Zonta Club celebrating 75th year in Porterville
The Zonta Club of Porterville is celebrating its 75th birthday anniversary in Porterville this year as a chartered club of Zonta International.
The name Zonta comes from the Sioux Indian word meaning honest and trustworthy. Zonta clubs throughout the world work toward a mission of building a better world for women and girls through service and advocacy projects. Members are known as Zontians and the Porterville club currently has 40 active members.
In January of 1948, a group of 21 women in Porterville signed the Zonta International Charter No. 202 to become the Zonta Club of Porterville. The Charter president was Frances Marie Brey. The current president is Donna Sue Keeley.
The Zonta Club of Porterville belongs to District 9 which encompasses Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, California, and Utah. The Zonta Club of Porterville is currently the only Zonta Club in the Central Valley.
Collective 288, a full service salon and barber shop, will hold a grand opening at 11 a.m. Saturday at its location at 288 North D. Street, the Brey home, built in 1890, where Frances Marie Brey grew up.
Since 1955, 21 Zontians have been named Woman of the Year by the Porterville Chamber of Commerce. Six Zontians have also been inducted into the Porterville Wall of Fame. In 1978 and 1997, the Chamber of Commerce named the Zonta Club of Porterville Organization of the Year and in 2013 the club was honored for the Bosom Buddy Project that provides comforting heart-shaped pillows, made by club members to breast cancer patients at the Sierra View Medical Center’s Rodger S. Good Cancer Treatment Center and the Family Health Care Network.
This year, the club will present four scholarships to young women from the community. The Young Women in Public Affairs Scholarship, the Marcia Brown Memorial Scholarship, and a Community Service Scholarship will be awarded to graduating high school girls.
The Porterville College Re-entry scholarship is awarded to a college student who has faced difficulties but has persevered to create a better future for herself and her family. For more information regarding high school scholarships, visit local high school counseling offices.
The club participates each November in the 16 Days of Activism. During the 16 Days members work to bring attention to the Campaign to End Violence Against Women through various community displays.
The club recently began working with a local elementary school in presenting the Girls Circle curriculum which works toward empowering young girls in the areas of friendship and interpersonal development, positive self-worth, resiliency, and competence.
In addition, the club is also working with the Central California Family Crisis Center in developing window clings for public spaces to provide assistance for those suffering from abuse or human trafficking. Recently the club worked with the Tulare County Child Abuse Prevention Council and local Z Clubs to bring The Lisa Project to Granite Hills High School. The club has also worked with the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office and the Porterville Police Department to present information about the face of human trafficking in Porterville and getting the facts about Fentanyl in the community.
The Central California Family Crisis Center was adopted more than 30 years ago as a major project of the club. Through substantial monetary donations, holiday gifts and parties hosted by local Z Clubs, adoption of shelter bedrooms, construction of a calming intake room, and support of candlelight vigils and fundraisers, the Zonta Club of Porterville has touched thousands of women and children who have been victims of domestic violence and homelessness.
Through the Z Club program, Zonta works to bring the mission of building a better world for women and girls to students in Porterville. The first Z Club was chartered at Porterville High School 60 years ago, and currently there are Z Clubs at PHS and Granite Hills, with others in the discussion stage.
Zonta also supports the AVID program at the high schools, helping to fund field trips to college and university campuses for girls who would be the first in their family to attend college.
To fund these service projects, fundraisers have been developed and provide a service to the community.
While COVID-19 presented the club with fundraising challenges, the 18th annual Evening of Art and Wine fundraiser will return on Saturday, May 6. Tickets are $40 and are available at Harris Home Furnishings, OACYS Technology, Horowitz Jewelry, Stafford’s Chocolates, and from each member of the club.
The club also hopes to bring back the Zonta Christmas Home Tour this year. For more information regarding fundraising events speak to any club member or log onto www.zontaclubofporterville.org. One can also follow the club on Facebook and Instagram for updates about club happenings.
“The Zonta Club of Porterville is looking forward to celebrating many more years of service to our community and we encourage women to help us by joining our club,” the club stated.
Those who are interested in building a better world for women and girls, logon to the club’s website and complete the application or contact membership chair Janie Dignam at jddignam@att.net.