How You Can Help
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Since 2001, the National Sexual Violence Research Center has coordinated annual programming, developing materials and resources for organizations and agencies to use. The SAAM campaign aims to increase awareness about the causes and risk factors for sexual assault and empower individuals to take steps to prevent it in their communities.
The World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on April 7th, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO). World Health Day's message is simple: giving people access to healthcare without the prospect of financial hardship.
Celebrating Women in April Highlights:
- April 7, 1805 - Sacagawea begins helping the Lewis and Clark Expedition as an interpreter
- April 7, 1987 - Opening of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the first museum devoted to women artists
- April 9, 1939 - Marian Anderson sings an Easter Sunday concert for more than 75,000 at Lincoln Memorial
- April 13, 1933 - Ruth Bryan Owen is the first woman to represent the U.S. as a foreign minister when she is appointed as envoy to Denmark
- April 19, 1977 - Fifteen women in the House of Representatives form the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues
- April 22 - Earth Day, honor Rachel Carson today, a woman who changed America and greatly influenced the environmental movement
- April 26, 1777 - American Revolution heroine Sybil Ludington, 16 years old, rides 40 miles on horseback in the middle of the night to warn the American militia that the British were invading
- April 28, 1993 - First "Take Our Daughters to Work" Day, sponsored by the Ms. Foundation, in 2003 it became "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work" Day
The Zonta Club of Washington, D.C., invites you to join in our various programs, community service, and advocacy activities. Anyone who shares our goal of empowering women through service and advocacy is welcome.
Monthly Educational Programs
Our club members are always looking to learn about issues that impact the welfare and empowerment of women. If you know someone who would be an excellent program speaker, please let us know. Use the Contact Us page to send us your suggestions. See our list of past speakers from 2001-2022.
Support the Greater DC Diaper Bank (GDCDB) program "The Monthly" by becoming a Monthly Champion.
When you buy period products, throw in an extra pack. (Note: Pads are requested far more often than tampons.) Donate those extra products at one of the 160+ drop locations across the region. Or order extra supplies off the GDCDB Amazon Wishlist and they will be delivered directly to GDCB.
Support Kakenya Center - become an Ambassador for the school!
Kakenya Ntaiya, the founder of our service project, Kakenya Center for Excellence (KCE), was a finalist as a 2013 CNN Hero. You can help by being an ambassador for the school. Visit KCE's website www.kakenyasdream.org. Four of Network for Excellence girls were selected to take part in the July 2015 Civil Society meeting with President Obama in Nairobi, Kenya. One of the girls was given the opportunity to address the President. click here
Cities for CEDAW
Our club is a supporter of the United Nations Association - National Capital Area (UNA-NCA) campaign for Cities for CEDAW. CEDAW stands for the Convention on the Elimination on All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which defines what constitutes as discrimination against women and was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. The Cities for CEDAW campaign focuses on implementing CEDAW at the municipal level as city ordinances. More than 250 U.S. mayors have supported CEDAW resolutions and several have already passed local laws. The long-term goal is to ensure that CEDAW at the local level is integrated in the United nations' sustainable development agenda.
Recognizing Veterans for their Service
Club members and supporters donated ten patriotic wreaths handcrafted by club members. Seven veterans were recognized for their service to our country with the presentation of a wreath at the 8th Annual Tribute to America's Veterans Concert on November 10, 2016 at the Silver Spring Civic Building. Others were recognized individually with the presentation of a wreath. See photos
Advocacy
Club members Sonya Baskerville and Shaina Egly attend the 2018 event in New York City.
Nearly 70 Zontians from 22 countries represented Zonta in New York at CSW61, where Member States agreed on the need for promoting decent work for women.
Sharing Zonta's vision for gender equality and sustainable development #CSW60 #SDG5
More than 50 Zontians gathered in New York City for the CSW60. This year's theme was women's empowerment and its link to sustainable development with a review of the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls and agreed conclusions from the CSW57.
The 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59) took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Zonta International issued a written statement to the Commission. More than 70 Zontians attended this event.
On June 24, 2014, the US Senate Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women's Issues held a hearing titled "Combating Violence and Discrimination Against Women: A Global Call to Action". Zonta International has signed a joint statement to the Subcommittee, joining other NGOs in urging the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to move forward with the ratification of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) and passage of IVAWA (International Violence Against Women Act).