS, Inc.®
NEWS RELEASE: Soroptimist International of Kansas City is providing grants to qualified women applicants who are the primary providers and are seeking financial assistance for educational or training expenses to better their lives.
Application timeline: August 1 – November 15, 2025
Women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families and seek financial assistance and are enrolled in or have been accepted to a vocational/skills training or an undergraduate degree program can now apply for the Soroptimist Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women. Applications are available at: http://bit.ly/lyda-apply or by contacting Marie Parker at: lyd@kcsoroptimist.org. The application deadline is November 15, 2025.
Soroptimist International of Kansas City will provide awards up to $3,500 to its award recipients, who will then advance to the Soroptimist Region level, where recipients could receive up to an additional $5,000. The program culminates in three $10,000 awards for the finalists.
Recipients can use the Live Your Dream Award to offset costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education or additional skills and training. This includes tuition, books, childcare, transportation, or any other education-related expense.
The Live Your Dream Award provides over $3 million in cash awards to head-of-household women in need each year. Since the program’s inception in 1972, more than $40 million has helped tens of thousands of women achieve their dreams of a better life for themselves and their families. A study conducted by The Fels Institute of Government, a research and consulting organization based at the University of Pennsylvania, confirmed the efficacy and impact of this program. It improves the recipients’ quality of life; builds their confidence; strengthens their self-determination and makes them want to, in turn, help others. Helping women in this way has the demonstrated effect of leading to stronger communities, nations, and the world.
Founded in 1926, Soroptimist International of Kansas City club is part of Soroptimist International of the Americas, a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. Soroptimist, a 501(c)(3) organization that relies on charitable donations to support its programs, also powers LiveYourDream.org—an online community offering offline volunteer opportunities in support of women and girls.
For more information about how Soroptimist improves the lives of women and girls, visit www.soroptimist.org. For more information about becoming a member of the Soroptimist International of Kansas City, visit https://www.kcsoroptimist.org/about-us/why-join/.