 Members and friends had a great time this morning organizing the adopt a family gifts for the Salvation Army in Midland! Midland has a huge heart and so many people have provided gifts that will make the families holidays so special! So glad we could help.
Have you seen an orange Julie Doll in Midland? There are 67 out in businesses and organizations all there to raise awareness of the 16 Days of Activism and the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.
Join us and take the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women Pledge at https://www.ipetitions.com/peti.../zonta-says-no-pledge-2025. Thank you to all of the businesses and organizations hosting the Julie Dolls during the 16 Days of Activism!   At the November program meeting Zonta Club of Midland members congratulated Cindy Vickery and Karla Oldenburg for being elected to the Zonta International District 15 board for 2026-2028. Cindy will serve as Governor of the district and Karla will serve her second term as treasurer.
We also packed 150 Clean Birth Kits in partnership with the Birthing Kit Foundation of Australia (BKFA). Birthing Kits are an internationally accepted intervention to support a clean birth. Each item in the BKFA Birthing Kit works to reduce infections at key high-risk moments of care during labor, birth and immediately post-birth for the mother, newborn and birth attendant. Each kit includes plastic sheeting, gloves, cord ties, gauze, soap and a sterile blade. BKFA has supplied, 2.8 million Clean Birth Kits to women in need. Kits are given to mothers through community outreach programs, supplied to health facilities for use by doctors, midwives and nurses or distributed to traditional birthing attendants. They are designed to support hygienic practices and environments during childbirth in under-resourced settings. Kits are distributed throughout Asia, Africa, The Pacific and The Caribbean.  Eight members of the Zonta Club of Midland recently attended the Zonta International District 15 Fall Conference in Traverse City where two club members were elected to the district board. Cindy Vickery, current District Lt. Governor was elected as Governor for 2026-2028 and Karla Oldenburg, current treasurer, was elected to serve a second term.
Vickery has been a member of the Zonta Club of Midland since 2012 and has served as club president and treasurer before joining the district board in 2022 as an Area Director. “I am humbled and honored to be elected to serve as District Governor and look forward to working with the new board to expand the reach of Zonta in our area,” said Vickery. “Zonta has provided me an opportunity to meet so many amazing women leaders from around Michigan, the US and the world and together we are working to build a better world for women and girls. Zonta has also helped me grow and develop my own leadership skills.” Oldenburg also joined the Zonta Club of Midland in 2012 and has been president and treasurer of the Midland club in and was first elected district treasurer in 2023. Zonta is a service club dedicated to building a better world for women and girls locally and globally and membership is open to all. More information is available at ZontaClubofMidland.org. We had a very busy and fun meeting last night that began with a cooking demonstration by Shari from Menu Manager and continued with a great presentation by Sharon Mortensen on the results of the latest Midland County Health survey that prompted many questions and a lively discussion. We also collected items for Midland’s Open Door and started up a book member book swap. Such great energy in the air!
 The Zonta Club of Midland members are excited to welcome six new members that were inducted into the club at our October business meeting! We look forward to getting to know Kimberly, Corie, Marcia, Anne, Mary Jo and Pam
Our club year may officially start in June but the September meetings feel like a new beginning! We had an amazing 44 members and guests out for the business meeting on September 2nd and focused on club activities and committee reports and of course, catching up with each other.
At our program meeting on September 16th we enjoyed a great presentation by Ansley Dauenhauer on Guided Memoir Writing! She shared with us the importance of documenting our own stories and guided writing helps us each bring our memories to life. Our next Meeting is Tuesday, October 7th at noon. During that meeting Homewalk tickets will be handed out to members and we'll be inducting new members! 
We welcomed four new members during our March dinner meeting!
 The Zonta Club of Midland welcomed five new members today during an induction ceremony at our business meeting. Welcome Anna Warren, Sue Sulfridge, Sudie Ammerman, Kim Scott and Julie Smith!
During the meeting we also authorized spending $12,000 in service grants to a dozen local agencies to improve the lives of women and girls locally! Thank you to everyone who supported the Zonta Homewalk generated these service funds. The Zonta Club of Midland is a service organization open to all in the Midland area and is affiliated with Zonta International.  Zonta Club of Midland members gathered at their January meeting to pack 200 Clean Birth Kits in partnership with the Birthing Kit Foundation of Australia (BKFA). Birthing Kits are an internationally accepted intervention to support a clean birth. Each item in the BKFA Birthing Kit works to reduce infections at key high-risk moments of care during labor, birth and immediately post-birth for the mother, newborn and birth attendant. Each kit includes plastic sheeting, gloves, cord ties, gauze, soap and a sterile blade.
BKFA has supplied, 2.8 million Clean Birth Kits to women in need. Kits are given to mothers through community outreach programs, supplied to health facilities for use by doctors, midwives and nurses or distributed to traditional birthing attendants. They are designed to support hygienic practices and environments during childbirth in under-resourced settings. Kits are distributed throughout Asia, Africa, The Pacific and The Caribbean. “I participated in a birthing kit packing event at the Zonta International convention in Australia last June and new that this would be a great event to bring back to our club in Midland,” said Krista Blaser, Zonta Club of Midland Vice President. “By working together, we have impacted the lives of 200 mothers and their babies.” Prior to the meeting members also enjoyed beautiful music provided by members Mara Stewart and Megan Carlsen!  Tonight at Zonta, we had a relaxing meeting and all shared one thing we are deeply grateful for in our life.
We also had Chef Ann and Helena from The Menu Manager perform a demonstration on making seasoned olive oil and dinner rolls. Menu Manager also catered the meal and it was delicous! We do a lot of serious work in Zonta, having an evening to catch up with our Zisters and enjoy some entertainment is much needed! At our November Zonta lunch meeting, we had our Area 2 District representative there to speak on Zonta Internationals scholarships and how funds are allocated to support women and girls across the globe!
We also heard from the various committees from the club. Hear what Mission Committee had planned coming up!! Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women Campaign November 25- December 10th Active planned: 🤍 billboard up on US-10 showcase Zonta Says NO 🤍Orange Lady Dolls, named Julie, after a member’s niece who was raped, murdered, and thrown into a canal in Belgium. Julie dolls will be placed in stores throughout Midland with a QR code to learn more about Zonta Says NO and Julie’s story. 🤍 daily Facebook posts to educate on gender based violence locally and internationally during the 16 day campaign 🤍 Golden Z at Northwood University is hosting a self defense class and ordering coasters that detect the date rape drug to pass out on campus and local bars 🤍Canned food drive to replenish the Open Door shelter Our Fundraising Committee is gearing up for our Zonta Homewalk! Our biggest fundraising event for scholarships and grants! Lots of things happening! Be on the look out in the newspaper, social media, and local stores! 
  Welcome to our three newest members Susan Williams, Maggie Mayes, and Lisa Benter-Rich who were inducted into the club at our business meeting on Tuesday! We look forward to making the world a better place together with you!
Members also picked up their Homewalk tickets on Tuesday so now's the time to get yours! We have 5 fabulous houses that you are going to want to see, they will be open December 7th & 8th! Need help finding a member? Leave a comment or message us! |
