Women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families and seek financial assistance to continue their education or receive training can now apply for the Soroptimist Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women (formerly the Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Awards).

Applications are available online at www.siportorchard.com or by contacting Soroptimist International Port Orchard, Mary Kaltenborn, chair, at SIofPO@gmail.com.

The application deadline is Nov. 15.

The Port Orchard club will provide a $3,000 cash grant to its award recipient, who will then advance to the Soroptimist Northwestern Region level, where recipients could receive up to an additional $5,000.

The program culminates with three finalist $10,000 awards.

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, carfare or any other education-related expense.

The award provides more than $1.6 million in cash grants to head-of-household women in need each year.

Since the program’s inception in 1972, approximately $30 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 1945, the Soroptimist International Port Orchard club is part of Soroptimist International of the Americas, a global organization that works to improve the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment.

For more information about how Soroptimist improves the lives of women and girls, visit www.soroptimist.org.