Zonta Service Dollars at Work in the Community

In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, Zonta Club of Yakima Valley awarded a Zonta local service grant of $1,200 to Nuestra Casa. Funds received from Zonta included $500 for course materials for their many classes and $700 for a revolving loan fund. The course materials funds were spent on English-Spanish dictionaries for ESL students and copying of materials for several classes including ESL classes, citizenship classes, a variety of health related sessions, and for their women’s support group.

The loan project has made a big difference in the lives of the two women who have received loans. See one beneficiary's story below. Another beneficiary was able to pay an electric bill that had accumulated and was in danger of having her family’s electricity disconnected.

One of the beneficial aspects of the Zonta loan fund is that we will continue to have money to loan to women in need and their families for the foreseeable future. In the past Nuestra Casa staff have noticed that the months when families most often need a loan are November and December as some families have no one working at that time because they are seasonal agricultural workers. This revolving loan fund will help additional families in the future.

The part of the Zonta grant that has benefited a much larger number of women is the money for materials that were used in many classes and workshops. In the numerous educational offerings at Nuestra Casa, they serve over 600 adults, mostly women, in the course of a year. The Zonta grant helped the staff to provide numerous copied materials for the majority of their offerings. It was also a nice treat to have some money for refreshments for Nuestra Casa's women’s support group!

A Nuestra Casa Success Story

Margarita S. has participated in several Nuestra Casa classes and in the women’s support group. She has received a loan from monies provided to Nuestra Casa by the generosity of the Zonta Club. In some ways, Margarita can remind us of Job in the Old Testament. She has had to deal with medical problems caused by an accident at work for which she was not compensated. This has brought not only physical pain and suffering, but financial hardships and mental depression, as well. When her family was in danger of having to move from their apartment because they could not pay their rent, Nuestra Casa was able to make a loan to her from the Zonta loan fund.

While the money loaned to Margarita was not large, it helped her enough for the family to be able to remain in their apartment. It also helped her know that there are good people who care about those in need. With multiple difficulties, being upbeat or positive is not easy. Certainly, some days she gets quite low. However, what Nuestra Casa has been able to do for her because of the Zonta Service donation has been like an oasis in a very long journey through the desert…a respite to help her on her further journey.

Pictures: The first photo is of some students in an ESL class, for which materials were copied using the Zonta grant. The second photo was taken at a Las CoMadres women’s support group in which the women were learning about stress reduction to help them relax. The Zonta grant helped make copied materials and refreshments available for this support group of a dozen women.

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