Zonta Club of Sydney Breakfast formed in 1998.
Club#: 1613 / Area 1 / District 24
Meetings are held by Zoom on the first Tuesday of selected months, 7am for 7.15 am and concluding by 8.30am. Our members usually work in Sydney CBD but reside all over Sydney.
ZCSB supports local and global projects which advance the status of women.
To learn more about our club activities, advocacy and service projects, read our Club Annual Report.
How We Started
Olivia Sarah-Le Lacheur and Shirley Graham, members of the Zonta Club of Sydney, were passionate about creating a Zonta Club that would appeal to a generation of young business and professional women who were highly mobile and juggling careers, study and family.
Olivia’s employer offered the use of their boardroom for information sessions, Shirley and Olivia asked Zontians for names of eligible women in Sydney CBD, and together they hit the phones and started talking about Zonta.
Within 6 months they had a diverse group of women in decision making positions within small, medium and large businesses and government departments, who wanted to Charter the Zonta Club of Sydney Breakfast (ZCSB).
In September 1998 the 1998-2000 Zonta International President, Val Sarah, presented the gavel and charter at our charter dinner.
What We Do:
Every year since our Charter, the club has advocated for the advancement of the status of women through:
*Production of over 3,000 breast care cushions
*Production of over 10,000 birthing kits to date
*International Women’s Day events with guest speakers focussing on contemporary issues affecting women.
Service projects have addressed the Zonta priorities of health, education and economic self sufficiency of women and girls. Ongoing local projects have included:
*Sponsorship of the ZCSB Women in Engineering and It Award and the Indigenous Student Award
*Support for Lou’s Place Women’s Day Centre in Kings Cross / Potts Point area.
In addition, we support Zonta International service projects by sending a proportion of funds raised to ZI to support self-help programs worldwide, in partnership with organisations like UNIFEM and UNICEF.
Our fundraising activities have been diverse over the club’s lifetime. Some examples are:
*Bunnings BBQ days
*Special Event Screening and Comedy Nights
*Donation cards for breast care cushions and birthing kits.
*International Women’s Day breakfasts, as well as raffles and film nights.
How We Operate
The club gathers for service, advocacy, fellowship or governance through the following:
*Special events: these are scheduled on special dates and include a guest speaker, to celebrate specific events such as the Women in Engineering and IT Breakfast to celebrate the awardees and
International Women’s Day.
*Service events: these are regularly scheduled throughout the year, to do ‘hands on service’ in making Breast Care Cushions or Birthing Kits.
*Fundraising events: these are scheduled on specific dates throughout the year, to raise money through our Bunnings BBQs, Comedy Nights, Special Screening Nights and other fun formats.
*Formal club meetings
*Formal board meetings
Our Club Board and Committees
For most of its history the Board of the club has comprised: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and three Directors. The Vice President and three Directors each chair a committee. Currently we follow the ZI standing committees and all other club business are run on a project/portfolio basis.