Advancing Gender Equity for Women and Girls | |
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November 2024 NEWSLETTER
edited by Dottie Burk, Jeanne Lese, Cherie Sorokin, and Ann Vercoutere
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First things first! Have you voted yet? Hoping every single one of you is voting as if your life depended on it. Remember it may well!
Next: Keep encouraging others you know to vote. Make sure they know what is at stake for women and girls in this election. AAUW's voter guides and informational pieces on the issues can be very helpful! Check out these materials on the AAUW Action Fund Website
Then: sign up for the AAUW Webinar: Securing the Future: A Post-Election Conversation on Women's Economic Security, scheduled for Tuesday, November 19 at noon Pacific Time. The webinar will explore the path forward for women's economic security under the new U.S. President and the 119th Congress. (Let's hope we have a definitive answer as to who is who by then!) Remember that regardless of the election outcome, our work to advance equity for women and girls is not done. Register Here.
Finally, take a few minutes to repost an AAUW national or AAUW CA social media announcement or post. Spread the word about our organization and the issues we help address. Both the national and state organizations have great social media posts on Facebook and LinkedIn, and other social media sites. Help us spread the word!
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On October 25th AAUW California hosted a webinar on the topic of how Project 2025 would affect AAUW CA's public policy priorities. If you missed it you can access the recording here. Even if you don't have time to listen to the recording, the slide deck can be downloaded using the same link. It is quite enlightening and well worth a read.
AAUW CA does great public policy and advocacy work!
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Chat with Leslie
Dear all,
Have you made your plan to vote? Do you want to know more? Here's the AAUW-CA link. Look for Issues we care about to help you be an informed and engaged voter! Four more days!
Auction time! Please continue feathering Bidding Owl's nest! Remember that every dollar goes to supporting our AAUW mission of research, advocacy, and education! Have you seen the letters from our Tech Trekkers and our scholarship winners? Amazing achievement and gratitude. Need help with solicitation letters or who to ask? Ask Dottie by clicking on her name.
Did you know that AAUW national has many interesting and useful webinars online? Under the So Much to Do, So Little Time section below, there is a list of a few of them. Hope you'll take the time to check some of them out. You don't even have to be a member to register for most of them. The Work Smart and Start Smart programs are great for young women you may know who are already in or about to join the workforce.
Enjoy these beautiful fall days and I look forward to seeing you at Book Passage on November 23rd. It is a great opportunity to get a couple of books, hear what's new and interesting, and welcome our many new members!
Leslie O. Zimring
PS Katherine Brinnier is collecting 2025 calendars again this year for Homeward Bound. Bring ones you would like to donate to any meeting!
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Elaine's Picks: Annual Book Recommendations
Our annual program with Elaine Petrocelli, owner of Book Passage, is always fun. Join us at 10:00 am on Saturday, November 23 to hear Elaine and her staff hold forth on their favorite picks for the holiday season and beyond. Bring a guest. Stay afterward to shop. Book Passage is a great place to pick up gifts for the holiday season, plus Elaine gives our branch a percentage of sales to members and guests attending this program.
Watch for the invitation that will be sent soon and RSVP so we know how many to expect. If you are coming and/or bringing guests, please let Katherine Brinnier know so we can have a name tag for you and them as well. We have invited women from Dominican University's Women, Leadership and Philanthropy Council to join us at this program. We have many members in common, but a few of those WLPC members haven't yet joined AAUW. Maybe you can help recruit them!
A $5 donation per person to AAUW Marin will be requested when you sign in and pick up your name tag.
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Coffee and Conversation
Come meet your AAUW neighbors! We are starting informal neighborhood gatherings at Board members’ homes in southern, central and northern Marin. Our aim is to start conversations around programs/interest groups, ideas for new or different ones, suggestions about communication, and just getting to know each other better. The invitation is open to all members, with special invitations to our newest members and others who have not been active lately.
Our first groups will meet on Saturday morning November 16 from 10-11:30 at the homes of
We ask that you email the hostess in your region by November 9, if you would like to attend (limit of 10 women per location).
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Dominican Announces Scholarship Winners | |
Dominican University has announced the winners of the AAUW Marin Ann Ruane Lubamersky Scholarship for 2024-2025. Two women will share the scholarship which is awarded to a nontraditional or re-entry woman. The recipients are Jennifer Adler a freshman from Sausalito majoring in Psychology and Adriana Cruz Diaz, a junior from Novato majoring in Literary & Intercultural Study. Each will receive $3,000. Congratulations to both! | |
College of Marin News
Deb Learner, COM liaison, has learned the identity of one of our 2024-25 scholarship winners. Piper Garza, a student planning to transfer to a 4-year college, has been awarded $1,000. Congratulations, Piper! We await word on other scholarship recipients.
Deb is already excited about the January 2025 joint meeting between our branch and COM. This intergenerational experience will explore the meaning and value of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We will be welcomed by key College staff, including College of Marin AAUW reps Stormy Miller and Angela Olmanson.
Details: Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 12 noon to 2pm, College of Marin Academic Center, light lunch and parking included. Cost: $20.
It's not too early to let Deborah Learner know that you plan to attend: dlearner45@gmail.com
Come celebrate our fruitful collaboration with the College of Marin!
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Lily Cohen
Lily is a 2014 Tech Trek alum. She graduated from Redwood High School in 2019 and plans to finish a degree in Fashion Design at San Francisco State this Spring. She has found her interest in STEM utilized throughout her studies in Fashion Design and is passionate about educating people on the intersections between STEM and the arts.
Lily spoke at the September Tech Trek gathering, was a Dorm Monitor at this past summer’s Camp Franklin at Sonoma State and will be a Camp Director in Training at next summer’s camp. She is very excited for this leadership role and can’t wait to bring new ideas to the director team to help shape Camp Franklin going forward.
According to Lily, "Tech Trek encouraged my love of STEM. Finding new avenues to utilize these tools and continuing to pursue endeavors around STEM have become my passion."
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TTAG Girls Get Together
The Tech Trek Alumnae Group (TTAG) board decided to focus on fun and getting to know one another for their first event. While they were hoping for larger attendance, they achieved their goals with spooky cookie decorating and watching an age-appropriate Halloween-themed movie together. The TTAG board displayed strong teamwork and inclusion in planning and executing the event. They are off to a great start.
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Fundraising Campaign for the Scholarship Fund Is On Now!!
Fall is the time we raise money for our AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund which supports our local college scholarships and Tech Trek.
Four Ways You Can Help
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Respond generously to the appeal letter from Scholarship Chair Laura O'Malley. Look for it next week.
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Donate an item to the online silent auction or direct buy sale at the Holiday Luncheon. Contact Dianne Sheridan or Dottie Burk to donate an auction item or Pauline Nakamuli with your ideas for the direct buy sale. Here's a LINK to the types of items we are seeking.
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Bid in the online silent auction (Bidding Owl) and/or buy an item or two or more at the luncheon on December 7. Bidding directions will be sent later in the month.
- When the auction opens on November 29, give the link to your Marin friends, relatives, neighbors, etc. The more bidders, the more money we raise!
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We were in the IJ again!
Thanks to Nancy Finston and the Giving Marin sponsors, the AAUW name has become more visible in the Marin community. We appeared twice in October! The October 3rd Giving Marin page featured our September branch meeting with the Tech Trek girls, TTAG board, and College of Marin STEM award winners. And, on October 25th, College of Marin sponsored a quarter-page ad for our Scholarship Fund.
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Welcome New Members
Joanne Lee
Joanne is a retired teacher who joined after the Senior Fair in September. She volunteers ushering and enjoys travel, hiking, gardening, bocce, birding. Maybe she will start a birding group????
Gail Matthews
Gail is a retired psychologist who joined at the Senior Fair as well. She enjoys reading, and going to the movies and museums as well. She has come to the right place- lots of reading groups with the AAUW branch.
Marydell Lucas
Marydell joined through Laurie Nardone. She is a retired tour operator and has traveled the world to off the beaten path places. She is President of the Easter Island Foundation, which supports the people of Rapa Nui to preserve their vibrant Polynesian culture. We hope to hear more!
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Ready to join a new interest group?
Most groups welcome new members. Just contact the group leader for information or to be added to the group email list. For a list of all Marin branch interest groups with leader contact information, click HERE. Note: Interest Groups are just for members of AAUW Marin, but guests who may be thinking of joining are welcome to visit an interest group twice before being asked join.
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Art Tours
Art Tour: December 3 at 10:30 a.m. Legion of Honor Museum. Mary Cassatt at Work: paintings, pastels and prints showing processes. Order tickets soon; some will order 2 tickets for non-FAMSF members. Carpool available. Contact Julia Geist, srfreg@pacbell.net or 415-4541429.
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Hiking Group
Our next hike is planned for Election Day, Nov 5 (have you voted?). We are planning to walk out Tennessee Valley. The hike/walk is fairly level and about 3.6 miles. Contact Laura Phipps if interested.
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Book Lovers
Booklovers will hold its Year-End Potluck Luncheon on Tuesday, November 19th at noon at the home of Dolores Mizis. We will discuss our book suggestions for next year at this meeting and then vote on the ten books that we want to read in 2025.
Contact Carol Hoffman for more information.
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LitWits Reading Group
LitWits completes its fall reading of famous banned books with The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood on November 20. Meetings are 10 AM on 3rd Wednesday mornings. The group will not meet in December. In January LitWitds begins reading of three works by novelist James McBride. For info contact Ann Thomas, or 415-924-9559.
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What Are You Reading?
What Are You Reading book group will meet on Monday, November 11 from 10-11 on Zoom. Members share what they are reading. You always come away with a list of great books to read! Contact Cherie Sorokin if you want to attend.
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Reading Arts Group
It’s book reading season! Reading Arts meets on Thursday, November 21st, to discuss “James“ by Percival Everett. Interested in joining us? Please contact group leader AnnJessup, for information.
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Nonfiction Reading Group
The AAUW Marin Nonfiction Reading Group is meeting Monday, November 11, at 1:00 pm on Zoom to discuss The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liars by Lixing Sun. Nature is rife with cheating rivals. Even genes and cells cheat. The book explores the evolution of cheating in the natural world, revealing how dishonesty has given rise to wondrous diversity.
If you would like to be on the group’s email list, please email either co-leader for the Zoom link: Phyllis Kuehn or Olivia Ruel. We welcome new members!
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Behind the Headlines
On November 13, at 6:00 pm, on Zoom, Behind the Headlines again hosts Barbara Creed, Supreme Court watcher extraordinaire. Barbara's presentation is titled "Will the Court Come to Order" and will focus on the significant decisions of the term that ended in July and preview some of the important cases the Court will decide in its term that began on October 7. This meeting is open to all branch members, but if you are not a member of the group, you will need to contact Cherie for the Zoom link.
Contact Cherie Sorokin if you are interested in attending or joining the group.
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Bocce
With a bit of luck we plan to make Bocce a regular event on the second Tuesday of each month. You don't need to know how to play. Our next meeting will be at Albert Park in San Rafael, on November 12 at 10am.
Please contact Ann Vercoutere if interested.
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Happy Hour Group
Our next Happy Hour is Thursday, November 7 at 4:00 pm at Gott's Roadside in the Bon Air shopping center. Contact Dottie Burk if you would like to attend and/or be added to our email list.
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Meet Me at the Movies!
Movie Group will meet on November 12. Freddie Green will send out a notice to members closer to the date when the movie can be selected. Last month we tried out watching a movie online and meeting for an earlier dinner discussion which we will do occasionally if we can’t find a good movie selection in the theaters. Contact Mary Mossteller if interested.
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Handcraft Circle
Handcraft Circle will meet at Mary Mossteller’s on November 19 from 1-4. We are pleased that we have several new members, so our circle is getting bigger. Please contact Mary Mossteller if you would like to join the group. All you need is a project that you would like to work on while having a lively conversation with others.
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Play Mah Jongg?
Join us for our weekly games on Wednesdays in members' homes 1:30 to 3:30. If you are interested in joining or would like to get on the list, email the group leader Chris O'Neill. We play American Mah Jongg. You need the card to play and should have a basic knowledge of the game.
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Interest Group Picture of the Month | |
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Members of the Mah Jongg group assemble soup mixes to be sold at the Holiday Luncheon.
It's perfect weather now for some yummy soup!!
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So Much to Do, So Little Time | |
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Upcoming AAUW Webinars:
- Securing the Future: A Post Election Conversation on Women's Economic Security, November 19 at noon Pacific time. Register Here.
- AAUW Start Smart -- November 13 11:00a m - noon Pacific Time. Register Here.
- AAUW Money Smart --November 21, noon - 1:00 pm Pacific Time. Register Here.
- AAUW Work Smart Refresher--December 3, noon - 1:00 pm Pacific Time. Register Here.
- Fundamentals of Saving for Retirement--Offered by FINRA--December 5, 9:00 am - 10:00 am Pacific Time. Register Here.
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November 23, Book Passage, 10-noon What books to read? Elaine Petrocelli, Book Passage owner and member of the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame
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December 7, McInnis Golf Club 11-2PM with lunch and items for sale to benefit our Scholarship Fund
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January 29, College of Marin, 12-2 PM. Lunch with staff and students: Intergenerational learning – Stormy Miller, EdD, Director of Student Services, Angela Olmanson, Health Sciences Program Administrator @ COM
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February 22, Key Room @ Homeward Bound, 9:30 - noon. Tri-branch Brunch with Damon Connolly, JD, CA State Assembly member for Marin, southern Sonoma counties - Legislation and AAUW issues
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March 15, Corte Madera Town Center, 10-noon. Coffee with Suzanne Ford, president of SF Pride LGBTQ+ non-profit - Issues affecting the transgender, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented communities
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April 12, Key Room @ Homeward Bound, 2 PM - 4 PM. Afternoon tea with Jazmin Darznik, JD, PhD, MFA, author- Women in history and literature
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May 10, McInnis Golf Club, 10 - 1PM. End of the year luncheon and celebration! Election of officers and invited speaker Cynthia Boaz, PhD, Scholar for UNESCO program in Peace, Conflict, and Development Studies, Sonoma State professor of political science with expertise in nonviolent strategy, civil resistance, quality of democracy, reproductive rights.
We hope to see YOU at each and every one of these wonderful events!
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Know Someone Who'd Like to Join AAUW? | |
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AAUW women make an impact on women and girls.
Word of mouth is the best way to recruit new members!
Why Join? AAUW offers multiple ways to stay engaged with our mission of advancing equity for women and girls, as well as to develop friendship with others who understand that the fight for equality is still critical! Excellent national webinars! Engaging monthly branch programs! A wide variety of interest group meetings! Energetic, intellectually curious friends! A mission that is more important than ever! CONTACT Chris O'Neill for membership information.
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AAUW is a top-rated 501(c)(3) charity. Donations are tax deductible.
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