Report form Service Committee (2016-2018)
Co-chairs: Patricia Yeung, Madeleine Ling
The Service Committee, comprising a total of twelve Zontians in this biennium, is responsible for evaluating proposals from service providers in light of Zonta’s objectives and a set of criteria under the Committee’s terms of reference, making recommendations to the Board for approval those projects that are most suitable, as well as monitoring the progress of the Club’s sponsored programmes. During the biennium, outings were also organized for Zontians to visit our service partners and to meet with beneficiaries of our support.
Care for Women
For the empowerment of women, the Club continued to sponsor scholarships for ethnic minority women pursuing full-time studies at local Universities, as well as scholarship/bursaries at the Open University for women students.
On the Club’s 35th anniversary, a donation was made to the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation which provides, among a range of services to mitigate the threat of breast cancer to local women, free screening to those in need.
During the biennium, our Club continued to collaborate with CEASE Crisis Centre of Tung Wah in the rehabilitation of women victims of violence. The programme “ C.A.R.E “. aims to re-build the self-confidence of these women and peer counsellors are specially trained under this programme to help support the victims.
In 2017, we again co-operated with the SAR Correctional Services Department for the rehabilitation of women prisoners. A flower arrangement contest, sponsored by the Club, was organized at their Lo Wu facility for women, to motivate inmates to enroll in vocational training courses offered by the Department.
Care for Young
The Club sponsored school prizes for about 1,000 students in three primary schools as awards for either academic or behavioral improvement.
Care for Elderly
On-going support was provided to St. James Settlement’s “Home Sweet Home” project with donations of electrical appliances and funding of home improvement works at homes of senior citizens.
Care for Handicapped/Underprivileged
The Club continued to support Shek Kip Mei Blind Centre’s 24-hour hot-line service. By the end of this biennium, our Club will have co-operated with the Centre for 30 years.
During the biennium, the Club made a donation to Heep Hong Society to contribute to the fittingout of a play therapy room at their new complex at Sandy Bay. In light of the positive feedback of a Mindfulness training programme that we sponsored in the preceding biennium, we again collaborated with Heep Hong to run a Stress Management programme for parents with children suffering from learning disabilities,