President's Message
Greetings!
March is here! In like a lion for sure!! Hope this greeting finds you well.
March 8th is when International Women’s Day is celebrated. A day to recognize and honor women for their social, political, cultural, and economic achievements all throughout the world! Purple is the suggested color to wear on International Women’s Day as purple represents “loyalty, consistency to purpose, and unswerving steadfastness to cause.” Purple also represents self-respect, dignity, and bipartisanship.
The Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey will be celebrating International Women’s Day with the wives of the IFP Military attendees at the Carlisle War College. A light lunch of world-wide, international treats will be shared from the international ladies as well as from members of our club. This meeting is an amazing event to meet and learn about women from other cultures around the world as well as for us to share about Zonta International, yellow roses, and International Women’s Day.
Thank you to all who attended the advocacy membership meeting on February 21. The Advocacy Committee is looking forward to continuing educating club members on simple ways to advocate for important issues at the State and Federal level.
We are gearing up for a busy spring! There are two rallies (please see details under Advocacy corner) we plan to participate with at the State Capital (March 25th and April 22nd). We are also planning a one-week virtual, on-line advocacy campaign. We will have a BINGO fundraiser on April 13. Please consider attending for a fun time and chance to win some money!! There are also a few other service projects happening - library display, scholarship review, food bank volunteer day, etc. March and April will be busy months.
Speaking of April, April will be the closed Membership Meeting where club members will vote on some important issues regarding new board members; change of bylaws; budget; etc. Please plan to attend this very important meeting.
Looking forward to seeing you at the IFP Luncheon!
Cheers! Amy
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We are pleased to have Lisa Smith and Renee Lariff apply for membership to our Zonta Club, adding three new members to the club this year. We look forward to installing them at the April 11th membership meeting. Please be sure to reach out to the new members to welcome them to the club.
We enjoyed the presentations of two speakers at our February 8th Zoom meeting. Jim Gates separated the recorded presentations, and they were sent to the membership on February 11th via e-mail. I hope you had the chance to view them and forward them to interested colleagues and friends. Anyone with the link can view the presentations.
I presented at the “Heart of Zonta” Membership 411 Zoom meeting held on February 1st. It is always fun to share ideas about membership with the other District 3 clubs.
It was great to see everyone on the Zoom call on February 8th. There were 13 members and 5 guests on the call.
Kathy Gates, Membership Committee Chair
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Nominating Committee
The Committee will present the slate of officers for 2024-2026 at the March Board meeting and to the membership mid-March. Election will be held at the April 11th membership meeting. There are still two positions open on the Nominating Committee. If you are interested in filling one of those positions, please contact Kathy Gates, Chair, Cathy Paul or Eileen Baylor. We thank those members who have volunteered to serve in a leadership role and support the sustainability of the Zonta Club of Harrisburg and Hershey.
Kathy Gates, Nominating Committee Chair
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Zonta Anniversary
Cathy Paul - March 1, 1993
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Birthday
Enjoy the time change on March 10!
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2024 International Fellows Program and Zonta - March 5, 2024
Reminder to those who are signed up - meet at the Visitor's Center at 10:45 to get your visitors pass (this should already be submitted and approved). From there, follow the caravan of cars to the meeting location with your food item and Zonta badge! Claudia Barry and Karen Shirey are coordinating the details for our IFP event this year.
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Workday at Central Pennsylvania Food Bank - Saturday, March 23, 9 am-noon
All the volunteer packing takes place at the Central Packing Operation located at 1530-B Bobali Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17104 (located off of South 19th Street). This location is a packing operation only with no distributions. All volunteers need to be 14 or older to help. Park in designated spaces in front of facility, no street parking.
Please use this link to sign up for the workday. We have 12 slots so please sign up only if you're sure you can be there!
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Greenlight Operation 5K - Saturday, May 4th
Join Greenlight Operation as a runner, walker, sponsor or volunteer for their annual 5K on City Island. Their goal is to raise $40,000 to support the restorative care of trafficking survivors. Details available at: https://www.greenlightoperation.org/events/.
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Library Display
Thanks to members of the Service Committee - Karen, Claudia and Suzanne for setting up the latest Zonta library display at Cleve J. Fredricksen Library,100 N 19th St, Camp Hill, PA 17011. We hope to expand the awareness of our Club and Foundation with the attractive, historical and informative display. It will be in place for the month of March - check it out!
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The Penn State Harrisburg Z-Club is featured by Zonta International for a recent project supporting Caitlin's Smiles - read about it here!
They continued their great work with the collections of toiletries and items for new mothers and babies, with support from the Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey. See images below.
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Membership and Dues for 2024-2025 | |
As current members of Zonta, we sometimes take time to reflect and remind ourselves of the reasons we first joined Zonta and the benefits we both receive and provide through our membership. Hopefully you see what YOU might describe as reasons you belong:
- Joining with like-minded people committed to empowering women through service and advocacy, locally and internationally
- Service opportunities – hands on service opportunities within your local community
- Advocacy opportunities – working with other Zontians and organizations on issues affecting women at local, national and international levels
- Fellowship and networking opportunities – meeting people you may not normally meet, exchanging ideas and learning from one another on local, national and international levels
- Combined efforts of an international organization with the influence of over 1,100+ Zonta clubs in 62 different countries
Whether you are already a member or reading this and contemplating membership, you are encouraged to consider the impact that you can make toward achieving the vision of Zonta:
Zonta International envisions a world in which women's rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential. In such a world, women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men. In such a world, no woman lives in fear of violence.
Renewing members of the Zonta Club of Harrisburg and Hershey should send payment in the amount of $161.00 or $92.00 (Young Professional) to Deb Crum by May 9th, 2024. The timing ensures we meet our Dues deadlines to District and Zonta International. Checks should be made payable to the “Zonta Club of Harrisburg and Hershey”. See membership listing for Deb’s address information, and please take this opportunity to make sure your address and other information is up to date! (Dues may also be delivered to Deb at the April or May in-person meetings).
The amount paid to Deb includes dues for our Club, District 3 and Zonta International. Further details about the breakdown and use of the dues is available here.
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Foundation Fundraising 2023-2024
April 13, 2024 – Annual BINGO fundraiser.
Our final FUNdraiser of the year is just around the corner. All members have received emails with details of the event, information on selling tickets, and opportunity to help with food and beverage donations. The ad below will run in the Savings Guide in both the Mechanicsburg and West Shore editions prior to our event date of April 13,2024. It will be a fun way to greet the Spring and close out our 2023-2024 Fundraising efforts!
A donation in honor of birthdays, anniversaries or other special events is a great way to support the Foundation throughout the year. Donations to the Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey Foundation may be sent anytime to:
Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey Foundation, P.O. Box 590 ~ Hummelstown, Pa 17036
Thank you for helping to build a better world for women and girls!
Finance Committee
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Advocacy Update
On February 21, the Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey held a Special Advocacy Club Meeting to assist members to advance the advocacy focus of our Club. We started with a video to understand the bill-making process as important background to how and when to engage with legislators. You can view the video here; scroll down to the General Assembly / Legislative section. The other materials are available on the 'Members Only' page on our website.
Please mark your calendars for upcoming events:
Monday March 25, 2024 Press Conference Sponsored by State Interagency Groups focused on Human Trafficking featuring the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and several State Interagency Groups, will be held at 11:00am in the Main Rotunda. A panel discussion with survivors and experts will be held at 1:00pm. We will have an information table along with other local agencies.
Monday, April 22, 2024 – National Crime Victims’ Rights Rally 2024 (Club members attended the last two years). This event is sponsored by the Crime Victims’ Alliance of Pennsylvania.
Details available at Advocacy - Zonta Harrisburg-Hershey (zontaharrisburghershey.org)
Advocacy Committee
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Young Women in Public Affairs Award
Opportunity
Applications are being accepted for the $1,000 Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey Young Women in Public Affairs award through March 5, 2024. With a single application, the applicant we select will be competing for an additional $5,000 ZI/District Award. Details are available here.
Emily Zeiders, our YWPA award winner in May 2023 made the Dean's list for the Fall semester with a 4.0 GPA - we send her our congratulations!!
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Zonta International Program Information
Zonta at the United Nations
The Zonta International United Nations (UN) Committee teams represent Zonta in New York at the UN Headquarters, Geneva (Human Rights, ILO, WHO), Vienna (UNODC), Bangkok (ESCAP), Nairobi and at UNESCO in Paris. The teams ensure that Zonta’s priorities are presented and that the Zonta voice is clear in mission-related meetings at their respective sites. They meet and work with decision-makers from UN agencies and countries where Zonta has funded projects and/or where Zonta clubs reside. The current priority area of focus is the Sustainable Development Goals, which set the UN agenda through 2030, concentrating on Goal 5 and areas that relate to women’s empowerment. The teams also monitor and report on ongoing issues such as human trafficking, women’s employment, human rights, the gender pay gap, and much more. Team members work in coalition with other like-minded organizations, especially via NGO committees, on issues of mutual concern, such as early, child and forced marriage.
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Golden Z Club at work
supporting women and children
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Left; Jocelyn Black with items for Caitlin's Smiles; Center: Heather Jackson and Jocelyn Black with items for mothers and babies; Right: members of Golden Z Club with donated items. | |
Click here for the calendar of all upcoming meetings, events and special days. | |
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