White Ribbon event in mix for international accolade

The Zonta Says No White Ribbon Day beach event is being recognised as one of the best Zonta Club projects in the country, putting the local club in the running to win an international award later this year.

The Zonta Club of Dunsborough, in alliance with Busselton Senior High School, staged a colour run in November, which ended in students forming a human “say no” message in the sand to highlight domestic violence against women.

The event, along with the club’s ongoing financial support and mentoring of at-risk students, was recognised as the best of all submissions from clubs in WA, South Australia, Victoria, the Northern Territory and Tasmania, leading to the club being short-listed for a service recognition award.

The short-list will be presented to Zonta International and those on it have the chance to be one of six submissions selected for international recognition at the Zonta Convention in Yokohama in June.

Zonta Club of Dunsborough president Angela Syms said the project was one of many services the club provided to the community.

Vice-president Joyce Odom said the recognition was “energising” for club members and increased faith that the work being done was making a difference.

“We put in so much work month-in, month-out,” she said.

“It’s really significant to us to be recognised out of thousands of clubs worldwide.”