“I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy.”

-Rabindranath Tagore

President’s Monthly Letter

These words of Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali poet of the late 19th – early 20th century, capture our club as we head into the holiday season. We are all finding a little bit of joy in service to our community, our club and ourselves. The last few months have been filled with smiles and heart-felt acts of kindness. Whether we are working with our Z Clubs, planning our holiday party, compiling our new membership booklet, or just attending an event, we’re doing it together. We are giving to women and girls and seeing that life can be joy when we are helping others.

Service was joy when…we welcomed fifteen new students into our BHS Pantherz Z Club in a celebration of our shared commitment to service through education and mentorship. Then we helped our Z Club collect over 600 pounds of donations from generous shoppers who filled their carts, brought joy to the club volunteers and also to the EFAA families who will receive these donations.

Service was joy when…our scholarship team selected powerful students to receive our JMK and Climate Action Scholarship. We are supporting future women leaders who will make a difference in the world!

Service was joy when…our members spent the day at our Community Foodshare annual holiday gift event wrapping and giving out hundreds of books and toys.

Service was joy when…our advocacy committee spread the voice of Zonta’s fight for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, through powerful guest editorials and letters to the editor.

Service was joy when…our membership team reached out to our members to learn about them for our new Zonta Foothills Club Membership Book and nametags.

Service was joy when…our club members ramped up for Colorado Gives Day. They shared emails, reached out to friends and family and even set up their own fund raising pages. AND IT ALL PAID OFF! We saw our community join us through giving. The results are breathtaking! More than 70 donors supported our mission, a large increase from prior years, and many are first time contributors. Now drumroll please…

No that is NOT a typo, together we raised a record breaking $27,000. It takes my breath away to know that so many donors in our community are trusting us with their donations. They know we are making a difference. These funds will not only support our programs but will also help us to ensure that our Foundation can sustain our work into the future. I am humbled by the work of our members who reached out to their communities and told our incredible story.

Its all an amzing close to an amazing year…together we have found the Zonta Foothills equation:

“Life is Joy” + “Life is Service” so = “Service is Joy”

The happiest of holidays to you all!

—Pam

IMPORTANT DATES

FLASH NEWS

Educatez Scholarship Committee

Erin Johnson Wins 1st Bev Sears Climate Action Scholarship

The first ever winner of our Bev Sears Climate Action Scholarship is Erin Johnson. Erin may look familiar…that’s because she was a third place winner for the 2023 JMK Scholarship.

Erin Johnson, an MBA candidate at CU Boulder is the Program Lead for the Women in Power System Transformation (PST) Initiative at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Her focus is work at the intersection of climate action and gender equality. She explains:

“The Bev Sears Climate Action scholarship is a profound acknowledgment of my dedication to mitigate climate change and elevate the role of women in climate action. As the first person in my family to pursue a master's degree, this scholarship relieves the financial pressures of my education, enabling me to focus on my role at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory where I strive to create an equitable environment for women in power systems. The Bev Sears Climate Action scholarship supports my leadership in advancing the Women in Power System Transformation program, which aims to empower women to spearhead the clean energy transition and achieve gender parity in a field where women are vastly underrepresented. This award not only aids my personal academic pursuits but also reinforces the importance of my work in empowering women around the world to be at the forefront of combating climate change.” 

Erin was inspired by the resilience of her single mother, she is the first person in her family to earn a master's degree— while working full-time through graduate school and is working to foster an inclusive environment for women in the power sector. Congratulatioins Erin.

Now on to our Young Women in Public Affairs Award!

Zonta EducateZ Scholarship Committee - Nancy Rowe, Michelle Médal, Jan Cheney, Kim Prosser-Noonan, Catherine Bailey

Membership Committee

at 5:30 PM to celebrate a season of good cheer, plus a tiny bit of business. The Membership Committee will bring the main course and we ask that you bring either an appetizer, salad, or dessert and a beverage to share.

We will be adding something new this year to give back to our community…You can bring unwrapped children’s gifts to our meeting. These will be donated to Share-a-Gift. There will be lots of other surprises too!!! We look forward to seeing you! This always a wonderful meeting and a great opportunity to connect with your Zontian sisters and have fun!

Please RSVP to Amanda Elsnes elsnes@colorado.edu by Dec 10th. 

Zonta Membership Committee  Co-Chairs Colleen Farrell and Ann Hodgson, Jan Chaney, Amanda Elsnes, Kathy Israelson, Catherine Médal, Kay Meyer

Zervice Committee

Last week we held our annual Community Foodshare giveaway and what an event it was! A big thank you to all of our Zonta Foothills members who came out in force. Marta Lindrose coordinated shifts made up of Tommie Atanasoff, Dixie Hollings, Nancy Rowe, and Pam Malzbender in the morning and Sheila Cohen, Cheri Mangin, Elizabeth Freedman and Catherine Bailey in the afternoon. We went through many rolls of wrapping paper, helped clients pick out books and /or toys, and had fun working together, spreading holiday cheer. 

Zervice Committee - Co-chairs: Marta Lindrose and Cheri Magin, Kim Prosser-Noonan, Joan Siebenaler, Catherine Bailey 

Zonta EducateZ Committee

officers. We were also honored to have Karla Trujillo as our guest speaker. Past Golden Z Club member and now a Lafayette Police Officer, Karla spoke about her personal journey and provided inspiration to the club members by discussing the tools she learned to help her overcome life challenges through education and mentorship.

Also in attendance were several parents and Boulder High School Principal, Dr. Alana Morales. Our induction and installation event was held in the BHS Library against a backdrop of the Z Club's Silent Witness display. Each new member and officer received the symbolic Zonta yellow rose and an orange T-shirt emblematic of the Zonta Says No and Culture of Respect campaigns.

And now listen to why community service is important to our Z Club members:

The Commissioner gave a presentation that introduced the group to the various departments and responsibilities of county government. She focused on the ways in which we can each have a voice to our elected officials to impact local policy. Our Club members got to experience the Commissioner Hearing Room and they were invited to ask questions which focused on homelessness, the Marshall Fire and our open space policies. 

Zonta EducateZ Committee - Tommie Atanasof, Michelle Carpenter, Sheila Cohen, Gaby Lopez, Claudia Ibarra, Sheila King, Pam Malzbender, Marta Lindrose.

The FUNdraising Committee

Please sign up and contact several sponsors and donors for our important fundraising event. Zing is less than 4 months away. Here’s our recep:

• Zing is on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Dairy Arts Center.

• Our caterer is Front Range Catering. 

• Erica Sodos has agreed to be our emcee again.

• Our 3 Zing Judges are final! They are Debbie Pope, ED of the YWCA Boulder County, Penina Axelrad, Distinguished Professor at CU Boulder School of Aerospace Sciences & Jeffrey Kash, VP of Community Relations for Premier Members Credit Union and well known local personality.

• Prizes for the talent show winners will be changed, there will be 2 prizes: a Judges Choice Prize and an Audience Choice Prize - each one will receive $500

• We are looking into software packages to help with “check in”, silent auction, audience voting and check out. This will help make it more a enjoyable and smooth experience.

We are the FUNraising Committe, but that only means we help coordinate our efforts. To be successful the fundraising process includes everyone. Remember, this is how we raise money for all of our scholarships and programs. So we are asking everyone to help to find sponsors, donors & talent because we all want to Build A Better World For Women and Girls through our scholarships, service and advocacy.

The FUNdraising Committee- Chair Marta Lindrose, Colleen Farrell, Catherine Médal, Nancy Rowe, Kathy Israelson

The Advocacy Committee

Women and Children Most at Risk in Armed Conflicts October 21, 2023

There have been horrific reports of murderer, kidnapping and rapes of members of civil society in Israel, especially of women and girls. As often in conflicts, this leads to an escalation of hate and violence and even more innocent civilians get involved and are suffering as a result, as we currently see in Gaza. In such armed conflicts, women and children are often the most adversely affected.

Zonta International condemns all attacks on innocent members of civil society and condemns all forms of violence in conflicts. There is no justification for such acts of inhumanity.

According to UNFPA, there are currently 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza who are unable to access essential health services, 5,500 of whom are due to give birth in the next month. That equates to 166 births per day taking place without access to healthcare or clean water. Zonta International joins UN Secretary-General António Guterres in calling for rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza to ensure that all civilians, especially women and children, have access to essential supplies and healthcare services.

Zonta calls, per UN Security Council Resolution 1325, on all parties to “respect fully international law applicable to the rights and protection of women and girls, especially as civilians.” UN Security Resolution 1325 further “calls on all parties to armed conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and all other forms of violence in situations of armed conflict.”

For more actions you can take to advocate for women and girls in conflict situations, please refer to Zonta International’s Statement on Women’s Rights in Armed Conflict and Post-Conflict Settings. 

Clubs can join the next USA Zonta Says Now Think Tank on 2/11/24 at 4pm ET.  Registration link will come to all who receive Fast Action Fridays. Please encourage all your clubs to attend the next Think Tank, but especially the Z and Golden Z Club members, who may be most passionate about this issue. They will learn about how women can get their personal finances in order so they can survive climate disasters. Thanks for all you do!

Best, Bobbee Cardillo Convener, Zonta USA Caucus 2022-24

The Advocacy Committee- Chair Ranelle Randles, Sheila King, Elizabeth Freedman and Sara Gillespie