Zharity Newsletter March and April 2026

We’ve done so much together already, and it’s only April!

Engagement Opportunities

Open Volunteer Positions

Do you love our mission and want to get more involved? We are currently looking for volunteers to fill the following positions:

Event/Project Co-Lead: Help us do more in the community by planning and leading existing projects with us.
Graphics Volunteer: Create graphics for our social media, blog and more using Canva.

We’d love to hear from you! Click here for more information about these and other open volunteer positions, or sign up for our April Coffee Talk (more information below).

April Zharity Coffee Talk for New and Existing Members

We are hosting an IN PERSON Zharity Coffee Talk on Thursday, April 16th at 9:30 AM at Bridge in Europa Allee. This is an opportunity to learn more about Zharity and our open volunteering opportunities, and to have your questions answered. Whether you are an existing volunteer and/or Verein member or are new to Zharity and want to learn more, we welcome you to join us. Click here to register.

Cutting volunteers needed for the Pad Project!

We are looking for volunteers to join our next Pad Project Material Prep session on Wednesday, May 20 at 9:00 AM at Café Fischvogel in Zumikon. No sewing experience is needed, just a desire to help others and meet new people! Sign up for this event here.

Attention Sewers:

We are also looking for volunteers with basic sewing skills to assemble the pads. If you have a sewing machine and prefer to work from home, you can sign up to receive pad materials here. If you’d rather sew in a group or don’t have a machine, join one of the Zharity Community Sewing Sessions hosted by Knit Sew at their studio in Zollikerberg.

Spring Clothing Donations

Our wishlist is closed over the Spring break, but we hope you’ll keep us in mind during your Spring cleaning this year! In the meantime, you can find tips on how to select and prepare your donations here.

We’ll be opening our wishlist again on May 4th.

Updates and Thank Yous

Thank you, ICS Action Group!

On March 4th, a group of students from the ICS Action Group joined together to support our Zharity Pad Project for 2026, preparing materials for our sewers to stitch.

Taking time out of their lunchtime break, the students worked together to cut fabric, producing approximately 60 pieces in only a 20 minute period. The students keen to do more, kept the materials and continued working on this project over a series of lunchtimes. In these short but productive sessions the students cut over 180 pieces of material, enough to create 90 pads. A wonderful effort and heartening to see students keen to help other students abroad. Thanks as well to Monica Pombinho for helping to organise these events.

Essen Für Alle Distribution

In early March, eight Zharity volunteers joined Essen für Alle to distribute essential hygiene products. By providing over 675 bottles of shampoo and 1,000 packs of feminine hygiene pads, our team helped supplement the food aid received by attendees.

We are incredibly grateful to Essen für Alle for welcoming us and providing the logistical support necessary to make this distribution a success. A remaining 140 packs of pads will be redirected to support smaller-scale Essen für Alle distributions in other Swiss cities.

Pad Project Kickoff 2026!

“On a rainy Saturday at the GZ Buchegg, a group of volunteers joined together to help launch the Zharity Pad Project for 2026—entering its fourth year and continuing to support our partner school, Nicolas Robinson School in Mekele, Ethiopia.

With three tables filled, we were introduced to the importance of this program for school-aged girls. Period poverty, inaccessibility to menstrual products through either lack of supplies or finances to purchase, means that girls are more likely to miss several days of learning per month… “

Read the full post about this event and the Pad Project here! Thank you to the Cafe at GZ Buchegg for hosting, and to all the volunteers who attended the event and kickstarted our Pad Project goals for the year!

In other news…

Thu, Apr 9

Meet the Board: Chrissie Beeston

“At the end of the day, none of this works without volunteers. Every hour, every skill, every bit of heart makes a difference. And the more of us there are, the more impact we can create together.”