With young women facing persistent gaps in leadership, opportunity, and representation, a new woman empowerment club is stepping in to provide mentorship, advocacy, and the support many have been missing.
Zonta Club’s mission is to empower women in their local and global communities through advocacy and service.
The Milford High School chapter is part of a larger international organization that operates through several levels, including global, national, and state structures.
A group has formed in the Village of Milford and reached out to the club founder, Junior Maybree McKenney, who has started the club.
The group gathers at the beginning of the month, usually on a Monday or Tuesday, where they meet in Advisor Mandi Hess’ room. Hess states she was approached by Maybree to be the teacher advisor and she stated “with being new to the school I was looking for ways to be more involved with extracurricular activities and thought this would be a great club to do that.”
So far they had a very successful meeting with 12 girls attending and the group started discussing what they want to accomplish this year and how they will soon be electing officers in January and begin their first project.
If you are interested in joining or want more information you can follow @zontaclubmhs on Instagram. All MHS female students are eligible, and Hess states “It is also open to guys if they are interested in supporting women making a difference.”
A lot of their focuses this year have to do with business and career development. McKenney suggests, “If you’re a girl and want to go into a male-dominated career in your future, this would be an amazing club to join.” Other students are excited to network with their peers.
“I joined Zonta club to be a part of an amazing group of girls where we work towards reaching goals to better our community for women all around,” Junior Abby Zielinski stated.
McKenney’s last remark was, “I am really excited for the impact we will make on our community with the great drives and service projects we are going to plan, and also to get to know people in Milford and bring them into our club.”
The members are all very excited because they believe Zonta will have a big voice this year.