The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls in California
Registration for the Friendships Bloom Where Rainbow is Planted Virtual Supreme Assembly Sessions is now open!
Virtual Supreme Assembly will take place on July 25 - 27, 2020.
Click here to check out the CA IORG Tours Page for more information.
Attention California Rainbow! The California Rainbow For Girls Foundation needs your support! The more support the Foundation receives, the more support we can provide to our youth members! There are many ways to help; find what works best for you below!
Make your voice heard and complete our survey! Your insightful feedback will help the Foundation improve! To do so, click here!
Want to make more of an impact? We are seeking to have individuals who are interested in serving as a Foundation Trustee complete the online application process. The application deadline is June 30, 2020, and the application can be found by clicking here!! New Trustee appointments will be announced in August. (For best results, please download the fillable form and open it using Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat!)
Support a great cause and make a donation! The Foundation has made comprehensive videos that will clear up any questions and concerns you may have about donating here!
I create transformational experiences for audiences everywhere through my company, Speechless Worldwide. We book professional speakers for events: conferences, association meetings, CEO mastermind groups, employee development, and executive retreats. Rainbow taught me that a good idea or wisdom, shared in the right way at the right time, can literally transform lives. From our Assembly meetings, conversations, and drama, I learned that life happens one gathering at a time. So invest in your gatherings, make them meaningful, whether it’s with one person or 10,000. It’s paid off for me in ways I can’t begin to explain.
-Dejah, CA IORG Alumni
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This is Rhiannon C., Member of the Grand Executive Committee, Color Bearer and Rep. to Colorado and Nevada. Lots of us California girls had a “nifty” time at the “Cruisin’ Through the Fifties With Nevada Rainbow” Grand Sessions back in June 2019. We surely represented California well as a delegation, and showed up with spirit and enthusiasm for Nevada Rainbow! I was invited to be seated in the East with our Supreme Worthy Advisor Joanie Jacka! I also got to sit with other counterparts to Nevada from various jurisdictions, and other members of the Nevada grand family. It was fun to be up in the East and see Nevada Grand Assembly from a new perspective. I also had an amazing view of the guests from California, which resembled a sea of green!
It was a blast to get the chance to attend and speak on behalf of Mrs. Regier and Isabella! I told the Nevada girls all about our Grand Service Project and all about the teams and initiatives that we are working on here in California.
Grand Assembly was held in the same exact place that Supreme Assembly 2020 will be held, so becoming more familiar with the Peppermill Resort and where things are located there in Reno was helpful. One of my favorite parts of Nevada’s Grand Assembly was the assembly entertainment, where each assembly had a chance to display their talents. The girls sung and danced in their special outfits and made us laugh a lot! Other notable aspects of the sessions were the parents ceremony, the glowing alter, Maddie’s Mash House, the lighter side of majority, and the crowning ceremony between the retiring and incoming Grand Worthy Advisor. Speaking of Nevada’s Jr. Past Grand Worthy Advisor , Maddison J., she was appointed to serve another year as Grand Recorder and Representative to California and Florida! It was pretty cool to be down on the floor during announcements when her name was called! She got her very own lemur that I dressed up myself.The stuffed animal lemur went along well with her brand new mascot for Nevada, which ended up being the Marvelously Mischievous Monkeys!
The Monkeys have kept very busy this year preparing for Supreme Assembly this summer. However, they have found time to come and visit us during the year. They brought quite the marvelous and mischievous disposition to a couple of events, Southern Camp in August and more recently, the last Official Visit in January. I was so excited to see them at both of these events. At Southern Camp, some of the members of the Jr. Grand Executive Committee attended with the help of a little Nevada “pixie dust”! They also bid on me in the Grand Officer Auction and got to dress me up for dinner. It was so much fun, and the girls made me very beautiful by filling my eyebrows in with black mascara and letting me wear their special letterman jackets and Crocs. It was hilarious! The Nevada girls surprised me when they came to the Last OV! My mom – Chandra Blasquez, Grand Deputy and Past Grand Officer from Nevada kept this a secret from me until I saw them there. I was so happy, and they also got to sit right behind me during the Official Visit. Savannah L., Nevada’s Grand Worthy Advisor, even joined the Spirit Team and set off a confetti cannon during our presentation! I have had so much fun hanging out with the Nevada girls throughout the year!
We are so proud to announce that together the California International Order of the Rainbow for Girls (IORG) has made 12,422 masks, 410 “ear savers”, 31 hospital gowns, and 24 eye masks! Some of these masks were donated to women and children’s centers, child welfare workers, homeless populations, medical personnel, senior facilities, and social workers. We loved seeing the participation in this event and know this will be helpful to local communities. We would like to thank everyone who has helped so far and challenge you to find a way to serve your community this week.
If you would also like to make a mask, our members created how-to videos that can be found here.
The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls is a community service based organization for girls ages 11-20. Our order was founded in 1922 on the pillars of hope, love, and service. Today, we build leaders by teaching our members about public speaking, community service, how to run business meetings, and more. Members meet biweekly, hold various events throughout the year, and then join together for our statewide convention in the spring. To stay true to CA Rainbow’s mission to get girls ready for life during this time, we have adapted to meeting virtually, teaching video conference etiquette, and hosting interactive statewide challenges. Our most recent activity was our statewide mask challenge where members and alumni were asked to make masks for their local communities.
Our Grand Worthy Advisor Isabella put together a video to walk down memory lane with the Leading Lemurs that is followed by an announcement about Grand Assembly 2020.
Because I had been Worthy Advisor twice before I even graduated high school, I entered college and my first public speaking class was with confidence I would not have had otherwise. I ended up falling head over heels for the study of public speaking and communication. By the time I was 24, I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Communication Studies and have been teaching public speaking, debate, and interpersonal communication classes for the past 5 years. Rainbow helped me find my voice and my passion for helping my students find theirs.
-Kelsey, CA IORG Alumni
Submit a story here: https://forms.gle/2uEPf33bviDSxCCC9
In June I had the privilege of attending Michigan’s Grand Assembly along with my Past Grand Deputy Mrs.Angie Thomas. I was welcomed by the Grand Worthy Advisor, Samantha, along with the Supreme Inspector. I met some of the girls at their first session of Grand Assembly. Their session consisted of the opening of a regular meeting along with a business meeting after that. I had the pleasure of spending some time getting to know the girls over multiple lunches and dinners together. We bonded over playing games back at the hotel room along with a deep conversation over the different foods they have in Michigan to California. I even had the pleasure of touring the Masonic Pathway Retirement Home. During this time we got to bring cards to the Seniors that are staying in the retirement home. I even had the pleasure of attending their Saturday night party which consisted of an Indoor Water Park! Although, I didn’t have a swimsuit where I could join in the fun I did enjoy getting to talk to the young ladies who also weren’t participating about their amazing state. I learned so much about how our states are different as well as similar, like how their Grand Officers are chosen, how many assemblies there are in Michigan, how old the girls that are Grand Officers usually are, and so much more. That night ended with me getting to go to my favorite place on earth, Olive Garden. This trip taught me so much about Michigan Rainbow. From the moment that I arrived, to the second that I left the girls and adults of Michigan Rainbow made me feel so welcomed and excited to be there. I will cherish those memories for a lifetime and hope to attend their Grand Assembly again in the future. Thank you!
Had it not been for the endless hours of public speaking, memory work and people skills as well as speech writing techniques I attained in Rainbow, I wouldn’t be able to be a wedding officiant. These skills I learned through Rainbow have helped me to excel in this job in every way. From meeting the couple, planning out and writing the ceremony all the way up into wedding date and performing it, I utilize those skills quite often. Rainbow prepared me for this job in every way. Isn’t it ironic that a Past Grand Love has this job?
-Samantha, CA IORG Alumni
Submit a story here: https://forms.gle/2uEPf33bviDSxCCC9
It was such a blast to travel to Illinois! My Mother Advisor and I headed to the airport early on Thursday, and I was so excited to take selfies with her in my new Immortality hat and jacket from my grandie. We landed at the St. Louis airport and met Holly W., one of my fellow Lemurs, and her mom to get the rental car and make the few-hour drive to Springfield, Illinois for Grand Assembly. It was the 4th of July, so we could see fireworks as we drove, and when we passed the “Welcome to Illinois” sign we tried to take a picture of it, but Mrs. Winter ended up accidentally taking a selfie instead, which we joked about for the rest of the trip.
When we made it to Springfield, we were greeted by the Illinois Rainbow girls at our hotel. They have their Grand Assembly at the same hotel every year, in downtown Springfield, and we were told to try the famous “lobby water” — which turned out to be filtered water with some fruit in it. We met Robin, a friend of Holly’s who grew up in Illinois Rainbow but now lives in California. She gave us lots of tips on how to make the most of our time here in Illinois!
The first event was the Grand Cross of Color ceremony. We went to the breakfast and got to sit with some of Illinois’ Grand Officers, who told us all about the adventures on the Grand Line, and we watched the Grand Cross of Color team rock the ceremony. Then, for the first session of their Grand Assembly, we watched the Grand Officers walk out in beautiful purple dresses and we got to see the Grand Worthy Advisor, Gabby H., reveal her Grand West. The Grand West is a whole side of the room that the Grand Worthy Advisor decorates according to her Grand Assembly theme, and Gabby’s Grand West was beautiful purple mountains.
Later in the weekend, we went to their Grand Banquet, where all the girls pile into the room and enjoy an amazing dinner. The Grand Officers and other honored guests sat on a dais, and that was when the donations for the Grand Service Project were revealed. The Illinois girls raised a ton of money for the Shriner’s’ Hospital of Chicago, where the Grand Worthy Advisor herself was once a patient. It was very exciting!
We also learned a lot about Abraham Lincoln: we visited his house in Springfield, and his law offices, and we visited Old Salem, which is a recreation of the tiny town he lived in as a young man. We also ran around the state capitol building in the dark, which was quite an adventure! We got to take some pictures with the statues. Then, we went to Texas Roadhouse® for dinner, and had some bread rolls that changed our lives!
What an adventure in Illinois! I will always remember my travels there, and I’m so grateful to still be in touch with the Illinois girls I met.
