Zonta Club of Charleston

Thank you to our sponsors:

Cupcake, Wells Gallery, and The Harbour Club!

The members of the Zonta Club of Charleston are honored that four new members wish to join with us in service and fellowship. We welcome them to a global organization of executives and professionals working together to advance the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy.

On March 8, 2011, the club inducted its new members:  Emma Vought, Liz Schwartz, Jessica Credeur, and Catherine Brennan.

Zonta is strongly committed to the ideal of equality for all as expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights. We are confident that our new members will contribute their caring, enthusiasm and talents to our club.

Narrated by internationally renowned TV journalist Daljit Dhaliwal, this 21st Century short documentary goes deep into Haiti’s makeshift camps to expose acts of violence and sexual assaults women, especially young girls and even babies, have encountered since the country’s devastating earthquake in January left 1.5 million homeless. While measures are being taken by, for instance, the Haitian National Police, UN police and UN Women, to curb such type of violence, this video underscores what has yet to be done to ensure the safety of women and girls as Haiti continues to build itself back from the ground up. The Zonta Club of Charleston raises money for Zonta International service projects that strive to prevent situations as the one Haiti from happening again.

ZONTA INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PROGRAM (ZISVAW)

Globally, gender-based violence is the most pervasive and least recognized human rights violation. Rooted in inequality, it affects women of every race, class, culture, ethnicity, age and country. Zonta International strives to promote and protect the human rights of all women and girls and reduce the incidence of violence through the Zonta International Strategies to End Violence Against Women (ZISVAW) Program by:

• Supporting prevention and advocacy strategies locally and internationally.
• Awarding grants to United Nations agencies or recognized NGOs for projects that seek to change personal and/or political knowledge, attitudes and behavior contributing to gender-based violence.
• Increasing awareness and actions related to preventing violence against women by encouraging Zonta club involvement in local and national advocacy initiatives and service projects.

---

Since the program’s inception in 1999, more than US$2 million has been provided to support 33 projects in more than 20 countries.

---

During the 2010-2012 Biennium, two projects are being supported by the ZISVAW Fund:

• Security and Empowerment for Women and their Families: Ensuring a Gender-Responsive Humanitarian and Early Recovery Response in Haiti
  

Funding: US$200,000 to UN Women (The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women)
Haitian women carry the disproportionate burden of care for children and family; however, rigid gender roles and inequalities make women vulnerable to gender-based violence and exclusion from political decision-making.  During times of emergencies, Haitian women and girls have experienced heightened exposure to acts of violence and in particular sexual violence.  With the overall objective of ensuring a gender-responsive humanitarian and early recovery response, the project will focus on increasing the capacity to provide services to victims of gender-based violence, to deliver support for women’s economic livelihoods and to promote, support and ensure women’s empowerment and participation in the recovery process.

• Towards a Comprehensive Strategy to End Burns Violence Against Women in Cambodia, Nepal and Uganda
  

Funding: US$430,000 to the UN Trust Fund, administered by UNIFEM
Acid violence and other forms of burning are prevalent forms of violence against women and girls, especially in countries where regulatory monitoring and controls are weak, and where the judiciary, lawyers and police have limited knowledge on the appropriate laws to prosecute perpetrators.  Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), the only organization working internationally on this issue, will collaborate with national Acid Survivors Foundations (ASF) in Cambodia, Nepal and Uganda to pilot an innovative and holistic community-based approach to address these forms of violence.  The project will focus on improving response from the justice, police and health sectors, mobilizing communities to monitor and advocate for the implementation of legislation reform, and encouraging individual responsibility to end this gender-based violence.

The Zonta Club of Charleston honored and recognized, for the first time ever, individuals and organizations making a difference in the lives of domestic violence victims. The First Annual Breaking the Silence Awards Gala took place on January 22, 2011, at the Harbour Club located in downtown Charleston, SC. Doug and Shirley Warner of Liza’s Lifeline, Debbie and Larry McGravy and Lynne Becker graciously agreed to appear in the video and share their stories. The video was produced by Anthony Spencer of Palmetto Sky Media Group and Vladia Jurcova Spencer of Stylee PR and Marketing.

The Zonta Club of Charleston organized the Area 2 meeting in Charleston this year. The event took place on April 24, 2010, at the Hilton Garden in North Charleston. The hotel did a wonderful job and we would like to thank them again!

The Area meetings is for all Zontians, new members as well as potential new members. It is important to introduce our new Zontians to Zonta International beyond the local club. We had a record attendance this year. Next year’s Area 2 meeting is taking place in Columbia, SC.

This year’s summer club social was so much fun that we believe that it is going to become a new tradition for our Zonta club. We gathered at the Harbour Club for a cooking class. Members learned how to make pasta and gnocchi, spent three hours in the kitchen, sipping wine and rolling out pasta. Then we feasted on our yummy creations, here are some photos.

With the assistance of Tim Banks, graphic design professor at the Art Institute of Charleston, our club had the opportunity to work with the Art Institute’s students and pick from several designs presented by them.  This amazing  new poster created by John Gross, a graphic design student of the Art Institute, is the winning design selected by our club members.  We are very grateful to the Art Institute for its support!