History of Zonta Club of Greeley

On June 6, 2013, 20 individual women gathered in Greeley to celebrate the chartering of the Zonta Club of Greeley. In our first year we commemorated “Zonta Says No” by putting “Abuse Happens Here” flyers in all the bathroom stalls we could find and we obtained a “Proclamation to End Gender Violence” from Greeley City Council, which we have done every year since. We initiated our ongoing connection with “Free the Girls”, an organization that sends gently used bras to human trafficking survivors overseas to sell for sufficient income to live. We started partnering with and have continued to make donations to “A Women’s Place”, Greeley’s organization serving victims of domestic violence.

In 2014 we were honored to have the Ft. Lupton High School shop class make silhouettes of adults and children we used to develop the Silent Witness program. Each silhouette shares their true story as a victim of domestic violence in northern Colorado. We continue to display them every year in libraries and other public places. We served as a model for District 12 which promoted it as a District wide program in 2015. We had our first Young Woman in Public Affairs (YWPA) scholarship winner who we took for a day at the Colorado Legislature. We sold and continue to sell yellow roses to honor women for Zonta International Rose Day. Important annual fundraisers continue to allow us to educate the community, support scholarships recipients, and help victims of human trafficking.

In 2015, we incorporated as a non-profit 501(c)3 by creating the Zonta Club of Greeley Foundation. Our biggest project was the development of the Northeast Colorado Coalition Against Trafficking (NECCAT) to bring law and victim service agencies together. It continues to coordinate with multiple law enforcement agencies and service organizations.

In 2016, we began to make backpacks for human trafficking survivors that include essential items such as toiletries, clothing, and personal care products, and we donate them to area police departments. Since then, many other Zonta Clubs as well as other various organizations have adopted the same program to help survivors in their local areas. We began to participate in and donate to a Journey Conference for Young Women through UNC and continued for three years.

We had our first Jane M. Klausman for Women in Business scholarship winner in 2018 and continue to support others with this honor. We also created a Zonta Centennial stamp through the Post Office. In 2019 spring semester at Billie Martinez Elementary School, we provided STEAM classes for girls. To celebrate the centennial of Zonta International, we entered a float in Greeley’s Independence Parade and hosted a Zonta Centennial dinner. Prior to COVID, we were proud to charter two Z Clubs at Greeley West and University High Schools.