From left, Rachel Miyoshi is the vice president-elect, Julie Meszaros is president-elect and Kathy Perry is the outgoing president of Soroptimist International of West Maui.

LAHAINA – West Maui resident Julie Meszaros has been elected to serve a one-year term as president of Soroptimist International of West Maui.

Rachel Miyoshi will serve as vice president of the club, which is part of an international women’s organization with 90,000 volunteer members who work to inspire action and create opportunities to help women and girls around the world.

During her tenure as president, Meszaros will focus on advocacy, action and awareness to increase access to education and leadership opportunities for women and girls.

“Educating women and girls is the foundation for economic growth and poverty reduction. We educate them by increasing their access to the skills necessary to take on whatever challenge they desire – from basic literacy and numeracy skills to vocational training, health and everything in between,” Meszaros said.

“In doing so, Soroptimist International empowers women with confidence and choice, giving them essential tools to achieve their full potential and to become leaders in many different ways.”

Soroptimist International of West Maui seeks new members for the upcoming year. If you have moved to the West Maui area, or if you are looking to volunteer and give back to the community, Soroptimist International of West Maui would love to invite you to attend a meeting.

“We do a lot of good, worthwhile work as part of our mission to help empower women and improve the lives of women and girls,” said incoming Vice President Miyoshi.

This local women’s 501(c)(3) organization works to fundraise and annually awards scholarships on Maui. Club members also assist in feeding the needy several times a year. In addition, SIWM has organized the Lahaina Halloween Keiki Parade for over 30 years.

Recruiting new members is important to keep the vitality of the organization alive. The club is a well-rounded organization that develops lifelong friendships while helping the community.

“For lots of reasons, we’ve seen membership drop, and we want to make sure women know what good work we do, and how they can get involved,” Miyoshi said.

The club holds its meetings twice a month; the public is invited to attend and learn about the SIWM club.

For more information, contact Jill Holley at Jill@kidneyhi.org or 986-1900.