A group of suffragettes and high-profile women, who included famous aviation pilot Amelia Earhart, founded the nonprofit organization Zonta International in 1919 in Buffalo, New York. Their goal was to create a worldwide service organization of business executives and professionals who work together to help women around the world.
They took their rather unique name from a Sioux Indian word meaning “honest and trustworthy.” According to their website, Zontians “volunteer their time, talents, skills and energy to local and international service projects designed to advance the status of women.” Today, Zonta has about 30,000 members in more than 1,200 clubs in 63 countries.
The Zonta Club of Prince William County, the local chapter of Zonta International, is located in District 3 of the organization. District 3 extends from southern New York through Virginia, including the Mid-Atlantic states of New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, part of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. The Zonta Club of Prince William County serves the county as well as the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Women from a variety of occupations comprise the nearly 20 members of the local club. They include a pilot, lawyer, NASA employee, military, engineers, real estate executives and business owners.
“Our Zonta organization includes such a broad variety of business women, all of whom have dedicated themselves to serve women in our community and beyond,” said Linda Taylor, president of the Zonta Club of Prince William County. “I love the fact that while we represent many areas in the business world, we come together with a focus on improving the lives of women.”
The local Zonta club meets monthly to pursue this common goal through service projects. According to the club’s website, the following projects address a wide range of issues all considered basic human rights for women’s development:
■ Women’s economic self-sufficiency
■ Legislative equality
■ Access to education and training
■ Health, nutrition and family planning
Prince William area. The Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship is named after one of Zonta International’s founding members and is geared toward women who are undertaking business studies and are in at least the second year of an undergraduate program or through the final year of a master’s program.
The second scholarship is the Young Women in Public Affairs Award, geared toward female Prince William area high school students aged 16 to 19 who are college bound and demonstrate leadership skills with a commitment to public service. Applications are accepted through March. A scholarship committee, usually consisting of three Zonta members, reviews all applications and decides on the recipient by late March or early April.
How Zonta Achieves Its Goal
Another member initially asked local Zonta member Vikki Youravich, prior to her joining, to attend a meeting to learn more about the organization. Youravich, who owns Just Write, a personalized printing business, had not heard of Zonta at that time.
Three years later, she said she is happy that she made the time to go to that first meeting, adding that she was impressed with the women around the table. “It was women helping women. These were all women who are trying to help betterment and advancement of women in our area and around the world,” said Youravich.
She has served on several committees within Zonta, primarily public relations and membership. Her involvement has included planting a garden at a Woodbridge senior center and hosting a jewelry show in her home for the Bead for Life Program. Ugandan women make the jewelry, which provides them with a source of sustainable income. Youravich’s most memorable project is a Mother’s Day event at Transitional Housing BARN, Inc., a Bristow-based nonprofit organization that offers transitional housing and case management services to homeless mothers and their children. Zontians spent much of the evening with women at the BARN, holding a social in their honor.
Youravich explained that during their monthly meetings, the Zontians decide which groups they will help and always look for new groups that would benefit from their volunteerism and donations. The organization is also always on the lookout for new fundraising activities to support its annual scholarship program, she said. Currently, funds are raised through wine tastings, a silent auction, White House ornament sales and two annual yard sales during May and October in the Long & Foster parking lot in Woodbridge. The amounts offered for each scholarship vary depending on the total raised that year.
The club offers two scholarships for women who live in the Prince William area. The Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship is named after one of Zonta International’s founding business studies and are in a least the second year of an undergraduate program or through the final year of a master’s program.
The second scholarship is the Young Women in Public Affairs Award, geared toward female Prince William area high school students aged 16 to 19 who are college bound and demonstrate leadership skills with a commitment to public service. Applications are accepted through March. A scholarship committee, usually consisting of three Zonta members, reviews all applications and decides on the recipient by late March or early April.
The More, the Merrier
The local Zonta club is always looking for new members, Youravich said. The more people who participate, the more women they have to provide ideas and to help with fundraisers and service projects. “More members means we can do more things for more women in the county and for Zonta International,” said Youravich.
For more information about the local club, visit www.zontaprincewilliam.org or contact Sherrill Pusey, membership leader, at sherrill.pusey@longandfoster.com.
A nonprofit marketing director and an all-women’s college graduate (from Mount Holyoke College), Helena Tavares Kennedy also enjoys freelance writing in her spare time. She has lived in Manassas with her husband and two children for 12 years and can be reached at hkennedy@princewilliamliving.com.
Zonta at Work
Zontians help advance women through a variety of service projects. A few service projects of the Prince William club:
■ Collect and take used shoes to the VA Runner store, which donates them to needy individuals across the globe through Soles for Souls. ■ Donate funds to Court Appointed Special Advocate. ■ Mentor women and children living at BARN, and donate much-needed items. ■ Help secure transitional housing for women veterans until they find a civilian job and permanent home through the Final Salute program. ■ Sell jewelry handmade by Ugandan women to support the women’s artistry and income through Bead for Life. ■ Provide financial support to Beat the Odds, which gives at-risk youth opportunities to attend college and be successful in their lives.
For more information about Zonta’s local efforts visit www.zontaprincewilliam.org.
