From left, Zonta Club members Christine Lisk and Barb Casada unpack donations for the Zonta Club’s Unique Boutique event scheduled for Friday and Saturday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

RENO — The Zonta Club of the Mid-Ohio Valley will host its Unique Boutique fundraiser Friday and Saturday at the Marietta Township Recreation Center in Reno.

Friday’s hours are 2-8 p.m. but early entry is granted at 1:30 p.m. if individuals donate a package of feminine hygiene products. Saturday’s hours are 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Zonta Club is an international organization that caters to women and girls all over the world. This specific group caters to not only the local community but also their district which consists of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. According to Zonta Club President Sharon Coffman, the mission statement behind Zonta Club is to promote the empowerment and advocacy for women and girls. The club performs these actions by focusing on helping women affected by domestic violence and assisting women and girls with education both locally and in developing nations.

Zonta Club also has a Period Project where they create gift bags with everything a girl could need for when their menstrual cycle arrives. These packages are sent abroad, but the local Zonta Club is offering this locally with what they call the Delegates for Dignity Project.

Christine Lisk is in charge of that project and collects deodorant, period supplies, underwear and other hygiene products for boys and girls in the area. For these projects, Lisk applies for grants year-round and recently received a grant from Peoples Bank and another grant from the Marietta Welfare League.

The club receives donations for the Unique Boutique year-round and members unloaded approximately 19 carloads of donations on Sunday evening. While the busy group of members and volunteers worked to organize all of the donations, more continued to arrive Monday.

“Several people had cars full,” said Coffman. “My garage was full and that’s a big garage too.”

All of the proceeds from the event go toward a scholarship fund for women to attend the Washington State College of Ohio. Traditionally, the Zonta Club gives out four scholarships every year with the results posted in April. The scholarships tend to be given to more nontraditional students.

“These are given to women that are going back to school, that maybe have little children,” said Coffman in an example.

For Friday, each item is priced by what the item is, but Saturday is an all-day bag sale. Attendees can fill up a 13-gallon trash bag for $10. Additionally, there will be concessions available such as hot dogs, barbecue pork sandwiches, nachos and homemade cookies.

If interested in volunteering with the Zonta Club of the Mid-Ohio Valley, find their Facebook page under the same name or email the club at movzontaclub@gmail.com.

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com