FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mona Pearl - 772-9001; 421-3788; pearl@wslc.com

Zonta Club of Cheyenne Announces 2009 “16 Days” Campaign; Governor Freudenthal and Mayor Kaysen sign proclamations

The Zonta Club of Cheyenne is again participating in 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. The campaign formally kicks off on November 25. Proclamation signings by Governor Dave Freudenthal and Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen will take place on November 20 and November 18 respectively. The opening of the Wyoming Division of Victim Services “Silent Witness” display in the Laramie County Library will occur on November 30.

The Cheyenne Zonta Club has invited other organizations to join the campaign, including Safehouse, Cheyenne Community Clinic, United Way of Laramie County Women’s Leadership Council and Prevent Child Abuse-Wyoming.

Since 1991, the 16 Days Campaign has helped to raise awareness about gender violence and has highlighted its effects on women globally. Each year, thousands of activists from all over the world utilize the campaign to further their work to end violence against women. The campaign has celebrated victories gained by women’s rights movements, it has challenged policies and practices that allow women to be targeted for acts of violence, it has called for the protection of people who defend women’s human rights and it has demanded accountability from states, including a commitment to recognize and act upon all forms of violence against women as human rights abuses.

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Founded in 1919, Zonta International is a global organization of executives and professionals working together to advance the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy. Zonta members volunteer their time, talents and money to local and international service projects, as well as scholarship and award programs aimed at furthering women's education, leadership and youth development. Nearly 33,000 members belong to more than 1,200 Zonta Clubs in 68 countries and geographic areas.