The Zonta Club of Hilo is launching “Magnificent Me,” a three-year signature service project to expose adolescent girls to tools that can build confidence.
“We want to catch that pivot point as the world opens before them,” said Julie Tulang, Zonta Hilo’s service director. “Many paths will be open to them; armed with good life skills, they can make better choices.”
The first full day conference is set for late March 2019. Zonta Hilo will bring about 120 seventh-grade girls from East Hawaii (Honokaa to Ka‘u) public schools into classrooms at the University of Hawaii at Hilo for a suite of workshops that inspire a strong sense of self.
Workshops will range from empowering girls to dream and celebrating their unique qualities to fine-tuning communication skills.
Prominent professional women across industries will be keynote speakers woven into the day. As “Magnificent Me” develops over the three years, Zonta Hilo aims to incorporate girls into the planning and presentation of the workshops.
“We welcome ‘Magnificent Me’ to UH-Hilo,” said Marcia Sakai, interim chancellor. “It is directly related to our purpose — to challenge students to reach their highest level of academic achievement by inspiring learning, discovery and creativity, inside and outside the classroom.”
Each school in the East Hawaii region will be allotted slots at the conference, based on population. Transportation from home schools to UH-Hilo will be provided, along with lunch and conference materials.
“We’re looking for those ‘diamonds in the rough,’ girls whose potential is not yet recognized, who will benefit from exposure to dynamic and powerful messages of opportunity,” said Tulang.
Zonta Club of Hilo is seeking partners whose missions intersect with this one to join in “Magnificent Me,” either as volunteers or through financial support.
For more info or to become a sponsor, visit www.ZontaMagnificentMe.com or email girls@zontamagnificentme.com.
Zonta Hilo, founded in 1950, is one of four clubs in Hawaii. Zonta International has clubs in 63 countries across the world and envisions a world in which women’s rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential.
