On the Town: Zonta members chart club’s future
Chartered in 1936, the Zonta Club of Burbank Area has a 77-year history of advancing the status of women. Along with its advocacy work, the organization brings together local business executives and professionals who work to raise funds and provide direct and in-kind services to women in need.
Officers, members and guests of the Zonta Club gathered at the DeBell Club House to review their accomplishments, chart their future and increase their membership this past week. “We’re celebrating our year of successful programs that has included making grants available to women over 21 who are going back to continue their education,” said the organization’s president, Grace Farenbaugh. “We are also promoting our newest program, Life Forward, that will provide workshops and information to local woman on resumé preparation, financial planning, legal advice and other issues designed to empower women to achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency.”
Welcomed by the group’s vice president, Ming Liu, and by Sharon Cohen, who serves as the city’s Library Services Director, Zontians and guests who enjoyed the tropical-isle-themed evening included Donna Anderson, Margarita Campos, Jennifer Wyatt, Katherine Richards, Brenda Lantieri, Natasha Campos, Lori Wong, Lucy Burgdorf, Elaine Paonessa and Gloria Salas.
Along with their annual Burbank Woman of the Year presentation, local Zontians have raised and distributed more than $100,000 in the past decade. Those funds have been used for granting scholarships, instituting programs to help women overcome adversities, mentoring high school students, and providing books on women’s achievement to local school libraries. The group has also established rose gardens at the Buena Vista and Northwest library branches and have assisted with financial support for the work of the Burbank Family Services Agency and the Burbank Temporary Aid Center.
For more information on the work of the Zonta Club of Burbank, visit their website at www.zontaburbank.org.
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DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.
