We had the good fortune of connecting with The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County and The Zonta Foothills Foundation and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County and The Zonta Foothills Foundation, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
We face a time of great need as women and girls face financial challenges, health crises, and personal safety issues. That’s why the Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County and the Zonta Foothills Foundation are committed to finding ways to connect and build relationships with the women. Our mission is to advance women and girls locally and worldwide through education, health and wellness, economic stability, safety and legal equality.

An all-volunteer organization, The Zonta Foothills Club has been supporting women and girls in our community since 1982. Through scholarships, donations, advocacy and hands-on service, we partner with Boulder Valley Schools, Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA), Community Food Share, The Milagros Scholarship, Safe House Progressive Alliance for Non-Violence (SPAN), Sister Carmen, Harvest of Hope and other local organizations.

Our Zonta EducateZ program provides scholarship, mentoring and individual support towards education and empowerment. We sponsor the Boulder High School PantherZ Z Club and the Flatirons Golden Z Club for college-aged women to provide mentorship and leadership development.

Zonta provides 6 local scholarships and education funds annually. Some are open to the community and others are available to our Z Club members attending colleges, universities and trade schools. They vary in amount and are awarded based on financial need, academic performance, or on the student’s demonstrated commitment to Zonta’s mission.

Each of our scholarships and education funds help to defray the cost of tuition, books, travel and other fees. We support education from high school through graduate school. Since 2010 The Zonta Foothills Foundation has awarded more than $95,000 in educational scholarships to Boulder County students.

The Foothills Club has also provided more than 60,000 books to Boulder families through free libraries at the local food banks

The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County is part of Zonta International. Founded in 1919 in Buffalo, New York, ZI is a leading global organization of empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets our work apart from other non-profits in Boulder County is our hands-on connection between women of all ages who support one another in a variety of ways. Our 23 club volunteer members put in their time and resources to support women’s education, to advocate for women’s reproductive health and to provide hands-on support to our community where it is needed. One project that we are very proud of includes our Z Club program which recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary in Boulder County.

In the fall of 2012, under the guidance of Club advisor, Michelle Carpenter, a group of six members met after school and started to plan how they could support their school and community through service and advocacy. Chartered in 2013 by sponsor The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County, the Z club has supported more than 100 BHS students. Carpenter, a Boulder High Spanish teacher, explains: “Boulder High School is honored to be partner with Zonta International. Our students are learning to become effective leaders as they participate in meaningful service projects with their mentors.”

Z Clubs were first started in 1948 by Zonta International to provide youth the opportunity to develop leadership skills, explore careers, and improve international understanding through service and advocacy. Z Clubs are formed on high school campuses to provide resources and mentorship to encourage members understand their community and gain an international awareness of the issues that impact women and girls. Z Club members are the leaders of tomorrow, and through Zonta membership they learn communication skills, as well as gain civic leadership experience and career development assistance as well as a commitment to service and advocacy.

The Boulder High School PantherZ Z Club has been involved in many projects over the last 10 years. Local organizations like EFAA, Safe House Progressive Alliance for Non-Violence, Moving to End Sexual Assault, The Reentry Initiative, Mother House, Share-a-Gift and Community Foodshare have been the focus of ongoing club projects. In 2020 the group produced a video urging community members to be counted through the US Census2020. They also went door-to-door delivering fliers and talking with community members about why the census is important. In 2021 the Club created a school-based campaign urging fellow students to get the COVID vaccine. They have also been active in prevention of violence against women. For the last 8 years the Club has created a Silent Witness display in the Boulder High School library to convey the tragedy of violence and support victims by promoting local resources at Safe House and Moving to End Sexual Assault. In addition to service work, the club has heard speakers talk about careers from medicine to criminal justice to education to social work and visited local colleges, universities, and businesses. The club has had a 100% graduation rate and many graduates continue in the Zonta organization as members of the Flatirons Golden Z Club.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To our members and to the strong women in our community who support one another through service and advocacy.

Website: https://www.zontafoothills.org/

Instagram: zontafoothillsclubboulder

Facebook: www.facebook.com/zontafoothillsclubboulder

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