In 2023, Zonta Club of Denver Foundation distributed a total of $ 53,299. Of the total, $35,533 in grants were awarded to the following local community organizations:
WeeCycle—$14,000
WeeCycle’s mission is to recycle essential baby gear and match it to Colorado families in need. WeeCycle serves women with infants and toddlers that are struggling to provide for their children.
57% of parents experiencing diaper need and who rely on child care said they missed work four days a month because they didn’t have an adequate supply of diapers. Diapers are also key to early childhood education programs. Without diapers, they cannot attend these programs. Without child care, women can’t work. As part of the essential Baby Gear program, WeeCycle donated over 2.5 million diapers and 200,000 meals.
The Zonta grant will allow WeeCycle to purchase a badly needed box truck with a lift gate.
ALIGHT—$9,400
ALIGHT provides pro bono legal services to children, women and men who have escaped human trafficking. Traffickers often target economically stressed individuals for exploitation. They promise security to runaway teens, manipulate single moms into commercial sex, and offer false recruitment terms to day laborers desperate to provide for their families. Even if they escape, survivors of trafficking are then left to deal with the resulting legal issues – from debt to child custody and criminal records for crimes they were forced to commit by the trafficker – alone. They need professional legal help, but can rarely find or afford it.
To help survivors finally escape the exploitation cycle, ALIGHT matches them to the right attorney at the right time enabling them to overcome legal problems that are insurmountable alone, enabling them to successfully gain independence and rebuild their lives in our community.
The grant will enable ALIGHT to serve two additional clients.
Focus Points Family Resource Center—$9,400
Focus Points has been serving and advocating for families in the Greater Denver Area Center since 1995. Its mission is to build better communities by strengthening families and its vision is to provide families with resources and tools they need to build their future and contribute to a vibrant community.
Its Comal Heritage Food Incubator offers technical culinary skills and entrepreneurship training for adults. Our grant will help to support its Comal for Tamales training program that provides technical culinary skills and entrepreneurship training for immigrant women who want to learn the culinary business with the goal of starting their own business.
In addition, $ 17,766 was given to the Zonta Foundation for Women for the following Zonta International programs:
Amelia Earhart Fellowships – $10,000 (one full scholarship)
These fellowships are awarded annually to 30 women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. The fellowship may be used at any university or college offering accredited post-graduate courses and degrees in these fields. Since the program’s inception in 1938, Zonta has awarded 1,704 Amelia Earhart Fellowships, totaling more than $11.3 million, to 1,276 women from 76 countries.
International Service – $ 7,766
In the more than 90 years since its first international service project was funded, Zonta International has contributed nearly $35.9 million to projects benefiting women in 71 countries. This funding has provided training, education, health, sanitation, agricultural and micro-credit assistance to women, primarily through projects implemented by the agencies of the United Nations and other recognized non-governmental organizations.
In 2022, Zonta Club of Denver Foundation distributed a total of $52,113. Of the total, $34,500 in grants were awarded to the following local community organizations:
The Center for Work Education and Employment (CWEE) — $10,000
CWEE supports vulnerable workers, mostly single moms, to train for and launch careers. CWEE addresses the root causes of poverty by providing a path to long-term employment for hundreds of Denver-area families each year. CWEE is among Denver’s leading comprehensive anti-poverty organizations and over 40 years has pioneered more effective ways to help struggling families. The Zonta grant will purchase forty-five laptop computers for participants in their virtual workforce program. This project will also offer participants assistance with computer skills and help with finding job opportunities. The program reports that 89% of the participants are women and 70% are single mothers.
The Blue Bench (TBB) Safe Bars — $8,500
The Blue Bench is metropolitan Denver’s only comprehensive sexual assault prevention and care center and has received several prior grants. They raise awareness of sexual assault through door-to-door education, they partner with hundreds of schools and organizations to provide scientifically supported sexual assault prevention programs, and they offer comprehensive services to sexual assault survivors. Sexual assault remains a critical problem in our community. Safe Bars is a sexual assault prevention training module provided to staff who work in establishments that serve alcohol and that Zonta Club of Denver has supported in the past with a grant. The Safe Bars training prepares staff to recognize and respond to incidents of sexual harassment and assault that are occurring among patrons of their business. The Blue Bench is one of a few organizations across the country providing this curriculum which is critical to keeping people safe when alcohol is present.
TBB has also joined with our advocacy committee in developing, publishing, and distributing a poster designed to raise awareness that sexual assault may also be a domestic violence issue. The poster offers education and information on how to access resources.
Open Door Ministries (ODM), Te Veo House — $5,000
Open Door Ministries is a nonprofit Christian community development organization created in 1997. Open Door provides practical help and hope to people in urban Denver who are homeless or low income. Zonta’s $5,000 grant will help to support The Te Veo House. “Te Veo” translated from Spanish to English means “I See You.” Te Veo House offers short-term sanctuary to women who are trying to leave homelessness and to supply them with tools they need to take the next step toward self-sufficiency. These tools include safe shelter, provisions for basic needs, job coaching and life skill development classes to help them transition out of “survival mode” to a mindset of independence.
Heart and Hand (H&H) — $10,000
H&H offers a variety of programs in the Five Points neighborhood to support the community, including after-school and summer programming, career and college readiness workshops, and wrap-around supports to the entire family including resource navigation, support services, and advocacy using the Strengthening Families framework. This grant will allow H&H to organize and equip a new building adjacent to their house that will offer after-school programs, art programs, family development meeting space, career and college readiness courses, and community organizing projects.
In addition, $17,371 was given to the Zonta Foundation for Women for the following Zonta International programs:
Amelia Earhart Fellowships – $10,000 (one full scholarship)
These fellowships are awarded annually to 30 women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. The fellowship may be used at any university or college offering accredited post-graduate courses and degrees in these fields. Since the program’s inception in 1938, Zonta has awarded 1,603 Amelia Earhart Fellowships, totaling more than $10.3 million, to 1,174 women from 73 countries.
International Service – $7,371
In the more than 90 years since its first international service project was funded, Zonta International has contributed nearly $19.2 million to projects benefiting women in 35 countries. This funding has provided training, education, health, sanitation, agricultural and micro-credit assistance to women, primarily through projects implemented by the agencies of the United Nations and other recognized non-governmental organizations.
In 2021, Zonta Club of Denver Foundation distributed a total of $50,371. Of the total, $33,000 in grants were awarded to the following local community organizations:
Focus Points Family Resource Center through their first social enterprise the Comal Heritage Food Incubator. Comal Dinner Box Program – $10,000
The Comal Dinner Box Program is an entrepreneurship program that transforms immigrants and refugee cultural heritage cooking skills into the foundations for successful food businesses and thereby educating and sharing wonderful food with a larger audience. The Dinner Box program expands the existing earn-while-you-learn model to provide a dinner to-go service in response to reductions in revenue from the lunch service due to COVID-19. “The Dinner Box project will sell dinners to-go for Denver’s evening take-out clientele. It expands training opportunities in nimble business development and provides a continuous stipend for program participants to support their families.” This will impact 15 women entrepreneurs and their families.
Friends of the Haven – Project IMPACT (Improving Maternal, Pregnancy and Child Treatment Outcomes) – $8,000
This funding will provide funding for contracted doula support services for up to eight pregnant women residing at the Haven Mother’s House. The program has been modified based on the evidence-based Health Connect One Community-Based Doula Model. The goals of the proposed project are to 1) improve the quality of care provided to pregnant clients, 2) improve the delivery experience of pregnant clients, and 3) improve pregnancy and child health outcomes.
Rocky Mountain Micro Finance Institute – Project Idea, Launch Thrive Program for Denver Women – $7,500
RMMFI will serve 35-50 women in this project of entrepreneur capacity building by the women participants exploring their business concepts and with RMMFI expertise will plan and launch their businesses. Entrepreneurs come to RMMFI having experienced incarceration, immigration, generational poverty, limited education and discrimination due to race, ethnicity and gender. Twenty-five women will be served in RMMFI’s Project. Idea – the women will access their business idea, their readiness for business ownership and the best timing to pursue business launch. Launch – the women will receive a hybrid of virtual and in-person classes and mentorship, and launch or re-launch businesses. Thrive – these women will also be receiving individualized mentorship and micro loans.
The Blue Bench – Safe Bars Project – $7,500
The Blue Bench is metropolitan Denver’s only comprehensive sexual assault prevention and care center. They raise awareness of sexual assault through door-to-door education, they partner with hundreds of schools and organizations to provide scientifically-supported sexual assault prevention programs, and they offer comprehensive services to sexual assault survivors. Sexual assault remains a critical problem in our community. Safe Bars is a sexual assault prevention training module provided to staff who work in establishments that serve alcohol and that Zonta Club of Denver has supported in the past with a grant. The Safe Bars training prepares staff to recognize and respond to incidents of sexual harassment and assault that are occurring among patrons of their business. The Blue Bench is one of a few organizations across the country providing this curriculum which is critical to keeping people safe when alcohol is present.
In addition, $17,371 was given to the Zonta Foundation for Women for the following Zonta International programs:
Amelia Earhart Fellowships – $10,000 (one full scholarship)
These fellowships are awarded annually to 30 women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. The fellowship may be used at any university or college offering accredited post-graduate courses and degrees in these fields. Since the program’s inception in 1938, Zonta has awarded 1,603 Amelia Earhart Fellowships, totaling more than $10.3 million, to 1,174 women from 73 countries.
International Service – $7,371
In the more than 90 years since its first international service project was funded, Zonta International has contributed nearly $19.2 million to projects benefiting women in 35 countries. This funding has provided training, education, health, sanitation, agricultural and micro-credit assistance to women, primarily through projects implemented by the agencies of the United Nations and other recognized non-governmental organizations.
Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarships – $1,500
Women have made great strides in the pursuit of education, careers and leadership roles they were once denied. However, they still comprise a minority of leaders in the business world. According to a December 2019 list from Catalyst, 21.2 percent of S&P 500 companies’ board seats are occupied by women, and just 5.2 percent of the companies’ CEOs are women. The Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship program helps women pursue undergraduate and master’s degrees in business management and overcome gender barriers from the classroom to the boardroom. A $1,500 scholarship will be awarded by the Zonta Club of Denver to a qualifying student in 2021, and that student will be eligible to compete for a District and International scholarships.
In 2020, Zonta Club of Denver Foundation distributed a total of $52,731.
Of the total, $18,731 was given to the Zonta International Foundation for the following Zonta International programs:
Amelia Earhart Fellowships – $10,000 (one full scholarship)
These fellowships are awarded annually to 30 women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. The fellowship may be used at any university or college offering accredited post-graduate courses and degrees in these fields. Since the program’s inception in 1938, Zonta has awarded 1,603 Amelia Earhart Fellowships, totaling more than $10.3 million, to 1,174 women from 73 countries.
International Service – $2,910
In the more than 90 years since its first international service project was funded, Zonta International has contributed nearly $19.2 million to projects benefiting women in 35 countries. This funding has provided training, education, health, sanitation, agricultural and micro-credit assistance to women, primarily through projects implemented by the agencies of the United Nations and other recognized non-governmental organizations.
Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarships – $2,911
Women have made great strides in the pursuit of education, careers and leadership roles they were once denied. However, they still comprise a minority of leaders in the business world. According to a December 2019 list from Catalyst, 21.2 percent of S&P 500 companies’ board seats are occupied by women, and just 5.2 percent of the companies’ CEOs are women. The Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship program helps women pursue undergraduate and master’s degrees in business management and overcome gender barriers from the classroom to the boardroom.
Zonta International Strategies to End Violence Against Women (ZISVAW) – $2,910
The most pervasive and least recognized human rights violation worldwide, gender-based violence affects women and girls of every race, class, culture, ethnicity, age and country. Zonta strives to promote and protect the human rights of all women and girls and reduce the incidences of violence against them. The ZISVAW Program has provided more than $9.5 million to support projects to prevent and end violence against women and girls in 46 countries.
Locally, $34,000 in grants were awarded to the following community organizations:
Open Door Ministries — Te Veo House
Open Door Ministries is a nonprofit Christian community development organization created in 1997. Open Door provides practical help and hope to people in urban Denver who are homeless or low income. Zonta’s $10,000 grant will help to support The Te Veo House, a new project of ODM. “Te Veo” translated from Spanish to English means “I See You.” Te Veo House offers short-term sanctuary to women who are trying to leave homelessness and to supply them with tools they need to take the next step toward self-sufficiency. These tools include safe shelter, provisions for basic needs, job coaching and life skill development classes to help them transition out of “survival mode” to a mind set of independence.They currently have capacity for eight women and hope to expand to sixteen.
Denver Children’s Choir-Expansion of Ongoing Project: Summit Singers
Denver Children’s Choir (formerly Rocky Mountain Children’s Choir) provides opportunities to children from ages 7-18 to sing with Denver groups, at various events, and tour in the U.S., Canada and Europe. It serves metro Denver in various neighborhood school programs, offering choir experiences to the children and providing excellence in choral music through their performances and tours.
Summit Singers is an ongoing city-wide ensemble choir. However, recruiting women from Lincoln High School is new. The $8,000 Zonta grant is for six at-risk girls who come from impoverished homes. While they qualify for the choir, they cannot move to the next level due to lack of funds. This grant will assist in providing for the girls to tour not only with the choir in the mountain west but nationally and internationally. This opportunity provides incentive to the girls as well as broadens their horizons.
Extended Hands of Hope- New Project: Simply Good Cakery
The mission of Extended Hands of Hope is to offer safe housing and supportive services to sex trafficking survivors, empowering them to move forward with hope and dignity. Simply Good Cakery provides an economic empowerment program to create pathways toward strengthening the livelihoods and wellbeing of not only human trafficking survivors themselves but their community as well. While the women are provided therapy and support, they will also learn all aspects of running a business. Zonta is providing $8,000 that will help purchase a vehicle to transport the women to and from work, classes, appointments and court.
Boys Hope Girls Hope–Ongoing Project: Academy Scholar Program
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Colorado helps academically motivated middle and high school students rise above disadvantaged backgrounds to earn a high school diploma, entry into college, and a college degree through mentoring, tutoring, and scholarship. By helping these students earn both their high school and college degrees, the program is effectively breaking the cycle of poverty.
The Academy Program is a comprehensive approach to breaking the cycle of generational poverty and poor academic achievement among youth living in poverty by providing them with a strong college-preparatory foundation. This program includes year-round classes at Aurora Central High School and Regis Jesuit High School and support as well as transportation and food. Scholars are matched with tutors who help them reach their academic potential and mentors who share their life experience; they are enrolled in extracurricular activities designed to help them discover themselves and the world around them; and they engage in community service projects that teach them the value of living a life committed to serving others. A college degree is the primary goal for each scholar. Zonta’s $8,000 grant will support 36 female scholars.
During Fiscal Year 2018-2019 Zonta Club of Denver awarded $34,000 in grants to the following community organizations:
Asian Pacific Development (APDC) is a provider of, and advocate for, whole-person and whole community health of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, immigrant, and refugee communities. APDC has evolved through the last 40 years to meet the growing needs of the community.
Zonta’s $5,000.00 grant will support a self-improvement groups for survivors of domestic violence. This new project will be modeled on an educational tool titled “The Power of Change.” It is a fourteen-week psycho-educational program targeting minority women but not limited to refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants.
The mission of Blue Bench is to eliminate sexual assault and diminish the impact it has on individuals, their loved ones and our community through comprehensive issue advocacy, prevention and care. It uses a community-based approach to prevention, ensuring schools, businesses, law enforcement and beyond are committed to survivor-centered responses and sexual violence education. The $8,500.00 Zonta grant is for Blue Bench’s new Safe Bars program, a project of Collective Action for Safe Spaces (CASS) and Defend Yourself in Washington, D.C. This project offers to train staff in businesses that sell liquor on how to recognize and respond to incidents of sexual harassment and assault. It promotes active by-stander intervention to prevent assault and create safer environments since alcohol is a factor in at least 50% of sexual assaults. This program was started by Blue Bench in 2017 and will provide the program to 30 businesses in 2019 with this grant.
Center for Spirituality at Work Zonta awarded a $8,500.00 grant for the Center’s Making Choices program. The Center’s mission is to unite diverse people for spiritual transformation and social justice. The primary strategy for effecting change puts the emphasis on mutually transformative relationships that engage people on the margins together with people of privilege in a shared project. Making Choices is a community of women teaching decision-making and life-planning skills to women incarcerated at Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (DWCF). The program connects business and professional women as volunteer mentors and teachers with incarcerated women. Mentors help women to reenter a society that may not accept ex-inmates and to break the cycle and keep their children from being incarcerated. The grant will support twenty women in the 2018-19 year with re-entry into society, and includes training volunteers to provide weekly mentoring sessions that would decline as stabilization is improved.
Hope House of Colorado first addressed the issue of homelessness and opened a residential program for teen moms in Arvada in 2003, providing a self-sufficiency program as well as a stable home for teen moms to strive for self-sufficiency, resulting in a healthy future for them and their children. They require all teens to choose a form of contraception, and they urge them to get their GEDs. Zonta awarded $8,000.00 for the GED program, which helps parenting teen moms move toward self-sufficiency by earning their high school equivalency certificate. The program’s primary goal is to help 40 teen moms to earn their GEDs this year.
Women Veterans of Colorado (WVOC) focuses on educating and inspiring military Women Veterans by providing education, connecting the community of Women Veterans, providing information about local resources and available benefits, participating in campaigns to increase awareness of the needs of our Women Veterans, and assisting in the transition to civilian life, obtaining an education, finding suitable employment, and preventing homelessness.. Zonta’s grant of $4,000.00 is for program improvement at Clermont Commons, a group of transitional homes operated by Volunteers of America for female veterans in Colorado, providing living enhancements and personal growth resources to improve the environment for the women served by WVOC.
During Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Zonta Club of Denver awarded $31,500 in grants to the following community organizations:
Domestic Violence Initiative (DVI) is dedicated to the survival and safety of Colorado’s people with disabilities and their children who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, caregiver abuse, elder abuse and stalking. It provides advocacy, case management, direct services, information and referrals, support, safety planning, and other safety-related services.
Zonta awarded a $10,000 grant to DVI that will be used to get victims into safe housing and provide cell phones to guarantee their safety and then to provide deposits for permanent housing.
Global Health Foundation received a $10,000 grant to provide all kinds of health care to kids who need it, including family planning and reproductive health care, counseling and birth control at Denver Health in School Based Health Centers. They are targeting the sexually active population with resources, tools materials to think and talk about sexual and reproduction health – delaying, spacing, avoiding.
Friends of the Haven The Haven operates two residential drug treatment facilities on the Fort Logan campus in Denver, and provides evidence-based, gender-specific programming. The Haven was one of the first programs in Colorado to accept infants into residence while their mothers received substance abuse treatment, keeping children out of the foster care system. The purpose of this $7,000 grant is to fund a weekly exercise program for The Haven clients, who need to learn and re-learn healthy lifestyles and how to enjoy life without substance abuse.
Hope House of Colorado began by providing shelter for teen moms. They require all teens to choose a form of contraception, and they urge them to get their GEDs. The goal is to empower teen moms to achieve self-sufficiency, to give them the confidence to succeed. They served 183 moms last year and the goal is to serve 200 this year. The $4,500 Zonta grant will help pay for GED fees, transportation, child care, meals for moms and kids, a graduation ceremony and college application help.
During Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Zonta Club of Denver awarded $32,700 in grants to the following community organizations:
The Gathering Place The Gathering Place (TGP) is Denver’s only daytime drop-in center for women, children, and transgender individuals who are experiencing homelessness or poverty. Zonta’s $9,000 grant supported the replacement of aging household-grade washers and dryers with commercial-grade machines. Over 480 loads of laundry were previously done every month, but with this new equipment, the number of laundry appointments available will increase dramatically: “our members can do as much as three times the laundry they did in the old machines,” said Mendy Evans, Grants Manager for TGP. “This helps on practical levels, like increasing members’ basic hygiene, wellness, and success with finding and keeping jobs. It also helps on subtle levels, like helping members feel better and increasing their self-respect.”
Friends of the Haven Founded in 1992, The Haven was one of the first programs in Colorado to accept infants into residence while their mothers received substance abuse treatment, keeping children out of the foster care system. The Haven operates two residential facilities on the Fort Logan campus in Denver, CO, and provides evidence-based, gender-specific programming. The purpose of this $7,000 grant is to improve the health and wellness of Haven clients by helping to fund a smoking cessation program that will be integrated into the substance abuse treatment program. Clients will also be encouraged to participate with Colorado Quit Line. The objective is to offer 100% of clients smoking cessation support and counseling.
Women Veterans of Colorado Women Veterans of Colorado (WVOC) is an all volunteer, non-membership organization whose vision is to have all women veterans in Colorado realize their full potential. WVOC’s mission focuses on educating and inspiring military women veterans. The purpose of Zonta’s $1,700 grant is to redecorate and supply (with bedding, lamps, etc.) three rooms located at the Colorado Branch Volunteers of America’s Brandon Center. an emergency women’s shelter with dedicated beds/rooms for homeless and at-risk women veterans.
Family Tree Family Tree helps people overcome child abuse, domestic violence, and homelessness to become safe, strong, and self-reliant. It provides emergency shelter and services to survivors of domestic violence and their children. The $10,000 grant from Zonta will be support the on-site health clinic and help survivors pay for prescription drugs for themselves and their children.
Dance 2B Free Dance 2B Free (D2BF) brings the healing power of dance to women in prison. Through its DVD and Teacher-Training program, D2BF uses cathartic choreography and emotional music with women serving short- and long-term sentences. Its classes address needs for movement and fitness, trauma recovery, leadership, and community building. Through the teacher-training curriculum, D2BF also provides women with healthy lifestyle choices and tangible skills while they remain in prison and when they re-enter their communities. Zonta’s grant of $5,000 will support Dance 2B Free in refining and further developing its dance classes and teacher training certification program for women who are incarcerated at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility.
During Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Zonta Club of Denver awarded $35,000 in grants to the following community organizations:
The Center for Spirituality at Work (The Center) is an educational, community-based nonprofit organization. Its mission is to unite diverse people for spiritual transformation and social justice. Its primary strategy for effecting change puts the emphasis on mutually transformative relationships that engage people on the margins together with people of privilege in a shared project. The club gave a grant of $10,000 to The Center’s Making Choices program. Women in prison and during re-entry are among the most neglected members of our society.
Making Choices is a mentoring program that fosters the development of decision-making and life skills. Volunteer mentors are business and professional women who receive training and ongoing support in their important coaching role with women who are incarcerated or recently released. Beyond basic decision-making skills, the Making Choices program encourages personal responsibility, stronger families, social engagement and leadership development. Mentors and former offenders work together on public education programs and advocacy efforts. The impact of Making Choices is demonstrated in the 92% of graduates who have re-entered the community successfully, as gainfully employed and contributing members of society.
Hands of The Carpenter (Hands) is a faith-based nonprofit that serves single mothers and widows in need by providing automobile repair and maintenance in an effort to relieve the enormous financial burden and related distress that automobile repair puts on this population and their opportunities for economic self-sufficiency. For each woman Hands serves, the need for automobile repair is immediate. Without it, she can lose her job. Without a job, she can lose her home. And suddenly, a seemingly simple repair can lead to homelessness. The Zonta Club of Denver grant of $6,000 will help at least one woman to avoid that downward spiral.
Hands operates alongside Hands Automotive in a social enterprise environment to provide sustainability. Hands Automotive is a full-service repair facility—open to the public—that uses all of the resources it generates to further support the women Hands serves.
Domestic Violence Initiative (DVI) is dedicated to the survival and safety of Colorado’s people with disabilities and their children who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, caregiver abuse, elder abuse and stalking. It provides advocacy, case management, direct services, information and referrals, support, safety planning, and other safety-related services. Zonta awarded a $10,000 grant to DVI.
DVI was founded in 1985 by the late Laura Hershey and Executive Director Sharon Hickman. Ms. Hickman identified women with disabilities as a group of people that had no visibility or support in the community. She found that the number one concern for these women was their vulnerability to violence.
The Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (COVA) provides resources and support in the Denver area to victims of human trafficking. COVA has a demonstrated history of providing services for a broad range of human trafficking victims. Due to the complexity and continuously changing needs of the victims, COVA either provides primary case management or coordinated case management with other programs, depending on what is best for the individual client. Its program provides case management services for victims of trafficking – domestic and international victims; adults and minors; sex and labor trafficking. The grant of $9,000 from Zonta Club of Denver will assist in meeting the financial needs of up to seven women and girls to create self-sufficient lives free from exploitation for whom there are no other resources available.
During Fiscal Year 2014-2015 Zonta Club of Denver awarded more than $31,000 in grants to the following community organizations:
Open Door Ministries (Still Waters Housing)
The Still Waters Housing program is part of Open Door Ministries, a nonprofit Christian community development organization created in 1997. Open Door provides practical help and hope to people who are homeless, in danger of becoming homeless, and in post-imprisonment transition. Still Waters Housing aims to offer real hope and life-change solutions that go far beyond a place to sleep or a single meal. The target population is homeless women who realize their need for practical help in getting out of negative situations (such as abuse, addictions or prostitution) and are ready to make changes in order to better their circumstances and their lives in general. The $10,000 grant to Open Door Ministries will help women in the Still Waters Housing program pursue a college education by paying expenses for courses, books, supplies, rent and child care.
Friends of the Haven
The Haven is a 65-bed Modified Therapeutic Community for women, mothers, and their infants. Licensed by the Colorado Department of Behavioral Health, the program offers long-term, intensive treatment for clients with addictions. Clients are referred from the Department of Human Services, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the criminal justice system, homeless shelters, friends and family members, or through self-referral. The grant of $4,880 will fund a weekly exercise program delivered by Southwest Denver YMCA. This program will provide a release from the stressful treatment regimen, help the women identify healthier ways to cope with stress and enjoy their leisure time other than drug use, and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety common among The Haven client population.
The Delores Project (Steps to Stability Program)
The mission of The Delores Project is to provide safe, comfortable shelter and individualized services to unaccompanied women experiencing homeless. The Delores Project fills a critical community need, as there are not nearly enough shelter beds in Denver reserved for these vulnerable women. The $10,000 grant is for the Steps to Stability program, which provides individualized support services and access to longer-term shelter for women who believe they are ready to end their homelessness and move towards a more stable future.
Second Chances
Second Chances is a unique employment readiness program incorporating individual mentoring with on-the- job training for individuals who are victims of domestic violence, drug abuse, sexual abuse, poverty, homelessness, incarceration, increased mental issues and neglect. They provide a job training and life skills development program through the operation of a children’s thrift store, a furniture thrift store, and a commercial cleaning service. The $5,000 grant will be used to upgrade computers in order to train 300 single moms and women so they can be better prepared to enter the workforce.
Hands of the Carpenter
Hands of The Carpenter (Hands) is a faith-based nonprofit community that uniquely serves single mothers and widows in need by addressing the often overlooked issue of transportation. The grant for $1,500 will help Hands provide automobile repair, maintenance, and related education, in an effort to relieve the enormous financial burden and related distress that automobile repair puts on this population and their opportunity for economic self-sufficiency.
During Fiscal Year 2013-2014 Zonta Club of Denver awarded more than $30,000 in grants to the following community organizations:
Grant Recipients
COVA (Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance)
$7,000 was given to COVA’s Crime Victims’ Emergency Fund to provide financial assistance for Denver 35-40 women for financial needs stemming from a recent crime victimization and for whom there are no other resources. This funding will allow COVA to assist 15% more women who have been victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, robbery, human trafficking, stalking, and elder abuse.
Smart-Girl
Smart-Girl is a Colorado-based nonprofit organization that empowers pre-teen and teen girls to make smart choices and become confident, capable, self-reliant young women. The grant of $10,000 for the Smart-Girl Leadership Institute will be used to train approximately 90 volunteers and school personnel to lead Smart-Girl programs. More than 900 girls will benefit from working with these qualified mentors.
Friends of the Haven
The Haven is a 65-bed Modified Therapeutic Community (MTC) located in Denver, Colorado, for women, mothers, and their infants. Licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health, the program offers long-term, intensive treatment for clients with addictions. Clients are referred from the Department of Human Services, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the criminal justice system, homeless shelters, friends and family members, or through self-referral. The grant of $6,680 will fund a weekly exercise program delivered by Southwest Denver YMCA. This program will provide a release from the stressful treatment regimen, help the women identify healthier ways to cope with stress and enjoy their leisure time other than drug use, and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety common among the Haven client population.
Open Door Ministries (Still Waters Housing)
The Still Waters Housing program is part of Open Door Ministries, a nonprofit Christian community development organization created in 1997. Open Door provides practical help and hope to people who are homeless, in danger of becoming homeless, and in post-imprisonment transition. Still Waters Housing aims to offer real hope and life-change solutions that go far beyond a place to sleep or a single meal. The target population is homeless women who realize their need for practical help in getting out of negative situations (such as abuse, addictions or prostitution) and are ready to make changes in order to better their circumstances and their lives in general. The $6,580 grant to Open Door Ministries will help women in the Still Waters Housing program pursue a college education by paying expenses for courses, books, supplies, rent and child care.
During Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Zonta Club of Denver awarded a total of $31,000 in grants to the following community organizations:
Grant Recipients
Girls Incorporated of Metro Denver – The $7,000 grant will enhance Girls Inc.’s Education Enrichment Program (EEP) and 30% program expansion to reach an additional 200 girls annually. Their programs impacted 2,098 girls in FY2012. The EEP is a cluster of after-school and all day summer programs designed to enhance girls’ knowledge and skills. The program supports Girls Inc.’s mission to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold. This is reflected in their Girls’ Bill of Rights.
Work Options for Women (WOW) – Zonta awarded $7,000 to Work Options for Women, or WOW, a culinary job-training program that offers a combination of culinary skills instruction, hands-on skills practice, soft skills training and individualized case management and support. The organization also helps women with developmental disabilities, mental health or substance abuse issues; some also have criminal records. In 2012, WOW had 120 women in their program; 50 of those students currently have jobs. Zonta’s grant will e used for textbooks and an instructor for a kitchen math course.
The Delores Project (TDP) – $5,000 was awarded to The Delores Project, an overnight shelter near downtown Denver for adult unaccompanied women. The grant will help to fund the Steps to Stability program, offering long-term safe, secure shelter together with individualized services to move women from day-to-day crisis mode to greater stability and independence. During the first six months of 2012, 50 women participated in this program. Grant reports.
Open Door Ministries – Open Door began in 1997 as a grassroots, non-denominational church trying to meet the needs of the community, specifically, the homeless. Women are referred to Open Door Ministries’ Still Waters Housing Program by other shelters or use of the United Way 211 line. There are three houses in the complex – two are occupied by unaccompanied women and one is for women with children three years and younger. Zonta’s grant of $4,000 will be used to help women in the program to purchase books, supplies and bus passes so they can pursue a college or vocational education.
Friends of the Haven – Zonta donated $8,000 to Friends of the Haven to support The Haven program at Ft. Logan. The Haven provides an environment where women, including pregnant women and women with young children, can recover from addiction and co-occurring disorders to become self-sufficient, confident and productive members of the community. They have a 65- bed facility and fully integrated, on-site vocational and GED programs. The program accepts infants into residence while their mothers are treated. All women are referred by the criminal justice system or face jail time. The average stay at The Haven is 12-18 months. The Zonta grant will purchase six computers and provide Microsoft Office: 2010 training with a qualified trainer to 20 women to begin with, then increase to 40 women. Grant report.
During Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Zonta Club of Denver awarded a total of $27,000 in grants to the following community organizations:
Grant Recipients
Girls Incorporated of Metro Denver – The $10,000 grant will be provided to enhance young women’s skills and knowledge in math, science, information technology, economic literacy (handling money and budgets) and leadership. In FY 2010, 1,557 girls and young women were impacted by this program.
Work Options for Women (WOW) – The $7,000 grant will cover the cost of instruction videos, instructor certification and all educational equipment and materials for the new two-week ‘Introduction to Kitchen Basics Program.’ This program is designed to provide basic kitchen skills to those students looking for entry level positions as utility workers or dishwashers in the food service industry.
During Fiscal Year 2010/2011 Zonta Club of Denver awarded grants to the following community organizations.
Grant Recipients
Mental Health Center of Denver — The $14,000 grant will be used to support the vocational component of Growth and Recovery Opportunities for Women (GROW) Program. See here for the most recent grant report.
The Women’s Bean Project — The $10,000 grant will provide seed money and expand the vocational training program in the design, production and sale of jewelry. See here for the most recent grant report.
The Empowerment Program — The $6,500 grant will be used to buy medications for its Mental Health Specialty Clinic. See here for the most recent grant report. In addition, $16,252 was sent to Zonta International to fund the many International Service Projects. This amounts to 1/3 of the total service dollars awarded.
During Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Zonta Club of Denver awarded a total of $27,000 in grants to the following community organizations:
Grant Recipients
Girls Incorporated of Metro Denver – The $10,000 grant will be provided to enhance young women’s skills and knowledge in math, science, information technology, economic literacy (handling money and budgets) and leadership. In FY 2010, 1,557 girls and young women were impacted by this program.
Work Options for Women (WOW) – The $7,000 grant will cover the cost of instruction videos, instructor certification and all educational equipment and materials for the new two-week ‘Introduction to Kitchen Basics Program.’ This program is designed to provide basic kitchen skills to those students looking for entry level positions as utility workers or dishwashers in the food service industry.