It’s time once again for Black Hills area nonprofit agencies to apply for EXPO grants from Zonta Club of the Black Hills. Each year, Zonta awards Expo funding to agencies in the Black Hills that help empower and enrich the lives of women and children.  The annual Expo is Zonta’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

Deadline for 2016 grant applications is Sunday, Nov. 15. To learn more about the grants and directions for applying, visit zontacluboftheblackhills.org or call (605) 391-2192.

 Zonta is proud to have funded the following agencies in 2015:

Aglow International – Women’s Jail Storybook Program: Volunteers in the Women’s Jail Storybook Program help incarcerated mothers continue their connections with their children through the simple act of reading a nighttime story. Storybook Program volunteers visit women in jails and record them reading children’s books. Those recordings are then mailed to their children.  

Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Black Hills – Women’s Community Leadership Initiative: The Women’s Community Leadership Initiative strives to empower women, giving them the tools to recognize their potential. Through classes, women are provided leadership and professional development education. WCLI also provides networking opportunities with community leaders.

Catholic Social Services – Professional Counseling for Victims of Violent Crime: Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and/or abuse receive counseling through this program, with the goal of helping them work through the emotions following the traumatic event.

Career Learning Center – GED Testing Scholarship Fund: Zonta grant funding helped more than 40 local women to pursue their GED. Graduates are then encouraged to pursue high education, as education has been proven to improve the economic and social status of women and their children.  

Cornerstone Rescue Mission – Project Self-Sufficiency, Women’s & Children’s Home: Zonta Club awarded grant funding to the Women’s & Children’s Home to assist with operation. The home provides safe emergency shelter for homeless women and children, allowing them privacy and security while they heal.

Lutheran Social Services – Stepping Stones: Stepping Stones proves guidance and support to young adults who are transitioning out of foster care or juvenile corrections. The program provides affordable housing, case management and life skills training to assist youth in becoming self-sufficient adults.

Passages, Women’s Transitional Living, Inc.: A faith-based residential facility, Passages assists woman transitioning from incarceration to independent living.  Passages helps women with basic needs and services, including affordable housing.  

Working Against Violence – Project SAFE: SAFE stands for Security, Advocacy and Family Empowerment. Project SAFE includes domestic violence and sexual assault crisis intervention services, as well as WAVI’s 24-hour crisis line, emergency room response, emotional support and counseling referrals.

Youth & Family Services – Girls Inc. – Academic Support & Enrichment: ASE strives to increase the high school graduation rate in the Black Hills community. ASE provides such resources as computer labs, literacy classes, library access, homework help and math and science instruction.

Youth in Science: A one-day conference that introduces middle school and high school girls to STEM careers, Youth in Science strives to encourage girls to consider careers in science and math. Students attend speakers and work in small groups.

Zonta is grateful to all of these agencies doing such amazing work to improve the lives of women and children in the Black Hills.  

By Lynn Taylor Rick, Expo Marketing & Communications Committee