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Here is a quick sign up form, but below this is a description of all groups from previous years. The current year chair and committee might decide on a new direction so your input is important.

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Service & Status of Women Committees

ADVOCACY COMMITTEE: Melissa Mazzeo & Rosanne Frieri, Co-chairs
Meet at least every two months to develop and implement advocacy action items for club members.

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 6 -12 volunteers.

Work to bring awareness of local, state, federal and international legislative issues affecting women and girls to the members and the public.  Develop an action plan for advancing  Zonta International advocacy initiatives in the Berkshires. For example, in 2022-2023 the major focus is “Zonta Says Now” to addressing climate change . The objective is to create a gender-equal, sustainable world by educating girls, advocating for women’s rights, and inspiring more female leaders. Other initiatives can include “HeForShe”, “Zonta says NO“, Commission on the Status of Women efforts, or United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, for example.

Develop ways to work on local projects that work to end child marriage, domestic violence, sex trafficking, and inequality of any kind. Promote legislation to end discrimination and support female services.

Send information to the Communications Committee for promotion of our message and action items (Fast Action Friday, monthly reports etc..) in the newsletter, social media. Offer a ZAM (Zonta Advocacy Moment) at each Member Meeting, and engage members in the pursuit of Zonta’s mission.

CHARITABLE DONATIONS: Debbie Dwyer, Chair
Meet two to three times per year, and as needed online to review applications for charitable donations.

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 6 people.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, review the amount of funds  budgeted for charitable donations based on our past fundraising efforts. Review and share with members the process for nominating charities or events that are a good fit with Zonta’s mission.  Develop/tweak a simple submission form that explains the charity or cause and how it supports our mission.

Review all submissions and make a recommendation to the Board of Directors for funding.

If funding is approved by the Board, Chair should coordinate with the President to host the recipients at a Member Meeting to present the checks. This will give all causes an opportunity to share what they are working on, and allow us to share and promote these donations and organizations. At the end of the fiscal year, review remaining funds and see if there are underserved areas that we can support to fulfill our mission.

Send information to the Communications Committee for a description of the cause supported for the newsletter and social media.

PERIOD PROJECT: Vickie Palardy, Chair
Meet at least four times a year to prepare for and then assemble the period project donation bags 

Committee Volunteers Needed4 Steering Group, 10+ assembly and delivery Committee Volunteers Needed

Actively promote the call for donations and products, and collect products and bring to a central location.  Attend to setup before each assembly day and help with process on assembly day. Solicit volunteers for the assembly day (can include members of the public) and deliver finalized bags to area food pantries, shelters, supportive services, schools etc.

Send information to the Communications Committees for the newsletter and social media. Draft a press release for Communications Committee to publicize the project collection.

SUIT YOURSELF:  Debbie O’Neill Chair
Organize the annual clothing drive for to help those entering the workforce.

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 4 volunteers for the day of the event, typically held in May.

Chair will attend Suit Yourself meetings at the Goodwill, and volunteers will organize a yearly clothing drive for Suit Yourself including promotion and on-site coordination of donations on the day of the event. Volunteers will work at the Goodwill, sorting, hanging and organizing donations.

SCHOLARSHIPS: Pam Roberts, Sarah Gillooly, Nancy Woitkowski, Chairs
Set overall scholarship plan and work via email to rate email submissions of scholarship applications. 

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 4-6 readers, plus chairs.

Job Duties: Each scholarship has a chair that will promote the scholarship and distribute applications to the Publicity Committee and local high schools or colleges, based on the criteria.  Annually review the applications, send to schools and appropriate outlets to solicit submissions and

The chair will manage the applications, answer questions, and use the ZI tools to send letters to all applicants with the outcome.  All members will have approximately 1-2 weeks to read and rate the applicants and return to the chair. The chair will tally the scores and notify all who was the winner.

The chair will coordinate with the president to invite the winner to a Membership Meeting to receive the check and speak to the club. Note: BCC Scholarship (May) and Girls Inc. (May) are both selected by the orgs. The committee should also review the scholarship line item to determine if funds remain and develop a recommendation for use of those funds to the Board of Directors.

Send information to the Communications Committee for sharing in the news outlets, newsletter and social media. Also, make sure they have updated applications and deadlines to update the website.

FOOD BANKS & TOILETRIES: Jackie Benham, Chair
Collect and deliver food items to food banks and toiletries to non-profits such as the Elizabeth Freeman Center. 

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 2 people are needed to offer coverage throughout the year.

Job Duties:  Remind club members to bring donated items to the meetings.  Develop a list of places to deliver items. Bring items collected to area locations that work to help women.

Send information to the Communications Committee for the newsletter and social media. Take photos of delivery when possible for press releases and social media.

HOLIDAY GIFT GIVING COMMITTEE: Karen Norton, Chair
Organizing the holiday gift giving program. 

Committee Volunteers Needed: At least 3 volunteers needed for 1-2 planning meetings and then organizing the program.

Organizing the holiday gift giving program our club does for needy families from the Brigham Center and/or possibly other families in the community.  Create an organizational system so that duplicates items are not purchased, and remind members to make sure all family members have some gifts.

Administrative Committees

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: Seeking New Chair
Meet quarterly, or as needed, to discuss strategies for the recruitment of new members, retention of existing members and engagement and involvement of all members.   

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 6 people.

Job Duties: At the direction of the Chair, committee members are asked to welcome guests to all member meetings and distribute Zonta materials, follow-up with guests to answer questions about membership, review applications from new members, introduce and install new members into the club, and identify mentors for each new member. Committee members should review the service hour report and reach out to check in to any member that has gone inactive. Committee members follow up with exit interviews when members chose not to renew.  The Committee should annually review the marketing materials we use, review new materials from Zonta.org, and update as needed.  This information should be shared with other committees so that it can be added to the ZontaBerkshire.org website.  The group should evaluate this their progress each year.

STRATGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE:  Chris Haley, Chair
Every three years review or develop a strategic plan for the club.

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 6

Job Duties: Meet in the summer and early fall to review the current strategic plan, develop tools to gain feedback from members, review ZI requirements and submit an updated or new plan for member approval in the fall.

BENEVOLENCE COMMITTEE: Debbie O’Neill Chair
There are no meetings for this group, rather the volunteers work with each other via phone and email to assist members in need. 

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 3 people.

Job Duties:  Offering or arranging to drive members to our dinner meetings, coordinating food delivery to member’s homes in time of sickness, and making calls or sending notes of encouragement or support to members in need.  Use Sunshine funds as needed, with a report to the Board of Directors when money is spent.

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE: Sandy Carroll, Social Media/Website;  Melissa Mazzeo, Press; Pam Roberts, Newsletter.
There are typically no meetings for this group, rather the volunteers work with each other via phone and email to publicize meetings and club activities. Perhaps one planning meeting per year.

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 3 -5 people

Job Duties:  Add our Monthly Membership Meeting to the calendar of the local paper, on our website, and on Facebook.  Promote club activities, events and members in local paper, on our website, and on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/zontaberkshire This group is responsible for the creation of the monthly newsletter, maintaining and updated website and social media presence.

We need people to write press releases and article about our activities and also those familiar with social media to share and interesting information.

Note: Undeveloped idea from previous newsletter was to interview and create a small feature on the background of each member of zonta for the website and newsletter.

FINANCE AND BUDGET COMMITTEE: Karen Norton, Chair; Genne LeVasseur Asst. Chair
Meet annually, or as needed by the Treasurer, to review spending and investment accounts and develop the budget for the upcoming year.

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 6 people.

Job Duties: Assist the treasurer with the financial reporting as needed, develop the annual budget, and other tasks treasurer my need.  Budget must be prepared and presented for approved by the membership in May.

BY-LAWS COMMITTEE: Debbie Dwyer and Elaine Hunter, Co-chair
There are no meetings of this group, unless needed. They are charged with ensuring our bylaws are consistent with ZI requirements. 

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 2 people.

Job Duties: Annually review bylaws in accordance with Zonta International and incorporate those changes into a local draft for members approval.

MEETING COORDINATORS: Chris Haley, President and Gail Molari Dinner, Keye Hollister Guest Speakers
Regular attendance at monthly dinner meetings is helpful, since volunteers coordinate members and guest attendance.

Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 2 people in addition to the Treasurer.

Job Duties: Plan a calendar of meeting, events, zooms for the upcoming year, securing locations, costs and meeting setup in advance.  Arrange for interesting membership meeting speakers.  Send a bio of the speaker with photo to the Newsletter and Publicity Committee Chairs. Send notice of the speaker to the dinner coordinator so that a selection can be arranged. Introduce the speakers at the Membership Dinner. Prepare and present speaker thank you gift from Zonta merchandise.

Tasks will be divided among volunteers to track members and guest attendance, registration at the meeting, greeting guests and speakers, place Zonta Blessing cards at each table before dinner.  Sit with Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer to welcome members and guests in at the door and give seating assignments, meal choice tickets, raffle tickets. Collect tickets and blessing cards after dinner.

Z CLUB MENTORS: Current ZClub Miss Halls: Melissa Mazzeo
Meet several times a year with a local Zclub (or develop one) to provide opportunities for young women to advance the mission of Zonta. New clubs can be formed by interested mentors.

Job Duties: Currently, there is a ZClub at Miss Hall’s school, mentored by Melissa Mazzeo. They collaborate with service projects we offer and host their own meetings that foster service and advocacy for equal rights. Other high schools might be interested in facilitating this club as well.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE:
3 Members to be appointed by the President 

Meet once a year to develop a proposed slate of officers and directors for the Zonta Club Board of Directors. 3 volunteers are needed, appointed by the President.

 

FUNDRAISING COMMITTEES

POINSETTIA PROJECT FUNDRAISER: Sandy Carroll Chair, Toni Fontana Finances
Meet at least 3 times per year and work on project during the months of October-November.

At least 4 volunteers are needed for coordination, and an additional 10+ for delivery,

Create a system of ordering flowers, accepting payment, promoting the event, maintaining order tracking, payment tracking, organizing with Viales and assist with the delivery process. Develop  list of businesses that could enjoy plant delivery / sales and work on outreach to expand sales. Work on promotion and ideas to expand the program. Delivery organization takes place the day before, and the morning of delivery, with mapping, routing and organizing a part of preparation for delivery day. Create and keep members informed of the status of sales and ensure enough volunteers are on hand for prep and delivery.

FUNDRAISING EVENTS & PROGRAMS – Sandy Carroll Chair
Host public fundraising initiatives / events to raise funds for our scholarships and service activities. At least 5 volunteers are needed.

Coordinate at least one additional fun fundraiser. Past events include Bunco Night, Calendar Raffle, Wine Tasting event  or choose another fundraiser. Create a system of registration and payment, promoting the event, registration and tracking at the event, setup and breakdown and snacks. All members are asked to participate in obtaining raffle items.

ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIAL POSITIONS: 

  • Auditor: Elaine Hunter: Review the financial books to make sure we are correctly accounting for funds.
  • Service Hours: Send reminders out to members asking all to report service hours, compile and distribute to the board and membership.
  • Correspondence Secretary: Send birthday wishes to new members, condolence and/or congratulatory cards when appropriate.
  • Installing Officers: Install the new members approved for membership and the Board of Directors.
  • Photographer: Take photos of events, speakers or special projects for promotion and give to the newsletter and website chair.
  • Zonta Store: Purchase and sell Zonta logo items for club members and for district events.