When advising women to join a national women's organization, I wish that Soroptimist International was more commonly mentioned. Soroptimist (established in 1921) is an international organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world. Almost 95,000 Soroptimists in about 120 countries and territories contribute time and financial support to community-based and international projects that benefit women and girls, which is a proven way to improve the community as a whole. As a NGO (non-governmental organization) for the United Nations, Soroptimist is heavily involved in project that focus on ecnomic/social development, education, the environment, health issues, human rights, the status of women and International goodwill. For more info: www.soroptimist.org