Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley recently awarded $21,000 in grants and scholarships to local women and organizations “with the desire that more women of all ages will be empowered in society, locally and worldwide,” officials said Tuesday.

The annual awards night program took place on May 8 at the Embassy Suites Hotel. Committee members took turns announcing each of the recipients with awards based on the club’s fundraising efforts of the previous year.

The club aims to empower and recognize women through their service and advocacy around their immediate community, validating future aspirations, as well as curating programs for individuals who need it the most, according to a press release.

Four community grant recipients shared $5,000 to support their programs that empower women and improve their lives.

Family Promise is set to provide an Emergency Motel Shelter Program to support women and their children who need to be housed until they find safe housing.

Fostering Youth Independence (FYI) provides financial assistance to young women who need to furnish a rented room after a relationship ends and provide assistance to purchase professional clothing for young women beginning a career.

See related: Nonprofit ‘Fostering Youth Independence’ Seeks Mentors

Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers offers assistance to women of all ages who are low-income or under-insured and need treatment requiring radiology services to diagnose a medical condition accurately and identify the most appropriate treatment plan.

Single Mothers Outreach offers a new program that will guide women through a learning process that allows them to establish principles tailored to their individual needs. Six sessions will be offered to include group counseling, group activities, individual therapy and follow-up support.

Five women are sharing $10,500 in Virginia Wrage Memorial Scholarships given to mature women who have faced a life-changing situation and need help to become self sufficient again.

The award is named for a former Zonta member who recreated her life as a flight attendant in her 50s and followed her dream for several years before succumbing to cancer.

This year’s recipients are Carrie Dawn Duquette, Arbi Asmarian, Heth Mares, Anna Isayan and Carol Smith Sparkman.

The recipient of the Jane M. Klausman Women in Business scholarship was awarded $1,500. Irina Rhatz will receive her master’s in professional accountancy in August 2020 from the Graduate School of Business at California State University, Northridge.

Motivated to go into accounting when she moved from Russia to the United States, she completed an undergraduate degree in business from Santa Monica College and began teaching general office and bookkeeping classes at Community Educational College, an accredited nonprofit vocational school.

Rhatz created a variety of instructional materials for the accounting and QuickBooks courses. Her goal is to become a CPA and continue teaching accounting to underprivileged
students.

Her application has been forwarded to Zonta’s District 9, where the winner is set to receive an additional $2,000 cash prize and become eligible to compete for 12 additional prizes of $8,000 each from Zonta International.

This award is designed to encourage young women to take an interest in public affairs and perhaps pursue a career in a related field.

This year’s recipients are Jennifer Elliott, who has future goals to become a leader in government to advocate for improvement in the status of women; Ashley Hernandez from Saugus High, whose goal is to become a social worker; and Katherine Jurowski from West Ranch High, whose goal is to tear down barriers for special needs adults or those who have mental differences.

Ashley Hernandez, a YWPA recipient, also received a Special Achievement Scholarship, a one-time recognition of $2,000. Her mother, Carolina Orozco Hernandez, was a leading participant in the Zonta’s Healthy Kids Club (HKC), a partnership program with the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center in Val Verde in the 1990s.

Zonta had pledged to support the girls from HKC in going to college. Ashley’s Special Achievement Scholarship was a way of honoring her “outstanding” high school performance, as well as her mother’s past service to Zonta and the community.

For more information about Zonta, visit their website here.

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