“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

―Theodore Roosevelt

President’s Letter

These last few days have been challenging for many of us.

I always imagined that my daughters would realize opportunities far beyond my own and in turn, they would be free to decide their own destinies. I imagined them as equals in their workplace; I imagined them able to make their own choices and I imagined that their daughters and granddaughters would know no limitations. Now we must all confront the reality that these dreams are shaken. We are witnessing our rights eroding and the fight we thought was ending is only beginning.

For most of our lives all of us have been in the arena, fighting for bodily autonomy, for an end to violence and sexual assault, for equity in professional advancement and pay. But the finish line now seems elusive. How did we get here? Where could we have done better? These are questions we will wrestle with for months and years to come. But perhaps the most important question is how do we regain our footing? The work is not done and we must dust ourselves off and prepare for the journey ahead. It won’t be easy; we will rely on the “doer of deeds” who as Theodore Roosevelt explains, “is actually in the arena…marred by dust, sweat and blood.”

As we begin to walk on what seems to be an unprecedented path, our actions “in the arena” will matter even more. Organizations like ours will be put the the test; as programs and funding are cut our support of women and families community and matters even more than ever. We will draw strength from one another and we will make the difference one woman, one girl and one family at a time.

- Pam

• Collaborative Hub Training - November 19 th from 2-3:15. Club Board and committee chairs will meet on zoom to discuss ways to better utilize the Hub.

• Z Club Product Drive - Sataurday, November 23. 9 am -2 pm. Safeway on Iris and 28th Street. We will be collecting feminine hygiene products, diapers and dog food for the Safe House shelter. Join the Z Club and show your support!

• Colorado Gives Day - Tuesday December 10. Visit our web site and please share!

• Community Food Share Holiday Book Wrapping- Wed, December 11, from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, 650 S Taylor Ave Suite C, Louisville, CO

• Our Center Holiday Book Wrapping - Tuesday, December. 3, from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM, 220 Collyer St, Longmont, CO

• December Business Meeting Holiday Party - Thursday. December 12 5:30-7:30 pm at the home of Colleen Farrell…Pot Luck

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

Foothills News

Zonta Foothills Advocacy Co-Chair Sara Gillespie spoke on behalf of our Club, thanking the DA’s Domestic Violence Rapid Response Team and others present for representing victims, and for their unwavering commitment to endinng violence against women.

We are excited to have Detective McManus join us at our November business meeting to discuss her work. Please join us so we can celebrate her award together.

Advocacy Committee

Nominated by five different county agencies, Jocelyn is a Longmont Detective described as a model officer, who received kudos from every member of the county DVR Team. Zonta is proud to give her our vote as this year’s 2024 Beth Haynes Award recipient.

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

Lily Beacom, PantherZ ZClub Co-President and Casey Longo, Z Club Board member were speakers at the event, helping to inspire voters to get out in the name of youth who aren’t old enough to go to the polls. They were amazing! It was an inspiration to bring together a community that cared including our partners at the YWCA, the League of Women Voters, New Era and a number of CUBoulder.

Governance and Engagement Committee

So help think about on your own experiences.

• What was your first Zonta meeting like?

• Was there something that inspired you when you first joined?

• What influences your decision to get involved with the Club?

• What tool or activity was the most helpful in understanding how the Club worked?

• How did you meet the other members?

• What was the first project you worked on? Why did you get involved with that project?
  
  We’re looking forward to this meaningful conversation!

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

FUNdraising Committee

We will be asking the membership to let everyone know about CGD and how important their donation is to make a better world for women and girls, especially now.

Zing for Zonta is still on schedule for April 18th. We will have a new emcee this year, Jeffrey Kash from Premier Bank, he was one of our judges from last year and is very entertaining. The venue has been reserved and we are looking at catering companies. There will be more information to follow very soon.

 Happy Thanksgiving,

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

Zervice Committee

heartfelt message from our Club, pajamas, fuzzy socks and body lotion. Dr. Jane Wolford, Safe Place board member, spoke to the members at the meeting about the range of services provided for those seeking shelter, and confirmed that pajamas are always needed! Thanks to Carol Smoot for delivering half of the bags to Safehouse Progressive Alliance in Boulder. Catherine Bailey delivered the other half to Safe Place of St. Vrain Valley in Longmont.

shopping, boxing, labeling, and delivering 600 books to the storage units! The Emporium’s generous invitation offered a rare opportunity to hand select gift-worthy adult, teen and children’s books for our annual Free Holiday Book Markets in December.

Join the Zervice Committee in hosting TWO Free Holiday Book Markets in December! Our annual Holiday Book & Gift-Wrapping tradition has expanded to include the OUR Center in Longmont, along with Community Food Share in Louisville.  Wear your Christmas sweater and enjoy working as a team to help Food Bank clients select books for family member gifts. We giftwrap their selections while they shop! 

Donations are needed to help us replenish our wrapping supplies. Please BRING holiday gift wrapping paper, bows, ribbons and gift bags (large enough to hold 3 large books) to the Nov. 14th ZFC  meeting or drop off at Marta Lindrose's home, no later than Friday, Nov. 22nd.

Volunteers are needed to work in teams for 3-hour shifts:

OUR Center:  Tues. Dec. 3, from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM Community Food Share: 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

This display tells victims’ stories and captures the tragedy of violence. This year we added stories to support our Culture of Respect project focusing on dating violence, bullying and other destructive behaviors.

Margareta talked with our members about the basics of salary negotiations and talking about your skills and assets in a job interview. This is such imporant information for our young professionals.

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

Educatez Scholarship Committee

Why the name change? The rationale behind name change is to:

• align with the Zonta International Zonta Says NOW initiative,

• reflect the many intersectionalities of dealing with climate change while forwarding social justice,

• allow better visibility for Zonta Foothills, and

• enable flexibility in how the scholarship is awarded.

in order to award the $5000 budgeted for our 2024-25 scholarship, outreach for applicants will start right away. Eligible candidates are females in at least their third year of studies at CU Boulder, including graduate students. The deadline to apply is December 2nd and we will announce our winner by December 20th. 

We hope to deposit the scholarship award into the winner’s CU account in January. 

If you’re interested in helping to read applications and picking our recipient, please contact Nancy Rowe or Michelle Médal. 

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

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