Service and Awards summary 2022/23

In May, our club held our Annual General Meeting. Along with voting in a new president and treasurer (who will be inducted this week and pictures will follow!) we had the opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the club over the past year.

Sometimes when you are in the busy days of combining work life, family life and your commitments to a service club like Zonta it be possible to overlook the positive impact you can have for many people through advocacy and service. With great thanks to Dr Kerrie Bigsworth, who put together our annual report it is worth documenting just what the Zonta Club of Sydney has been able to do over the past 12 months to improve the status of women both locally and internationally. For a club of approximately 20 active members we have an enviable list of achievements!

1. Provided our annual award to a top female MBA graduate at UTS – $1340. Each year we invite the awardee to speak to us at a club meeting and as part of the prize they are sponsored to join the club.
2. Provided our annual award to a nursing/midwifery student at UTS which is awarded each year at the National Council for Women NSW Australia Day function – $1092. Each year we invite the awardee to speak to us at a club meeting, with our most recent awardee Narelle Brown looking to improve Indigenous midwifery services and work in an Indigenous led clinic.
3. Sponsor our annual award at the Sydney Eisteddfod for Female voices (age 16- 20 years). The award is in the name of our Charter Member Eilzabeth Todd OAM – $1030. This year we have been lucky enough to have the winner and runner up in this competition perform for us at functions.
4. Scholarship for student at The Women’s College – we have funds held in trust with the College which provide a scholarship for a student in sciences or technology. For 2023 our award supports an Engineering/Science student with a scholarship of $5000.
5. We purchase materials need to sew and pack breast care cushions for women having breast surgery. In 2022/23 330 cushions were made and delivered to the Mater Hospital. With great thanks to In Stitches, Pyrmont (particularly Julie Blewitt) and the Northside Wellness Group of the Older Women’s Network, Chatswood who make the cushions with the materials we supply.
6. Keeping Women out of Prison projects – our club has been a part of the Keeping Women out of Prison coalition for a number of years, and we continue to support women affected by the criminal justice system as an important service project. One way we provide support is raising funds for and packing release backpacks, which are filled with items to support women when they are released from prison. We provided 12 backpacks to the Miranda Project in the past year at a cost of $1585
7. We also support an education scholarship for women who have been part of the criminal justice system. This year, we provided $1600 towards literacy tutoring which supported Miranda Project clients to be able to learn to read and write.
8. Dress for Success and Success Works – after a presentation to the club from Success Works, our club have earmarked $2200 to be provided to support women who require specialist protective/work-related clothing in the Success Works program.
9. We also donated almost 100 good quality garments (many designer items) to Dress for Success, a charity who support women getting back into the work force with clothing, mentoring and job ready skills.
10. Smith Family Learning for Life sponsorship – our club sponsorship of $1353 supports a young girl in primary school through the Learning for Life program.
11. In 2017 our club set aside funds which originally were to be provided to Girl Guides Australia for a program to prevent violence against women. Although this program was not able to be completed, our funds instead were allocated to two other groups working to prevent violence against women. We provided $2080 to Liverpool Women’s Health centre to provide education programs to highschool aged girls as well as $3340 to the Voices for Change program run by Domestice Violence NSW, where women with lived experience are supported to work as advocates.
12. Sadly in 2023 one of our long term club members passed away, shortly after her husband who was an Honorary Zontian himself. As a result, our club donated a total of $2000 to the Maybanke Fund of the Sydney Community Foundation in the names of Ros and Tony Strong. The Maybanke Fund is used to reduce social inequality through education, women’s advocacy and social reform.
13. International service projects – in 2022/23 our club honoured its commitment to donate one third of all funds raised to the Zonta Foundation for Women projects. As a consequence, we donated $4260 to Zonta, split between the Amelia Earhart Fellowship fund, Jane M Klausman Women in Business Scholarship fund, Rose Fund, Young Women in Public Affairs Award Fund and International Service Fund.

If you would like to come to a club meeting or join any of our activities please let us know by emailing zontaclubsydney@gmail.com We welcome any new members or potential members who share a passion for improving the status of women.