NORWICH — The newly-formed Zonta Club of Chenango County will be celebrating International Women's Day with their first service project. The public event will be held on Saturday, March 8 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Tabryn’s Marketplace/The Cottage Bakery, located at 17 South Broad Street in Norwich.

Zonta is an international organization that aims to support women and girls through advocacy, service, and empowerment.

Zonta clubs complete service projects that meet the unique needs of their communities, in four areas of focus: gender equality, ending child marriage, ending gender-based violence, and expanding education.

"Part of the beauty of Zonta is that everybody’s goal is to support women and girls, but you find the niche where that works for your community. That’s one of the things I love about it," said organizer of the Zonta Club of Chenango County Kisten Giglio.

The first 12 attendees to the International Women's Day celebration will receive a yellow rose donated by Pire's Flower Basket, which is the symbol of Zonta International.

According to Zonta International, "The yellow rose is the symbol for Zonta because early members of the organization believed it represented the qualities of strong, professional women, signifying friendship, joy, caring, and warmth, aligning with the organization's mission to empower women and promote gender equality; essentially, the yellow rose symbolized the positive impact and connection Zonta aimed to foster among its members and the community at large."