Advancing Gender Equity for Women and Girls | |
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SUMMER 2024 NEWSLETTER
edited by Dottie Burk, Jeanne Lese, Cherie Sorokin, and Ann Vercoutere
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A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words! | |
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At our luncheon on June 1, Cherie Sorokin, now AAUW national Board Chair, pointed out pictorially why member "unrestricted" or "greatest needs" donations to AAUW are so important. The graphic above was created by Peggy Cabaniss, AAUW's Finance Vice Chair, who has a genius for simplifying really complex finance and accounting issues!
The Lego stacks on the right represent "endowed" donations, mostly for AAUW's Fellowships and Grants. Essentially only the interest on these funds can be used--not the principal--so these endowed funds are designed to last forever, but only in support of fellowships and grants.
The middle stack represents donations made for a specific programmatic purpose identified by a donor. The entire amount of such donations can be used, not just the interest on those funds, but again only for the specific purpose identified by the donor. These funds aren't designed to last forever, and the programs they support won't either unless new funding is obtained for more or less the same purpose.
The smallest Lego stack, the one on the left, represents member dues and funds donated to AAUW for "greatest needs," without any specific restriction. This tiny stack has to cover our research, our advocacy and legislative work at the national level, our public policy work with branches across the country, programs such as Start Smart and Work Smart, and NCCWSL (see article below!), our engagement with and outreach to coalitions and other organizations working on issues we jointly support, our external public relations and website and communications to members and branches, our work with college and university members, our support to branches as they work to advance our mission, administration related to our membership and affiliate structure, and our day to day operations.
Bottom line, as financial folks like to say, is that AAUW really needs a lot more Legos in the column on the left. This year the AAUW Marin Board has asked every member of our branch to help build up the funds in that column and to show our support of AAUW's mission and purpose with an unrestricted donation to AAUW. Would be so great to have 100% participation! You can mail a check to AAUW at PO box 98045, Washington, DC 20077-7023. But it's really quick and easy to donate online at AAUW.org. Remember to choose "Greatest Needs."
Hope you'll make your donation today if you haven't already done so!
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AAUW-CA essentially observes a "school year" calendar, so not really any new news to report here. But check out the June edition of the California Connection which you should have received by email on Saturday June 8 for a lovely thank you to outgoing AAUW CA President Sandy Gabe and a great summary of her accomplishments as the leader of our state organization. | |
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Chat with Leslie
Dear all members,
First of all – a giant thank you to your new AAUW Marin elected board! I appreciate the willingness of these women to give their energy and time to our AAUW Marin branch and I’m looking forward to working with this talented group!
• President - Leslie Zimring
• President-Elect - Kathleen Clark
• Secretary – Sarah Pruden
• Treasurer – Sue Torres
• Membership Chair – Chris O’Neill
• Program Chair – Susan Angel
• Public Policy Chair – Nancy Major
• Interest Group Co-chairs – Amy Anderson and Carol Lorenz
• Scholarship Chair – Laura O’Malley
In July’s mid-month message, I’ll share with you the appointed board members, another amazing group who have great responsibility and drive the work of our branch. This extended board – both elected and appointed, as well as teams who support membership, programs, and fund-raising will meet for a retreat in August to set goals, benchmarks, and timelines. Ideas you would like us to consider? Let me know.
Happy Summer! I’ll see you at Chris’s home on the 14th
Leslie
‘Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life!’ ~Mary Oliver
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Please join us on July 14 for our
Summer Fling
This no agenda, just for fun, luncheon with AAUW friends and guests will be held in the beautiful backyard of member Chris O'Neill. Thank you, Chris for opening your home to us again!
The invitation will be emailed in late June or early July, but here are the details so you can mark your calendars now:
When: Sunday, June 14, 11:30 am - 2:00 pm
Where: Home of Chris O'Neill, 186 Riviera Dr., San Rafael, CA
RSVP: Yes, an RSVP is required, so we know how many to expect.
Cost: The cost will be $10 if paying by check, or $11 if using PayPal to help cover the cost of the picnic style food and drink we'll be serving.
Guests are welcome: Invite a friend or two, especially those interested in joining AAUW!
Please email Katherine Brinnier in advance with the name of any guests who will be joining you, so she can be sure to have a name tag for them.
What to bring: A hat and sunglasses in case it's hot and sunny, and/or a sweater or jacket in case it's breezy and overcast! It's Northern California, so who knows what the weather will be!
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Annual Spring Brunch Celebrates Branch Accomplishments, Named Gift Honorees and More...
At our annual spring brunch on June 1 we enjoyed the company of AAUW friends as we celebrated our accomplishments over the past year, announced our Named Gift honorees, gave out a few more kudos, thanked our retiring board members and officers, elected new board members for the coming year, made a few changes to our bylaws, and heard from Cherie Sorokin, newly elected chair of AAUW's Board of Directors, about the state of affairs at AAUW National.
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President Leslie Zimring (left) reviewed the year's accomplishments. Cherie Sorokin reminded us again about the importance of donating to the AAUW Greatest Needs Fund. | |
Every year we honor branch members who have done outstanding work in supporting the programs and goals of AAUW by naming a donation to the AAUW Fund in their honor. This year's Named Gift honorees are Nancy Major and Nancy Finston. Congratulations to both! | |
Branch officers celebrate at the annual meeting. |
Tech Trek Alum is a Dorm Mom This Year
Christina (Tina) Schwartz attended Tech Trek at Stanford in 2007. She graduated from Redwood in 2012, then University of Mary (in North Dakota) in 2016 with a double major in Respiratory Therapy (RT) and pre-med. She has worked as an RT in neonatal, pediatric and cardiac ICUs, consulting with physicians on ventilator and airway management. Her plan is to apply to Physician Associates programs in the Fall. Now she has come full circle by serving as a dorm mom at the Sonoma State Tech Trek camp this summer! Thank you Tina!
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Scholarship Fund Sponsors Awards for College of Marin MESA Students
On May 23, COM held a luncheon to honor Math, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) students. Four of these students received awards totaling $3,000 funded by the AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund. The MESA program is a support structure for first generation college students, 90% of whom come from families making less than $40,000 per year. They transfer to 4-year schools that include UC Berkeley, other UC's, and Princeton.
Three of the award winners are pictured below. Not present was the fourth recipient, Isela Sosa Mendoza. Also present, representing AAUW: Dottie Burk, Deb Learner, Sarah Pruden and Ann Vercoutere
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Reva Siu-Masset and Donna Garcia Vasquez | |
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The "older ones" are L to R: Sarah Pruden, Dottie Burk, Ann Vercoutere and Deb Learner | |
History Video is on YouTube.
In care you missed seeing it at the April Funds Tea or want to see it again, Nancy Finston's excellent presentation: "How to Make a Difference: The Past, Present and Future of AAUW Marin Branch and National AAUW" is now on YouTube.
Click HERE to view it.
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Giving Marin Sponsors Another Ad for the Scholarship Fund
Thank you to Nugget Markets (Kate Stille and Julie Cunningham) for sponsoring a quarter-page ad for the AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund in the June 5 issue of the Marin IJ. Nugget Markets is a partner in the Giving Marin program, a community partnership of businesses and institutions, who donate advertising space to raise the level of exposure for nonprofit organizations. Giving Marin ads for Tech Trek and the Scholarship Fund appeared several times last fall as well.
Kudos once again to Nancy Finston for designing and submitting the ad.
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Marin Women Attend AAUW's Leadership Conference
The AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund supported two women's attendance at AAUW"s National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) May 30 - June 1 at the University of Maryland. Vianey Valenzuela represented Dominican University and Reva Siu-Masset represented College of Marin. Thank you to our college liaisons and reps for helping these women plan and navigate their trips - Nancy Lubamersky, Denise Lucy, Deb Learner and Stormy Miller. Here's what each had to say.
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"My name is Vianey Valenzuela and I am a rising Junior at Dominican University of California majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Global Business and Finance and a minor in International Studies. Having the honor of being chosen to represent this incredible university at NCCWSL is surreal to me. With my full appreciation and happiness, I would like to thank the AAUW Marin Branch for giving me the honor of supporting me in this amazing opportunity." | |
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"I wanted to thank you so much for coordinating my trip to DC. I can tell you it was an absolutely transformative experience! I gained valuable knowledge from experts and panels, and I also learned lots of practical skills about topics from elevator pitches to self defense, all of which I will carry with me as I embark on my professional journey. There truly is nothing more motivating than seeing representation in women of all generations, ethnicities, and leadership roles! Furthermore, I made connections with people from all over the United States whom I otherwise would have never had the pleasure to meet. I have never been so happy to network with other people at a conference before, and I cannot thank AAUW enough for the opportunity to attend this year's NCCWSL." - Reva Siu-Masset
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Time to Renew Your Membership?
For members who joined AAUW before July 1, 2022, your membership expires on June 30. You should have received a renewal email from AAUW National to remind you. Why not renew NOW. Remember, if you renew online, you can easily donate to the AAUW Greatest Need Fund at the same time.
Options for Renewing
- Click on the link in the email from National and follow the instructions.
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Go to the National website, www.aauw.org. and follow the instructions in the How to Renew Your AAUW Membership Online doc.
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Open, print, and complete the Dues Renewal Form. Send it along with your check payable to AAUW Marin to Sue Torres at the address on the form.
Membership Chair Chris O’Neill says: “Please renew NOW. You don’t want to miss all that AAUW has to offer in the coming year - great programs and interest groups, interesting National and California Zoom programs and webinars, the branch friendships you’ve made and, most importantly, your support for all the work AAUW does to promote and support equity for women and girls.”
If you have problems renewing, contact Sue Torres (415-459-4581).
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We've added many members in the last few months- thanks to all. Here is a brief introduction:
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Rebecca Allen- moved here from Florida and as a retired French teacher would love to have others join her in the French Conversation interest group.
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Carol Cotton- an artist for many years, she said an AAUW member friend in New Mexico encouraged her to check us out.
- Judy Kramer- recently retired from a financial career. She is the mother of a former Tech Trekker and manages our branch Instagram account.
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Robin Liffmann- a recently retired environmental engineer. She is presenting a course at this year's Tech Trek.
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Kelsey May- a dual member from Arizona who shares time with her grandmother-in-law Deb Learner by participating in the What Are You Reading group.
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Claudia Perez- a psychologist who is very active in the Beyond Differences program
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Jessie Powell- was very active in the Redlands branch before moving to Marin. She is a retired CPA.
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Karen Scheder- met Leslie Zimring at a guitar class many years ago. She was on our April Funds Tea committee.
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Gilda Selchau- a retired school counselor. She said Nancy Finston's wonderful branch history presentation at the April Funds Tea compelled her to join.
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Shari Shamsavari- a dual member from the Novato branch. She is a retired psychologist, specializing in art therapy.
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Lisa Wilcox Corning- mother of twin teenage daughters. She is on several boards and has her own market research company.
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Audrey Zavell- a retired teacher and dancer. She is active in theater and choral groups.
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No, not age (we’d never publish a lady’s age) but 50 years of continuous membership in
AAUW. Congratulations to Dolores Mizis (L) and Barbara Jessen (R). Dolores remains a very
active member, taking part in a book group and Behind the Headlines. You’ll usually see her at the branch programs too. Barbara hasn’t been as active in the branch recently but was in interest groups and held Board positions in the past. While not as active in AAUW Marin, she is definitely active, playing tennis two days a week. Thank you both for your support of AAUW all these years.
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Jean Marchant is Turning 100!!!!
What an inspiration to us all!
July 10 is the BIG day.
She's been a member since 1945.
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Congratulations, Afaf Meleis!
Member Afaf Meleis, the internationally renowned nurse-researcher and medical sociologist, will receive the 2024 National Humanism in Medicine Medal at the Gold Foundation Annual Gala on June 10 in NYC. To read more about the award and Afaf's "extraordinary impact on nursing, global health and women's health" click HERE.
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Ready to join a new interest group?
All 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
As of now, Art Tours will not be meeting this summer. Stay tuned for more events come September.
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Hiking Group
The group will continue to hike this summer. If you want to join us, contact Ann Vercoutere for updates. Our next hike is planned for July 2.
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LitWits Reading Group
LitWits will meet Wednesday, June 19, for the final meeting of this branch year which will include discussion at Walker Percy's The Second Coming, and selecting the reading list for 2024-25. LitWits' first meeting after summer break will be Wednesday, September 18, 2024. New members welcome, for information Ann Thomas or 415-924-9559.
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Book Lovers
Book Lovers will continue to meet over the summer. We will be meeting on Tuesday afternoon, June 25th, at Chris O’Neill’s home. Chris will lead our discussion of The Peach Seed by Anita Gail Jones.
Our next meeting will be on July 23rd in Terry Ulin’s home. Joyce Erhlenbach will lead our discussion of Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See.
On August 27th we will meet in Becky Bingea’s home. Becky will lead our discussion of The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger, one of our favorite authors.Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for (audience)? Why should they care (benefit)? What do I want them to do (call-to-action)? Contact Carol Hoffman with questions.
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What Are You Reading?
What Are You Reading book group will meet on Monday, June 10 from 10-11 on Zoom and Monday, July 8, most likely also on Zoom. Members share what they are reading. You always come away with a list of great books to read! Contact Cherie Sorokin or 415 730-0204 if you wish to join the group.
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Reading Arts Group
Reading Arts takes a break in the summer. We resume our meetings in September, with a discussion of The Women. Contact Ann Jessup if you are interested.
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Nonfiction Reading Group
The AAUW Marin Nonfiction Reading Group is meeting June 10 at 1:00 on Zoom to discuss Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond.
July's book is Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents- and What They Mean for America's Future by Jean Twenge
August: Tales from the Ant World by E. O. Wilson
September: What the Owl Knows. A New Science of the Worlds Most Enigmatic Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
If you would like to be on the group’s email list and join us, please email either co-leader for the Zoom link: Phyllis Kuehn or Olivia Ruel . We always welcome new members! The Group meets the second Monday of the month at 1:00 on Zoom.
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Behind the Headlines
Our June meeting will be Wednesday June 26, at the home of Cherie Sorokin and will start with a light potluck supper. The group will be watching and discussing a webinar on artificial intelligence. Contact Cherie Sorokin or 415 730-0204 if you are interested in attending or joining the group.
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French Conversation Group
Our next rendezvous is on Tuesday July 23 at 1:30 at Emporium Rulli in Larkspur, our usual place. Participants only speak French for about an hour. Contact Rebecca Allen or 941-416-6316 if you have questions.
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Happy Hour Group
We will continue to meet during the summer, outside when possible. Upcoming dates are Thursday,July 11 and August 8 at 4:30. Contact Dottie Burk if you would like to be added to our email list.
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Meet Me at the Movies!
The movie group will meet during the summer. We meet the second Tuesday of the month and the movie will be announced by the preceding weekend. As usual, we will meet for dinner after the movie at a local restaurant for a lively discussion of the movie.
Contact Mary Mossteller or Freddie Green if interested.
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Handcraft Circle
The Handcraft group will meet June 18, with Susan Gilardi hostessing. The group will meet through the summer if there is someone to host and enough members in town to make up a group. Contact Mary Mossteller if interested.
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Play Mah Jongg?
Mah Jongg is taking a break for the summer, not meeting in June, July or August. If you'd like to learn more about the game or join the group, contact group leader Chris O'Neill.
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So Much to Do, So Little Time | |
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Petals and Ice Exhibit--This exhibition features internationally known polar explorer, geographer and San Rafael native Louise Boyd. Though September, 2024, at the Marin History Museum, 1125 B Street, San Rafael. The museum is open 11:00-3:00 on Saturdays, 10-2:00 Wednesdays-Fridays.
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July 14: Summer Fling at Chris O'Neill's home.
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September 14: Meet Our Tech Trek Girls
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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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© 2019 AAUW
AAUW is a top-rated 501(c)(3) charity. Donations are tax deductible.
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PLEASE NOTE IF YOU HIT THE UNSUBSCRIBE BUTTON BELOW YOU WILL NO LONGER RECEIVE AAUW MARIN NEWSLETTERS. | | | | |
