Zonta Douglas County awards scholarship, community grants

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. - June 16, 2015 - PRLog -- Zonta Douglas County recently awarded a $2,000 scholarship to a high school graduate and grants to three community groups that serve women and children.

Madison Malsch from Castle View High School received Zonta’s Young Women in Public Affairs scholarship. She will be attending Texas A&M University in the fall.

The three groups that received grants were:

-         Hide in Plain Sight, www.hideplainsight.org, a nonprofit started by Joe Roos in February 2015 to help homeless high school seniors in Douglas County to attend college or vocational school;

-         Free the Girls, www.freethegirls.org, a Douglas County-based nonprofit that partners with already established after-care facilities to conduct business and job training for women rescued from sex trafficking in five countries; and

-         Urban Peak, www.urbanpeak.org, a Denver-based nonprofit serving homeless youth, for GED fees to help five local young women through its Education and Employment program.

Zonta’s scholarship and grant program is funded primarily through its annual Trivia Night fundraiser, an event where teams of six adults compete in eight rounds of mind-bending trivia. Winner for 2015 was the “Holy Smokes” team from the First Methodist Church of Castle Rock.

Major sponsors for the 2015 Trivia Event were: The Harris Family & North Fork Lazy Ranch, Castle Oaks Covenant Church, IREA, MedVed Castle Rock, Nesavich Properties, Castle Rock Fraternal Order of Eagles, Castle Rock Bank, Castle Pines Wealth Management and Foothills Energy Services.

“Our Trivia Night keeps growing in popularity,” says Rhonda Bolich-Lampo, Trivia Event Chair.  “In addition to eight fun rounds of trivia, team members enjoy a delicious dinner, beverages and snacks, chocolate fountain, silent and live auction items—with most items donated by our many community sponsors.”

2015-16 Zonta Club Officers

In addition to awarding the scholarship and grants at its recent meeting, Zonta members installed officers for the next year:

         Judy, Nesavich, president

         Karla Painter, vice president

         Dona Hayes, secretary

         Julie Browning, treasurer

         Sue Nissen, Zonta Foundation treasurer

         Sharon Cooper, director (second year of two-year term)

         Jean Zimmerman, director (first year of two-year term)

Founded in 2003, Zonta Club of Douglas County is part of Zonta International, a global organization of executives and professionals empowering women for service and advocacy worldwide.  Nearly 33,000 members belong to more than 1,200 Zonta Clubs in 68 countries and geographic areas.  For more information, visit www.zonta.org.