Zontalong. President Joy Herman. Issue: September Upcoming Events all welcome

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1 Issue: September 2015 President Joy Herman Upcoming Events all welcome Club Meeting Wednesday 2 September 6pm for 6.30pm start Berkeley Lodge, 258 Pakington St, Geelong West Guest Speaker: Ellen Csar Zonta International District 23 Conference 2015 Adelaide Friday, 16 October Sunday, 18 October 2015 In this Issue: Presidents Report 1 Service and Advocacy Committee Report Z Club Report 3 Fast Facts On ZI Projects 3 Jane Kennedy ZI YWPA 4 Birthdays 4 Standing Items 4 Actions for September 4 Leadership Team 4 2 Congratulations to Cheryl Gibbons and the Service and Advocacy team for running a very successful Birthing Kit Assembly Day on Sturday 15 August at Matthew Flinders Girls College. The article in the Geelong Advertiser featuring Shani Cain holding a birthing kit did the trick and the volunteers flooded in. I was very impressed with the volunteers. Meg and I had the job of welcoming them when they arrived; they were punctual and interested in the task at hand. I began to reflect on what motivates a volunteer and found some very interesting information, not only does volunteering provide a service to the community it also has some positive aspects for the person performing the job. You might be interested to know that volunteering is a valuable way to improve your health. It can give you a sense of wellbeing leading to a feeling of happiness and ending with a strengthened immune system. Volunteering can also unite people from different backgrounds working for a common course. When you think about Zonta worldwide, the organisation is certainly diverse, with members originating from many different cultures and ethnic origins. At the September meeting we will be inducting two new members. It is good to see the club growing as this reduces the workload of individual members while enabling the club to achieve club goals. Every new member brings with them new ideas, skills and knowledge. All these attributes enhance our club and the wider Zonta community. Congratulations to our new Zontians. On 9 August I attended the Zonta Club Area 4 Presidents meeting in Bendigo. There was a good turn up and it was pleasing to meet Presidents from clubs across the District. Each President was asked to report on events their club was running. This was followed by a discussion of what was working and what wasn t working. Area Director Margaret Lynch spoke on succession planning and the importance of mentoring and training members to move into areas of responsibility. To this end our club need s to fill the position of assistant treasurer. This will ensure coverage for in times of the treasurers absence and it will provide for a smooth transition in the future. If any member would like to learn a new skill and feel they are good with figures, please consider moving into this role. This is not a Board position and would not require attendance to meeting - unless of course the recipient would like to come along and observe how the Board operates. Joy Herman President Zonta Club Geelong Zonta Club of Geelong, PO Box 1120, Geelong Vic 3220 W: E: zontaclubgeelong@yahoo.com.au Editor: Maria Zaluski

2 Service & Advocacy Birthing Kit Assembly Day On 15 August the annual Zonta Club of Geelong - Birthing Kit Assembly Day was held at Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College. And what a great success! Volunteer registrations exceeded our expectation and capacity. In the end we were left with no choice but to turn down offers from volunteers. This overwhelming response was in answer to the Geelong Advertiser featuring an article with member Shani Cain promoting the birthing kits and assembly day, and the Bay F M interview conducted with Christine Denmead. On the day 45 volunteers assembled 1000 birthing kits in what must have been an all-time record. The production assembly commenced at 9am and by 11.45am all kits were assembled, boxed and ready for shipment. And still volunteers young, old, female and male kept arriving. The atmosphere demonstrated a true community spirit and support for a truly worthy cause. Page 2

3 The club would like to extend a huge thank you to all the volunteers. It is a testament to many hands make light work. A special thank-you is extended to Matthew Flinders SC for providing the facility and to the Geelong Advertiser and Bay FM for promoting the event. Cheryl Gibbons Service & Advocacy Page 3

4 Fast facts from Zonta International Service projects Gender-Based Violence in and around Schools in Vietnam The Matthew Flinders Z Club is now up and running. A Z Club is a junior service club established in secondary schools and is sponsored by Zonta International. Z Club s were first established in 1948 and now operate in 15 countries across the world. The leaders of the Matthew Flinders Z Club are middle school captains Maddie, Megan and Maia. Our first meeting was attend by representatives from Years 7, 8 and 9. At this meeting we discussed ways of letting our school community know about the Z Club and what we are planning. We are setting up display boards explaining the Z Club and what projects we plan on doing. At the general assembly Maddie introduced the Z Club and spoke about the Zonta Birthing Kit Assembly Day that was to be held at Matthew Flinders on the 15 th of August. Maddie showed what was in a Birthing Kit and explained its importance in developing countries. Each Birthing Kit costs $3 and has the potential of saving both the life of the mother and baby. The Z Club publicised this event and some of them attended the assembly day. The Z Club is running a BBQ later this term. We plan on using the proceeds to purchase items suitable for young teenage girls to go into toiletry bags. These bags will be donated to a local agency supporting families experiencing domestic violence. GBV is a serious problem in Vietnam. Gender based Violence includes domestic violence, sexual harassment, human trafficking and assault in schools and public places. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of ever-married women, aged 18 to 60, have experienced violence by their husbands or intimate partners at least once in their lifetime. Women and girls are also vulnerable to trafficking, abuse and sexual harassment outside the family setting. A survey conducted in early May with 800 students indicates that more than 70% of surveyed students have made positive changes after one year participating in the project. They are the true makers of the sustainable change because they now provide support to their friends who are victims of violence; they change their attitudes and treatment towards other friends; they also talk more with friends about GBV. Nearly half of the students said they actively search for more information about GBV, sex and gender and other related topics. Obstetric Fistula and Reduction of Maternal and Newborn Mortality in Liberia As a result of successful prevention strategies that encourage women to deliver in hospitals to prevent fistula the number women presenting for surgery is reduced. Most of the current cases are recurrent or complicated cases. Skill training and adult literacy programs is being undertaken for 18 fistula survivors. FUTURE LEADERS BUILDING A BETTER WORLD TO- DAY THROUGH SERVICE AND ADVOCACY Z Club Leaders, Maddie, Megan and Maia Robyn Cameron, PSD Manager Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College During the reporting period: 50 survivors were rehabilitated and reintegrated into their communities. 33 survivors were followed up with after leaving the rehabilitation centre. Of those 33, all were still practicing the economic skills they acquired at the rehabilitation centre. 5 expanded their businesses from the original starter kits and 28 were on track to acquire enough income to sustain their families. 1 survivor who became pregnant again was closely monitored and delivered a healthy baby by caesarean section, without fistula. Page 4

5 The Zonta Club of Geelong wish to congratulation Jane Kennedy one of ten winners of the prestige's Zonta International Young Women in Public Affairs Award. Jane will be speaking at the District 23 Conference held in Adelaide in October The below article was published in the Geelong Advertiser in recognition of Jane s achievement and depicting her future goals. September Birthdays Congratulations to : Cheryl, Meg and Kirsty. Actions for September - Have a conversation with one person regarding any of the above articles. - Have you liked the Zonta Club Geelong facebook page. Standing Item: SalvoConnect Women s Service. The Zonta Club of Geelong has a longstanding affiliation with SalvoConnect Women s Services. We collect donations at our monthly club meetings and forward these to SalvoConnect. Donations of the following items would be appreciated: Shampoo, Conditioner, Toothpaste, Spray deodorants, Tampons, Baby bottles with NUK Teats. Page 5 The Leadership Team Board President - Joy Herman Vice President -Cheryl Gibbons Treasurer - Robin Turner Secretary - Fiona MacDowall Directors - Lisa Savage Shani Cain Phillipa Challis Robyn Cameron Committee Convenors: Fundraising Anna Milner Service & Advocacy - Christine Denmead Membership Marion Wilde Z Club - Robyn Cameron