Zonta service pays tribute to Mother’s Day
Two events hosted by the Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva recently recognized mothers, a tradition in America on the second Sunday of May. On Saturday, May 9, the women of the Transitional Living Center at Southwest Florida Addiction Services (SWFAS) were guests for a festive lunch at the Over Easy Caf. And on the same day, another service team organized a picnic at Bowman’s Beach for women and families living in Sanibel’s community housing.
Zonta’s mission is to enhance the status of women and to that end the club is currently involved in six local service projects. These focus on addiction and recovery, women’s health, young womenat risk, literacy, women who are heads of households and human trafficking. The club has a long-term relationship with SWFAS, the Fort Myers comprehensive substance abuse program; a newer project is Serving Women on the Islands, which offers financial support, education and inspiration for women who are clients of FISH and/or who are tenants of Sanibel’s Community Housing & Resources.
The luncheon for the women of SWFAS was hosted on the Over Easy Caf’s sunny outside patio. Zonta members and their guests shared laughter and inspirational stories. Team leader Jane Hudson gave each guest a colorful coffee mug with flowers, and SWFAS group member Robin presented each Zontian with a sample of her line of artistic note cards. Jane Hudson commented: “We had a wonderful time together. Traci, Lisa and Frances (restaurant owners and staff) treated us like family.”
The picnic at Bowman’s Beach park, a first-time event for this group, was a lively affair involving a dozen Zontians, some Z-men (members’ significant others), and about 20 guests. Games were organized for the children. In addition to hot dogs and hamburgers, guests enjoyed salads, fruit and home-baked cookies. Club members covered the parking fees and procured prizes and other goodies including supermarket gift cards, tickets for the Schoolhouse Theater (thanks to director Victor Legaretta) and a one-year membership at BJ’s discount store in Fort Myers, courtesy of Dan Barron of the Gulf Coast Humane Society. Ice and coolers were donated by Billy Kirkland of Billy’s Bikes. Zontian Georgeanne Mockler commented: “Our team members did an outstanding job in providing the major portion of the food and on-site volunteers to make the event a true success.”
The Zonta Club of Sanibel/Captiva is a service organization of professional women working together to provide hands-on assistance, advocacy and funds to strengthen women’s lives on the islands, in Lee County and around the world through Zonta International. Although many members depart for summer locations, the club’s work on the island and in Southwest Florida will continue during the summer months. For information, visit www.zontasancap.com.