About Zonta Foothills of Boulder County
Welcome to Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County, a group of volunteers dedicated to the advancement of women, both in our own community and worldwide.
At Zonta Foothills, we don’t just throw money at a problem – our members log hundreds of service hours for the projects we support.
Thank you for visiting our women’s forum. In addition to our current posts below, check out our Topics for our latest events, and stories of our amazing volunteers and the women who inspire them.
November 6, 2009 No Comments
Just Say No To Mammograms
Mammograms Questioned by Government Panel
Mammograms are no longer recommended for women under 50 years old, and those over 50 need only get this breast cancer screening every other year, according to a new preventive medicine study that calculated the risks of undetected cancer versus the high incidence of false positives.
Self-breast exams are no longer recommended.
These recommendations to not apply to women who are high-risk.
The study was performed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Summary of Recommendations
The USPSTF recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years. The decision to start regular, biennial screening mammography before the age of 50 years should be an individual one and take patient context into account, including the patient’s values regarding specific benefits and harms.
The USPSTF recommends biennial screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74 years.
The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older.
The USPSTF recommends against teaching breast self-examination (BSE).
The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of clinical breast examination (CBE) beyond screening mammography in women 40 years or older.
The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of either digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instead of film mammography as screening modalities for breast cancer.
The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County provides volunteer opportunities for professional women dedicated to the advancement of women both locally, and internationally. Members perform local service projects and raise funds to meet the needs of women in the areas of health, employment, violence prevention and education.
Please join our efforts and put your talents to work. Visit www.zontafoothills.org to find out how you can make a difference in the lives of girls and women in your community and around the world.
November 17, 2009 No Comments
Horses Ease Grief, Teach Social Skills
“Working with animals is therapeutic, and horses are especially suited for the purpose,” Calyn Acebes, LPC, explained to Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County volunteers at Zonta’s monthly lunch held at the Boulder Cork.
Ms. Acebes, the Clinical Supervisor for Medicine Horse Program has found that combining her lifelong love of horses and her skills as a professional counselor is truly a winning strategy for kids and horses alike. Equine-assisted therapy can be effective in easing grief and teaching coping skills. In return, her program gives good horses a job and even saves lives — like their HopeFoal project that rescues unwanted foals from slaughter at mills that produce urine from pregnant mares for the manufacture of estrogen-replacement products for women.
Why horses?
Horses are herd animals with sophisticated social skills. They bond easily to new friends, both equine and human. Horses speak silently and are highly sensitive to touch and movement. A horse can tell a person’s mood just from their body language. In time, humans learn to do the same thing. Horses also display tenderness to their human partners, through a welcoming nicker or a gentle nudge of the nose.
Building relationships with horses can calm frayed nerves, give hope to an otherwise dismal day, and coax out a sense of responsibility, confidence and self-awareness from troubled kids.
Medicine Horse relies on grants and donations to offer these services. Be a donor, or consider volunteering your time.
The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County provides volunteer opportunities for professional women dedicated to the advancement of women both locally, and internationally. Members perform local and international service projects and raise funds to meet the needs of women in the areas of health, employment, violence prevention and education.
Please join our efforts and put your talents to work. Visit www.zontafoothills.org to find out how you can make a difference in the lives of girls and women in your community and around the world.
November 15, 2009 6 Comments
Support the National Women’s History Museum
The House is expected to vote this week on the National Women’s History Museum Act (H.R. 1700), and your voice is needed to ensure its passage.
This bill would allow the National Women’s History Museum, a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution, to purchase land across from the National Mall for the purpose of building a museum in appreciation of women’s many accomplishments and contributions to our nation. Dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the diverse historic contributions of women and integrating this rich heritage fully into our nation’s history, the NWHM would purchase the land at fair market value and would privately fund all construction costs for a permanent museum, but they need Congressional action to allow them to do so.
In 1999, the President’s Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History called for a women’s history museum in Washington, D.C. and cited the efforts of the NWHM toward that goal. While several previous attempts have been made to this end, a permanent museum to celebrate women’s role in history still does not exist in our nation’s Capital.
Although women constitute a majority of the population, their lives, achievements, and contributions are often underrepresented in museums in the United States. AAUW strongly supports H.R. 1700 and is a proud member of the NWHM Coalition, a group of national women’s professional and service organizations committed to supporting the NWHM mission. We recognize the importance of remembering how far we have come and honoring the women who have played an integral part in getting us here.
Recognition of the achievements made by American women will promote a better understanding of our history and culture for all. Urge your representative to support legislation to make this dream a reality.
To urge your representative to cosponsor and support H.R. 1700 to give the National Women’s History Museum a permanent home, click on the “Take Action” link in the upper right corner or copy and paste the following URL into your Internet browser. Then follow the instructions to send your message.
http://www.capwiz.com/aauw/issues/alert/?alertid=14172716
This announcement provided by AAUW. For a virtual stroll through more than 128 years of AAUW’s history, visit the AAUW online museum. Visit AAUW’s blog, AAUW Dialog, to share your thoughts on current news and events and the way they relate to AAUW’s mission.
The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County is a volunteer organization of professional women dedicated to the advancement of women both locally, and internationally. Members perform local service projects and raise funds to meet the needs of women in the areas of health, employment, violence prevention and education.
Please join our efforts and put your talents to work. Visit www.zontafoothills.org to find out how you can make a difference in the lives of girls and women in your community and around the world.
October 14, 2009 No Comments
Women, Not Just Men, Impede Women in the Workplace
If you look closely, you’ll see a definitive sign that women and men communicate differently.
“Watch two men walking and talking, and they’ll be side by side, facing away from one another,” says gender communication expert Audrey Nelson, Ph.D. “But notice the difference if one of them is a woman. She’ll keep turning into her partner, trying to catch eye contact.”
Nelson, the author of You Don’t Say: Navigating Nonverbal Communication Between the Sexes, was on hand for the Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County’s fourth annual Authors’ Luncheon. Along with writing about challenges that men and women have in communication, Nelson trains corporate executives on how to avoid miscommunication and gender discrimination violations in the workplace. Gender discrimination continues to be a factor in pay inequality, keeping women locked into making only about 73 cents to the dollar paid to men.
While gender discrimination from men is still prevalent, Nelson sees another disturbing trend:
“Sadly, women are their own worse enemies in the workplace,” Nelson advised the group of over two hundred professional women, their spouses and guests. “One of the greatest challenges women have in the workplace doesn’t come from men, but rather from women who have made it up the ladder, but don’t mentor other women to follow.”
Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County is a volunteer association of professional women with a mission: to advance the status of women, including women in the workplace. Zonta women take Ms. Nelson’s advice to heart. One of the group’s recent hands-on service projects was the Women in the Workforce employment fair, where volunteers and community sponsors assisted women entering the workforce with advice including resume building, dressing for the office (on a budget), networking for job leads and interviewing skills to attain the goal of self-support.
Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County was recently voted “Best Nonprofit” by the Best of Boulder.
Watch for Audrey Nelson’s newest book, Code Switching: How to Talk So Men Will Listen to be released this summer.
Save the date! Zonta’s next Authors’ Luncheon is March 13, 2010 at the Omni Resort in Broomfield, Colorado. Boulder County’s art community is legendary, and Zonta will have top-tier authors and community leaders on hand to entertain and inspire! For more, see Authors’ Luncheon.
The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County is a volunteer organization of professional women dedicated to the advancement of women both locally, and internationally. Members perform local service projects and raise funds to meet the needs of women in the areas of health, employment, violence prevention and education.
September 18, 2009 No Comments
Domestic Violence Rally October 6
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The rally is planned for Tuesday, October 6 on the west steps of the Capitol building from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. The East High School club Angels Against Abuse will be performing a skit “What Love Is/Isn’t”. There will also be 2 survivors of teen date violence speaking. Organizors are hoping for media coverage.
The theme for the rally is “It Stops With Me”, and the visual will be stop signs that youth-serving agencies across Colorado can carry with their own message on fighting teen date violence.
If you work downtown or can be there, take time to add your support and your voice to this issue.
The Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County is a volunteer organization of professional women dedicated to the advancement of women both locally, and internationally. Members perform local service projects and raise funds to meet the needs of women in the areas of health, employment, violence prevention and education.
June 16, 2009 No Comments