The Soroptimist International of Coronado has been a seminal philanthropic organization in Coronado since 1947. Wendy McGuire is the club’s incoming president, and she’s excited to continue with and expand upon the club’s projects and partnerships that work towards their vision to “build bridges of opportunity for women and girls.”
McGuire grew up in Coronado after her family moved to the island in 1958. Her parents were both doctors, with her mother, Blossom Sanger, becoming the official hotel doctor for the Hotel del Coronado. It was through Sanger that McGuire was first introduced to the Soroptimists International of Coronado, and, later, was inspired to join the group.
“[Sanger] was named a Soroptimist Legend the same year as Sister [Virginia] Rodee, a Sacred Heart nun who had founded an orphanage in Korea after the Korean War, and Sybil Stockdale,” McGuire noted. “The family would give a speech at the Legends Luncheon then; I still have the speech. My brother, for his part, said, ‘My mom is a saint…is what I would say if Sister Rodee wasn’t here. My mom is a hero! …Is what I would say if Sybil Stockdale wasn’t here.’ It was really a great speech,” she recalled with a laugh.
Later, McGuire was invited to check out the club’s meetings and see if it was something she would also be interested in being a part of. When she spoke to her mom about it, she remembers her saying, “They’re my kind of people. If I’m going to be with a group of women, this is the group that I want to be with. They have a good sense of humor, they’re not about talking, they’re about doing. They do good things, and they have fun doing it.”
McGuire hasn’t regretted being a member ever since. “We used to go around and say a motto at the start of each meeting,” she said. “My motto was, ‘I joined the club to spend more time with my mom. I didn’t know that I was going to get 30 sisters.’ It’s been wonderful.” Fast forward to the Soroptimist’s 2023-2024 year, and McGuire was named Soroptimist of the Year and, now, she’s the incoming president for the 2025-2026 year.
“I’ve been a leader in the military and in my business in India, and my approach to leadership is very [service-based] and group-oriented,” she said when asked about her approach to this new role. She recognized that everyone has different skillsets and passions that they bring to the group, and wants to play to those strengths so that everyone enjoys what they’re doing as members.
One of her own assets is fundraising. As a teenager, McGuire attended her first two years of high school at a boarding school, Convent of the Sacred Heart, in El Cajon. The school was shut down the following year due to a lack of funding, and that had a lasting impact on her. “I loved that school so much…and when something you love is gone, it becomes easier to ask for money [so it doesn’t happen again].” That experience has given McGuire the perspective she has on fundraising and a deep sense of motivation to help institutions thrive.
Since retiring from the military, McGuire has gone on to be a financial planner and a trust officer. “My kids started at Bishop’s school before ending up back in Coronado, but at Bishop’s, I volunteered and then was hired as their planned giving director,” she noted. “Then I was raising money for nonprofits and had volunteered at that time to raise money to build the Lamb’s Players Theatre, and my dad had me in the founding committee that started the endowment at the Library.”
With Soroptimist International of Coronado, McGuire helps fundraise for the organization’s scholarships, which they award to students annually at Coronado High School and Southwestern College, and to support other local groups and programs that align with Soroptimist International’s mission to help empower women through education.
“The Soroptimists International signature scholarship is called ‘Live Your Dream.’ It’s a scholarship for women who are returning students, and we’ve always had the ‘Live Your Dream Awards.’ But we, as a club, have also chosen to do much more,” McGuire noted.
In Coronado, that mission is split into three branches: education, grants to organizations that work with women, youth, and families, and human trafficking prevention, education, and survivor support. Most recently, they’ve raised money for a multitude of institutions in Coronado and San Diego County, including Coronado High School and Coronado School of the Arts, Safe Harbor, Barrio Logan College Institute, multiple guest house and transitional housing programs, Point Loma Nazarene University Center for Justice and Reconciliation, the Coronado Public Library, and more.
“Every year, the Soroptimists International has a theme,” she added. “A few years ago, the theme was water, and in that year, we partnered with the local Hispanic Rotary club, which is one of only three Spanish-speaking Rotary clubs in the United States (their founder is one of our members, too). They had a project to build clean water wells in five villages in Mexico several years ago. We’ve partnered with them ever since. Providing clean water removes significant barriers to education for women and girls, and they built the wells in the village schools, which is even more incentive for the girls to stay in school.”
The Soroptmist International of Coronado has also had a long-standing relationship with Sharp Coronado Hospital, where they’ve helped raise money for equipment, and many members have been involved at the hospital either as staff or serving on the hospital’s board over the years. “We always have at least one or two programs about health,” McGuire mentioned. “Last year, our nurse spoke about using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and talked about heart attacks and heart health for women. We’ve had people come and talk about exercise programs, balance, and fall prevention — we always try to incorporate that element of self-care.”
Another element of the group’s programming comes from presentations from organizations and individuals who are involved with projects that align with the Soroptimist’s mission. Those groups that they support often come speak to the club to talk about their work and the impact of their programs. “I’d like to have some of the organizations that haven’t been for a while come back and refresh people on what they’ve been doing lately,” she mentioned, adding that she would like to find opportunities to highlight the type of work being done to support women through programs that may be more under the radar that a lot of people may not be aware of.
McGuire has been talking with local women, such as one individual who has set up a safari program in Africa where the proceeds go towards a health clinic built and run by women there. Another local is Kathy Prout, whose tireless efforts to help military families resulted in getting the widow’s financial offset eliminated in the United States.
“There’s a movie called ‘Three (Extra)ordinary Women,’ that I’m also hoping to show, which is about three women who climb Mount Kilimanjaro and their journey overcoming hardship,” McGuire mentioned as another program she’s working to bring to the club this year. “It’s very inspiring, and one of the women will come and speak about it.”
She’s also looking to be more involved in the Soroptimist’s international presence. “Soroptimist is an NGO (non-governmental organization) with general consultation status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC),” McGuire explained. “This allows us to advocate for women’s rights and ensure their inclusion in various UN initiatives. Every year, our region sends a group to meet with that council and attend those meetings at the UN. I’d like to take advantage of that and send a few members with our delegation to that meeting in New York City this year.”
McGuire has seen Soroptimist International’s ability to foster positive change at all levels. “One of my mom’s favorite things was the Microenterprise Family Childcare Program at Southwestern,” she told me. Soroptimist International of Coronado helps support the program, which provides women facing hardship the opportunity to build entrepreneurship skills and pursue careers. “She used to say, ‘If there were a psychiatrist who could give the kind of self-esteem this program gives to women to patients like that, they’d win a Nobel Prize.’
“To be involved in that kind of program, and the fact that virtually everything we do is like that…that was just something I didn’t expect to be involved with on such a personal level,” McGuire continued. “It literally changes lives here in Coronado. Over the years of going to the district and regional meetings, I saw over and over again how [Soroptimists] did that nationally, as well. I’ve met with the members of the clubs in India, where my business is, with members in Turkey, where there’s a sister club to the San Diego Soroptimist Club, and other places internationally. It’s just incredible.”
Alongside the strong sense of kinship she’s built with the other women in Soroptimist International, it’s that sense of “doing” that continues to inspire and bring joy to McGuire as a part of the club.
“We can’t change the world as one person, but one person can do things and effect change in one person at a time,” she commented. “If you become that little drop of water in the creek, and the creek goes to the stream, which goes to the river, which goes to the ocean…you really can make a change. That’s what appeals to me. I don’t want to just say I can’t do anything because I believe that you can change things.”
McGuire added, “I want to acknowledge the fact that at one time or another, there are many women in Coronado who have belonged to the Soroptimists, and that there are a lot of local businesses who have contributed over the years, and thank them for their support.
“This is a super good group of people, and what I’ve said to the board and the club is that we’re here to do good things and have fun.”
Soroptimist International of Coronado meets three times a month in the evenings during their active year (September through May): twice a month at the VFW in Coronado for regular club programming and once a month for a social happy hour at rotating locations around town. McGuire noted that they are always happy to welcome new members and invites anyone to come get to know the club at one of their monthly happy hours.
Anyone interested in joining can also learn more about the group on their website at https://coronadosoroptimist.org/ or contact the club’s membership chairs directly via email at membership@coronadosoroptimist.org. Christina Omiatek-Krasowski can also directly assist any active military members interested in becoming a member, as well, at christina.m.omiatek@outlook.com.
VOL. 115, NO. 30 – July 23, 2025