Zontians and friends gather after the work day at the domestic abuse shelter.

MEDIA RELEASE

HILO, HI—April 30, 2009—For the second consecutive year, Zonta Club of Hilo members sewed, planted, painted, sorted and cleaned at Hale Ohana, Hilo’s domestic abuse shelter, netting the facility a $10,000 grant from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

Zontians and friends planted vegetable seedlings, sewed laundry bags, sorted and packaged toiletries, painted bedrooms and cleaned out storage areas at the shelter on Saturday, April 25.

Zontians Mele Spencer, Dianne Horwitz and Kim Kozuma mix cinders and dirt for vegetable garden.

As a result, the shelter, operated by Child & Family Service, got $10,000 from Weinberg Foundation that will be used for site preparation and purchase of a 40-foot container for storage.

The storage area will hold donated clothing, furniture and supplies that will help the women and children as they try to establish a new life.

“Domestic violence goes up as economic conditions decline,” said Patricia O’Toole, Zonta Hilo president. “This shelter, like others of its kind, are overtaxed right now and need community support.”

Zonta Club of Hilo is part of Zonta International that works to advance the status of women worldwide.

The Hilo Zontians are completing a two-year service commitment to the shelter, which included hands-on work at the facility, donating sturdy chairs and other household items, and “Restart Kits” for families forced to start over with no household essentials.

Zonta Club is also provided packs of undergarments for women, boys and girls, since the families often escape with nothing.

“For whatever reasons, Hawai‘i Island has a particularly high rate of domestic violence. Zonta wants families to get away from, and hopefully break the cycle of violence in the home,” O’Toole added.

It is the fourth time in six years that Zonta Club of Hilo has provided service to the shelter and abuse victims. In addition to these two years, in 2005, another Weinberg grant earned by Zontian labor provided funds to put in the playground equipment. In 2003, Zontians secured a Weinberg grant which the police department used to develop a brochure and cards

Zonta Club of Hilo was founded in 1950 as a service organization for executives in business and the professions. It is part of the worldwide service organization, Zonta International, which has 33,000 members in 67 countries. For information go to www.zontahilo.com.