WHO WE ARE

Zonta International

One hundred years ago, a small group of pioneering women came together in Buffalo, New York with a vision to help all women realize greater equality while using their individual and collective expertise in service to their community.

Their vision became Zonta International, an organization that has grown to more than 29,000 members in 63 countries, working together to make gender equality a reality for women and girls worldwide.

8 November 2019 marks Zonta’s centennial anniversary (https://zonta100.org). Join us in our celebrations throughout the centennial biennium, beginning at our 2018 International Convention in Yokohama, Japan and ending with our 2020 International Convention in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Zonta Club of Hong Kong East

Inaugurated on 1 March 1980, Zonta Club of Hong Kong East is one of the seven charters in Hong Kong under Zonta International (www.zonta.org), a leading global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy.

2020 marks a milestone year of the Zonta Club of Hong Kong East as it celebrates its 40th Anniversary. Over the past decades, the Club has established a track record of service and advocacy by capitalizing on its members’ strong devotion to serving the needs of the less fortunate in the community both locally and globally.

The meaningful works accomplished over the years highlighted the Club’s focused efforts to strengthen the depth and breadth of service projects that care for women, elderly, children and youth, underprivileged families and special needs in the community. The Club also reached a new horizon by forming an ongoing partnership with various NGOs to pursue the shared vision of meeting long-term community needs.

The Club will uphold its commitment to building a caring society as it forges ahead to a new era of continuous dedicated social services.

WHAT WE DO

Women

Fulfilling Zonta International's mission to advance the status of women is an integral part of the Club’s activities and services. A number of programs were designed to empower battered women, single mothers and young female ex-offenders to rebuild their lives and to reintegrate into the community.

Arts Together was one of our recent programs - an Art Therapy project collaborating with Serene Court of the Christian Family Service Centre. This was an empowerment project to empower married women to face domestic violence and marital problems through attending Art lessons together with their children. They were led to pay more attention to their personal mental health, learn how to control their emotions, acquire more self-understanding, get to know more about the differences between two sexes and about themselves so as to be ready when adversities comes. A three-month Zentangle therapy sessions and an exhibition of their artwork ended the project.

Elderly

The Club recognizes the importance of promoting psychosocial health for the elderly who may experience different emotional problems due to the feeling of being socially isolated. Service projects were initiated to strengthen community care and capacity building for the elderly, and offer them opportunities to enrich their social lives.

Annual Charity Party (ACP) – the Club’s annual signature project which invites selected seniors from various elderly community centres to share the enjoyment of a delightful hotel luncheon, with performances, games and many gifts specifically arranged to cater their needs and interests. Feedback from the invited elderly was always encouraging. They were touched by the caring arrangement and the pleasant atmosphere in which they felt the care, warmth and companionship from others.

Children & Youth

The Club strives to nurture the well-balanced growth of children and youth in handling stress, developing life values, exploring personal potential, as well as building social network.

Pay-It-Forward – a project co-organized with the Changing Young Lives Foundation to enhance the personal growth and development of underprivileged children, to relieve the families through social support, and to mobilize community volunteerism for the children and their families.

Reaching High – a three-year running project co-organized with Mary Cove Centre to help the adolescents to reconnect with the society via a proper career path. Focus of the program has been on self-understanding, life planning and pre-vocational preparation. The Club proudly received the District Governor D.R.E.A.M. award at the 18th Zonta District 17 Conference in 2018.

Special Needs

The Club believes the sick and less fortunate should have equal opportunity for social, recreational and educational participation. Integrated supportive services were tailor made for those with special needs to develop their potential, to establish self-esteem, and to promote social integration.

Driven by the goal to provide sustainable, long-term support for intellectually impaired groups, the Club commenced an ongoing project in collaboration with The Intellectually Disabled Education and Advocacy League (IDEAL). In addition to renovating the IDEAL multi-purpose centre in the Nam Cheong Estate, the Club also works closely with IDEAL in other programs sharing the commitment to enhancing the life quality of people with special needs.

Since 2006, the Club also commenced to co-organize the Scholarship project with The Hong Kong Society for the Blind, to encourage academically outstanding students with visual impairment to pursue academic or artistic improvements.

OUR OBJECTIVES

01

Empower women in Hong Kong through service and advocacy

02

Provide service at the global and local level to create positive social impact

03

Improve the legal, political, economic, educational, health and professional status of women

04

Work for the advancement of understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of executives in business and the professions

05

Promote justice and universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms

06

Be united internationally to foster high ethical standards, to implement service programs, and to provide mutual support and fellowship for members who serve their communities, their nations, and the universe

MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

Z Clubs & GOLDEN Z CLUBS

The Zonta Club of Hong Kong East established two Z Clubs, the DGS Z- Club (Diocesan Girls’ School), SPSS Z-Club (St. Paul’s Secondary School), in the early nineties; and two Z Clubs, and the Wong Shiu Chi Secondary School Z Club in July 2019; and one Golden Z Club, the City U Golden Z-Club (City University), at the beginning of the new Millennium.

OBJECTIVES OF Z & GOLDEN Z CLUBS

  1. To serve the school with which it is affiliated
  2. To serve the community
  3. To provide career guidance and to encourage leadership qualities in colleges and universities
  4. To promote fellowship and better understanding among all people of the world

SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS

Chloe Jazzy Lau

2021 YWPA Awardee (District 17)
Nominated by Zonta Club of HK East

Zonta is dedicated to achieving gender equality in education and supports scholarships, fellowships and awards for women and girls pursuing education and careers in these traditionally male-dominated fields.

  1. Amelia Earhart Fellowship (AE)
  2. Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship (JMK)
  3. Women in STEM Scholarship (WIS)
  4. Young Women in Public Affairs Award (YWPA)
  5. Zonta HKE Club Service Award

ZONTA IN NUMBERS

 
ZONTA INTERNATIONAL
FOUNDED IN NEW YORK
 
ZONTA CLUB OF HK EAST
FOUNDED IN HONG KONG
 
MEMBERS
WORLDWIDE
 
ZONTA CLUBS IN HONG KONG
Zonta Club of Hong Kong East | Empowers Women