"The joy of brightening other lives becomes for us the magic of the holidays."

– W. C. Jones

President’s Letter

Happy Holidays. May your season be filled with “the joy of brightening other lives.…”

We have all shared so much over the past year. As we worked to Build a Better World for Women and Girls for our community, we also saw the true meaning of sisterhood and “the joy of brightening other lives.…” The last few months have been filled with smiles and heart-felt acts of kindness and our members created a safe space to share experiences and challenges with others. We were committed to brightening lives.

We brightened other lives through support…Whether to our community, our Z Clubs, or to one another, we tried to be there.

We brightened other lives through scholarship…We awarded 15 scholarships, a greater financial outlay than ever before.

We brightened other lives through family literacy…We delivered more than 7,000 books to our free libraries to ensure that families in our community have books for everyone to read.

We brightened other lives through mentorship…We watched as our young Z Club leaders became community advocates and gave back to their community through service.

We brightened other lives through advocacy…We used our voices and worked hard to get Initiative 79 passed to enshrine reproductive freedoms into the Colorado constitution. We continue to work with community partners to advocate for the ERA, equal pay, childcare and safety. We have even become Zonta leaders in climate justice.

Many challenges lie ahead for women in our country and around the world, so,

We must continue to brightened other lives…Much will be asked of our communities and organizations like Zonta will be even more critical in the months and years ahead. Together we can brighten lives by protecting a women’s rights to choice, supporting education, fighting for gender equity and safety and helping women work towards financial independence.

I am grateful that we are on this journey together.

Happy Holidays. May your season be filled with “the joy of brightening other lives.…”

- Pam

• Community Foodshare Holiday Book Give-away Wed, Dec 11, from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, 650 S Taylor Ave Suite C, Louisville

• Share-a-Gift - Saturday, December 21 7:45 AM – 12:15 PM, 5450 Western Avenue, Boulder

• Board Meeting - January 2, 5:30-7:00 via zoom (all members welcome)

• Business Meeting - January 9, 5:30-7:30, Location TBD

• EducateZ Committee meeting - Monday, January 13, 4-5 pm via zoom

• Service Committee meeting - Thursday, January 16, Location TBD

• Area 3 Amelia Earhart Luncheon - Saturday, January 25, Rocky Mountain Airport, 11755 Airport Way, Broomfield, CO 80021 (Hosted by our Club.)

  Committee Chairs please enter your plans as you have them so that our Club can know about all activities coming up! This document is in our Zonta Foothills Collaborative Drive in the Member Calendar Folder. Check it out!

Foothills News

To increase our support, prior years’ donors were sent the 23-24 Zonta Foothills Foundation Annual Report (access it above) so they know all about the good work we have accomplished this past year. They just need you to ask them to donate! Remember many donors make their CO Gives lists for December 10th…PLEASE ask a few friends to be sure the Zonta Foothills Foundation is on their list!

enjoy hot cocoa and participate in an activity honoring the women in their lives who have had a positive impact on them. We are so excited to meet our new Club and looking forward to working with them!

The event will be run by our own Colleen Farrell, Area 3 Director, on Saturday, January 25th from 10-3 at Rocky Mountain Airport in Broomfield.  

What better place to hear our University of Colorado Amelia Earhart Fellows Andrea Lopez and Erin Richardson. Save the Date, more information to come.

Governance and Engagement Committee

One of the responsibilities of the Governance & Engagement Committee is to recruit new members. In the coming weeks we have coffee dates planned with four women who reached out to us through our web site, our members and other activities because they are interested in learning more about our Club. 

Zonta Government and Engagement Committee - Chair Nancy Rowe Colleen Farrell, Claudia Ibarra, Pam Malzbender, Amanda Elsnes, Ann Hodgson, Kathy Israelson, Catherine Médal

Advocacy Committee

Zonta International reports:

• The ERA has met all legal requirements to be the 28th Amendment under Article V of the Constitution.

• Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA in 2020, achieving the required threshold.

• The artificial deadline is widely viewed as non-binding by legal experts.

As part of the The ERA Coalition, Zonta International is mobilizing advocacy efforts nationwide to harness their connections, political influence, and communication networks to achieve one critical goal: securing permanent protections through the publication of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

What can you do?
Reach out to key contacts and influencers who can directly support or urge the President to publish the ERA. You can:

Take action now:

• Message POTUS personally through:
   (Whitehouse.gov, Postcard, Call Comments: 202-456-1111, Social Media)
  The White House
  1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
  Washington, DC 20500

• Visit the Zonta USA page here and scroll down to the “Send Joe a Postcard! Club Project”

• Sign the petition personally at www.sign4era.org.

Together, we can make history. Let’s act now to enshrine equal protection in our Constitution.

The Advocacy Committee - Co-Chairs: Sara Gillespie & Sheila King Elizabeth Freedman, Lisa Lesniak, Kay Meyer, Ranelle Randles, Dana RaeVaughn

FUNdraising Committee

Jeffrey Kash the Assistant Vice President of Community Relations at Premier Bank will do the honors. He was one of our judges from last year and is very entertaining. The Dairy Arts Center has been reserved and we have secured Greens Point catering company from Longmont to provide the food. We will soon create the collateral and lay out the timeline for talent and Zing PR. BUT IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO FIND SPONSORS!!! Please start thinking of local companies that might want to support this great event.

Zonta FUNdraising Committee - Co-chairs: Marta Lindrose and Colleen Farrell

Zervice Committee

Elizabeth Freedman, Lisa Lesniak, Debbie Nasta, Carol Smoot, Joan Siebenaler, Marta Lindrose and Colleen Farrell who distributed and wrapped more than 300 books for families to enjoy as holiday gifts! From children's books like Charlotte's Web and Good Night Moon to adult books like Kite Runner and Poisonwood Bible, there were great titles on hand and a lot of holiday spirit. We are proud of our partnership with the Our Center.

Next week we host a similar event at Community Foodshare and we still need volunteers on Wed, Dec 11, from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Here is a LINK to sign up for a shift. Sign up NOW and save the date!

For 50+ years, Share-A-Gift has been providing toys, books, and bicycles for children of low-income families, 14 years old or younger, in Boulder Valley School District. In 2023, Share-A-Gift provided gifts for almost 1,600+ children representing over 600+ families!

Saturday, December 21 Morning shift: 7:45 AM – 12:15 PM

5450 Western Avenue, Boulder

Sign up NOW and save the date! Here is a LINK to sign up. 

Zonta Zervice Committee - Co-chairs: Marta Lindrose and Catherine Bailey, Tommie Atanasoff, Dixie Hollingsworth, Cheri Magin, Kim Prosser-Noonan, Joan Siebenaler, Carol Smoot

Zonta EducateZ Committee

The crew collected over 870 pounds (way above last year's 650 pounds) of diapers, sanitary products, pet foods, toiletries, soaps and paper products. The donations were shared with Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA), the Our Center, the Safe House (SPAN) and the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. A big thank you to the Safeway on Iris and 28th Street for their continued support!

Congratulations everyone!!!

This week our Boulder High School Pantherz Z Club volunteered for Care Letters by writing letters from Santa for families dealing with a child's health crisis. All of our Club members spent their meeting creating messages of hope and encouragement to make the season a little brighter for local kids.

Zonta EducateZ Committee - Co-Chairs Gaby Lopez & Claudia Ibarra, Pam Malzbender, Michelle Carpenter, Tommie Atanasoff, Margareta Bancroft, Dixie Hollingsworth

Educatez Scholarship Committee

A big thank you to the Committee for their outreach efforts! Kay Meyer and Michelle Médal created a new rubric that the committee will use to evaluate our impressive applicants. The Committee plans to announce our winner by December 20th. 

The EducateZ Scholarship Committee - Co-Chairs Nancy Rowe and Michelle Médal, Margareta Bancroft, Kathy Bousquet, Jan Cheney, Dana Rae Vaughn, Kay Meyer

Finance Committee

Zonta Finance Committee - Chair Pam Malzbender, Michelle Médal, Nancy Rowe, Ranelle Randles, Marta Lindrose and Colleen Farrell

Community OUtreach

SVP supports Boulder County nonprofits through training, leadership development, pro-bono consulting, mentoring, coaching and education. Check out the article here.

PR Committee - C0-Chairs Pam Malzbender & Sheila Cohen, Joan Siebenaler, Carol Smoot