Soroptimist International of Indian Rock, Inc. (SIIR) celebrated National Women’s History Month with its annual presentation of Making a Difference for Women Awards on March 5, 2025 at the Spring Mill Country Club in Ivyland, PA. The awards honor women leaders and organizations for their tireless, inspiring efforts to bring positive change, education, and empowerment to the lives of women, girls, and others living in our county and beyond. The evening’s program began with the presentation of the Violet Richardson Award to Clare Titus. Claire is a sophomore at Central Bucks West who recently earned the United States Congressional Bronze Medal for dedicating over 100 hours to community service, driven by her passion for helping others. She developed a two-hour curriculum for children ages 9 to 12 that focused on everyday manners, including greetings, dining etiquette, and social courtesies. After earning her Girl Scout Silver Award, Claire expanded her program across multiple Pennsylvania counties, teaching over 120 children and equipping them with essential life skills. Claire has also been a dedicated volunteer at the Doylestown Library since the age of 12, accumulating hundreds of hours of service and earning her multiple President’s Volunteer Service recognition. The Organization Advancing the Status of Women Award was presented to The Veteran’s Multi-Service Center, which created The Women Veterans Program to address the growing and unique needs of Women Veterans throughout the tri-state area. Rosemarie McGee, Program Manager, accepted the award for the program, whose mission is to provide community driven space exclusively for Women Veterans and give them access to programs that offer comprehensive resources in a trauma-informed space tailored to their unique needs. In addition, the program offers a clothing closet, open computer lab, lending library, children’s play area, and a full calendar of wellness and fellowship events. The evening’s next award – the Women Helping Women Award – was presented to Kristin McElroy, the Deputy District Attorney for Bucks County. Kristin joined the District Attorney’s office in 2012 and is the 2018 Rosner Award recipient for exceptional public service, professionalism, and integrity. She has been a member of the Bucks County Special Victims Division since joining the office, and currently is the Chief of Adult Sex Crimes. In addition, she serves on the Bucks Coalition Against Trafficking (BCAT), a NOVA project whose mission is to eradicate human trafficking in Bucks County through victim identification, community education, enhancement of arrests and prosecution of traffickers, legislative advocacy, and a coordinated response of survivor services. The final award of the evening – The Woman of Distinction Award – went to Melissa Robison, a Middletown Township police officer and the township’s community relations officer. Melissa oversees several community projects that link the community with the Department: she leads the county’s largest Shop With A Cop program, National Night Out, Back-to-School supply collection and distribution, Coffee with a Cop, and assists college students in securing internships. Melissa was the school resource for Neshaminy school district offering a parent presentation on “Navigating Internet Safety: Guardians of the Digital Realm.” She is certified by the National Association of School Resource Officers, teaches and trains active shooter protocols, runs the Fresh Start Pantry and Closet at seven district schools that provides food and clothing to kids in need, and presents the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program in schools. She is the vice-president of the Middletown Community Foundation which supports all these projects and many scholarship opportunities for community service-minded students. SIIR is one of 1,000 Soroptimist clubs in 20 countries and territories in the Americas and Pacific Rim that empower women and girls through a variety of volunteer projects. Efforts include cash grants for education, hands-on efforts to end domestic violence, career mentoring for girls, women’s health initiatives, and many other community-based projects. Our federation is one of five federations that make up Soroptimist International, which operates in more than 120 countries throughout the world. For more information, visit investindreams.org. — Courtesy of Soroptimist International of Indian Rock ...read more read less