Founded in 1919, Zonta International is a global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy.
Zonta Club of Buffalo
Playwright Marian de Forest and five other businesswomen founded the Zonta Club in Buffalo, New York, in 1919. Modeled after the men’s executive club, Rotary, this women’s executive club extended invitations only to the best women in their professions. Its focus was on networking and service.
On the local level, the Zonta Club of Buffalo undertakes projects addressing issues such as women’s economic self-sufficiency, legislative equality, aging, access to education, health and nutrition. The Buffalo club cooperates with other groups within the Buffalo community for fundraising activities, promoting career exploration and providing community services for youth. In the past, the Buffalo club had collaborated with Erie County Commission on the Status of Women, Girl Scout Leadership Training Program, State University New York at Buffalo, Woman’s Action Coalition, and the YMCA.
The mission of Zonta International is to advance the status of women worldwide by improving the legal, political, economic, health, and professional status of women, locally and globally, through service and advocacy.
VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Zonta International envisions a world in which women’s rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential.
In such a world, every woman is literate and has access to education, health care, legal and economic resources on an equal basis with men.
In such a world, no woman lives in fear of violence.
Zonta takes its name from the Lakota Sioux Indian word meaning “honest and trustworthy”. ZONTIANS provide service to both their local and international communities through a wide range of service projects and events. Our members regularly support functions to acknowledge International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, and United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, on the 25th of November.
Mailing address:
Zonta Club of Buffalo
P.O.Box 1252
Buffalo, NY 14240-1252