4th Annual Zimele Gala

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the 4th Annual Zimele Gala! With your generous support, we were able to reach our fundraising goal of $125,000!

We'd like to especially thank all our sponsors - Crane Partners, Grace & Mercy Foundation, Metro Community Church, Maven, MS Equities, Piccolo NY, Angi & Co, AmazeBooths and Joohee Bakes for their support. And a very big THANK YOU to our volunteers who continue to give their time to Zimele!

Following are a few images from the evening. We look forward to seeing you next year!

Photo Credits: Isaac Nho and Daniel D. Kim

Gala Emcee, Angela Robinson or Tyler Perry's The Haves & The Have Nots

2015 Corporate Honoree - Richard Han of Crane Partners

Keynote Speaker - Neil Lynch, Zimele Board Member & Ambassador

A couple of our amazing volunteers

Keynote Speaker - Xolani Zondi of Zimele Community South Africa

Guests at the Silent Auction display

Angela Robinson with the amazing performers from the evening - LaTrisa Harper, Senfuab Stoney, Charlie Smith, Gavin Gergory, Jamard Richardson, Kevin Curtis, Nicole Adell, Kayla Rose Aimable, Yeman Brown, Alexandria Johnson

Zimele USA + Petit Elephant NYC

Zimele USA is honored that Petit Elephant NYC has chosen Zimele as its partner organization. Brought to life in 2015 by Melanie Barrows, designer & mother of two, Petit Elephant is dedicated to designing hand-made bracelets and necklaces for children 3-9 years old with unique charms and tassels to help the wearer remember a special event or memory.

In this new partnership, Petit Elephant will donate 10% of its proceeds to Zimele. In addition, the company has designed bracelets inspired by Zimele. These unique bracelets come in a set of 3 and include a charm in the shape of Africa and a coral tassel. 

To purchase these Zimele inspired bracelets, click here

Zimele is dedicated to confronting the root causes of poverty by providing women with the skills, resources, and support networks to start businesses and social service projects to sustain not only themselves, but their families and communities. As a mother of two young girls, Zimele's mission is dear to her heart.

What it means to become a Federation

On August 29, 2014, Zimele made history by being the first women-led organization to reach Federation level in South Africa. What exactly is a Federation and why is it so monumental?

WHO
1,208 Zimele women represent the Federation, all representing various Cluster Level Associations from all over Swayimane, in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa.

WHAT
A Federation is a body that is officially recognized by the government and other policymakers to have a voice in expressing needs, and raising questions, on behalf of the communities they represent.

The mission of the Federation is to have a voice in the barriers that prevent development opportunities of the communities of Swayimane, and to advocate for their communities’ needs and interests. The Federation will work to further develop their economy through things like increasing market opportunities to expand businesses and establishing loans and investments, and also advocate social needs- such as having better access to health care, and education. The Federation will have access to government officials, local institutions, and other influencers to have a platform to affect change in the economic and social landcape of Swayimane.

WHEN/WHERE
Zimele started working towards empowering the women to form a Federation in 2011. The Clusters of Swayimane underwent evaluation exercises from an external evaluator, and took learnings from Federations in India to apply a similar model to make a Federation work in South Africa. After years of research, prep, and mobilizing the women in the Clusters, Zimele officially reached Federation level this summer with an official launch event on August 29.

WHY
The end goal for the Federation is the mission of Zimele itself, to help these women stand on their own two feet. By having a platform and being powerful enough to be heard and seen on issues that have for so long been barriers to breaking the cycle of poverty, the Federation is the key to becoming self-sufficient enough to no longer need Zimele staff members, and to eventually sustain independent livelihoods.