Monthly Archives: April 2016

Annual Authors Luncheon on April 30, 2016 by Linda Patterson

“The Perils and Pleasures of a Writing Life”
Featuring Guest Speaker Marilyn Reynolds

April 30, 2016, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Frasinetti’s Winery and Restaurant
7395 Frasinetti Road, Sacramento

Wine Tasting & Check-in 11 AM – 11:30 AM
Lunch Served at 11:30 AM
$24.00 per person (additional service fee if registering online here with EventBrite).
Eventbrite - AAUW Sacramento 2016 Authors Luncheon with Marilyn Reynolds

As an English teacher and reading specialist working with teens in crises at a southern California

Writer Marilyn Reynolds

Writer Marilyn Reynolds

alternative high school, Marilyn Reynolds had difficulty finding books that interested her at-risk students. Why not try writing something they might actually want to read? Her efforts ultimately led to the ten popular books of realistic teen fiction that now comprise the “True-to-Life Series from Hamilton High.” Reynolds is also the author of a book for educators, I Won’t Read and You Can’t Make Me: Reaching Reluctant Teen Readers, which is based on her thirty years of classroom experiences. Her most recent book is a collection of essays, Over 70 and I Don’t Mean MPH. She remains actively involved with at-risk teens by writing with incarcerated youth, and through author visits with middle and high school students. She also provides teacher training workshops and is often a featured speaker at education-related conferences. Reynolds lives a quiet life in Sacramento, near the American River. She is currently at work on Til Death or Dementia Do Us Part, and also on Over 80 and I Don’t Mean MPH.

Buffet Lunch includes salad, chicken marsala, rigatoni pasta with red meat sauce, vegetarian penne pasta, seasonal vegetables, fresh fruit, baguettes, rolls, coffee and tea.
Reserve online  via the orange “Register Now” button or by sending a check made out to AAUW Sacramento to Dawn Boyd.  Please contact her at darnone1@att.net for the address.

Reservations are due April 25, 2016

 

Exploring Our Interest Groups: Travel by Cherril Peabody

Travel is one of our newer interest groups, which started two years ago. Sandi Schoenman is chair of the group. They organize trips together and share information about other trips they have taken. They meet on the second Tuesday morning of the month.

travelRecently, five members of the group took a six-day trip to Los Angeles for a Road Scholar program, “Artist Collectors and Their Collections,” and Sandi reports that it was a great trip and very educational. This month, six members are going on a trip to Savannah, Charleston and Jekyll Island, again with Road Scholar. Five members are planning a trip to Seattle in September.

The group is still taking new members because the group is somewhat fluid with some members always away traveling. For more information, contact Sandi at curlilox40@sbcglobal.net.

April President’s Message by Nancy McCabe

What a fantastic event our branch hosted for the community! Our Human Trafficking program drew more than 200 members and guests to learn about this horrendous community problem and what is being done to combat it.

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The Human Trafficking Forum drew a packed house thanks to our work and our wonderful co-sponsors

Our moderator and first speaker was Jenny Williamson, the founder and executive director of Courage Worldwide. Their mission is to build homes for children who have been rescued from sex trafficking around the world. They have a home in the Lincoln area that has six beds, which is inadequate for the 400 referrals they have received from Northern California counties alone.

Jan Scully, former Sacramento District Attorney, is the director of the new Family justice Center, which will deal with all forms of domestic violence and abuse. She brought a wide range of knowledge, history and evolving thinking about trafficking.

Sonia Satchell, a deputy District Attorney, works in the trafficking unit with law enforcement to locate the victims, help them escape their trafficker and prosecute him or her. We learned that yes, traffickers can be women, too.

 

Speakers Jenny Williamson, Jan Scully, Sonia Satchell and Holly Gibbs

Speakers Jenny Williamson,
Jan Scully, Sonia Satchell and Holly Gibbs

Holly Gibbs is a survivor and health educator with Dignity Health who has worked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, among other venues. She has also written a book about how America’s youth are vulnerable to sex slavery.

The speakers were powerful in their knowledge and understanding of the issues. Those in attendance were moved by the impact of trafficking on our vulnerable youth and our community. Our branch was joined by 10 other organizations that co-sponsored this event and encouraged their membership to attend. We made valuable connections with several groups with whom we will collaborate on issues of mutual concern in the future.

If you missed this presentation, you missed seeing AAUW at its best. The program committee is to be commended for this outstanding program.

Get Your Bylaw Changes, Directory Updates, Articles PDF, Birthdays, Book Groups and Interest Group Info Here!

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Bylaws Changes 
Click here to review bylaws changes mandated by Association and as a 501c3 our branch members must vote to approve them at our April branch meeting as they are due to AAUW-CA by May 1.  If you have any questions contact our parliamentarian RuthAnn Hines  rahcfh7925@att.net or phone 806-1243.
Birthdays & Directory Updates
Click here to review members’ birthdays this month
Click here to review directory updates
Articles PDF, Book Groups and Interest Groups
Click here for an easily printable version of this month’s articles
Click here for book groups
Click here for interest groups

 

Speech Trek 2016 Wrap Up by Elizabeth Jordan

Speech Trek

Speech Trek

Eleven talented Elk Grove Unified School District students competed in our ninth annual Speech Trek Competition on Feb. 20 at the Valley Hi-North Laguna Library. The topic for 2016 was What is gender bias and inequality? What is its impact on people? Why should organizations such as AAUW continue to work to change its practice?

Kathy Le, a freshman at Pleasant Grove High School, won the Sacramento Branch competition.  The video of her performance was then screened along with all other California Branch winners.  Unfortunately, this is where Kathy’s journey ended. California’s top three orators are Caitlyn Jordan from Roseville-South Placer Branch, Claire Gorham from Mariposa and Sharon Lu from Alhambra-San Gabriel Branch. Sam Reynolds of the Half Moon Bay Branch and Sabrina Fleming of the California Online Branch rounded out the top five.

If you missed Kathy’s inspirational speech, you can hear her April 30 at our Author’s Luncheon.

A giant thank you goes out to all of our generous donors who made this another successful year:  Ann Arneill-Py, Alice G. Bauer, Shari Beck, Jean Bonar, Jane Cooley, Vivian Counts, Cheryl Fuller, Joan Hammond, Elizabeth Jordan, Catherine Locke, Charlotte Luallin, Susana Mullen, Vicki L. Nicholson, Cherril Peabody, Bonnie Penix, Anne Rhodes, Hedda Smithson, Pamella Vaughn, Shirley Wheeler, Linda Whitney, Patricia Winkle, Sandra Winter, Sanaye Yokota, and Gloria Yost.

It’s Easy To Become a Two Minute Activist – Sign Up Today! by Cherril Peabody; Recruiting AAUW Presence for Equal Pay Day by Nancy McCabe

In our February issue of Capital Ideas we asked you to sign up for the Two Minute Activist program that two minute activistAAUW National sponsors to make it easy for us to respond to issues we support.  If you didn’t get around to it, here is the info again.  To register, do a Google search for AAUW Action Network, and the first listing will be for the Two Minute Activist.  Enter your info, and they will start sending you the emails.

The AAUW Public Policy Committee has set a goal of recruiting at least half of our members to participate in this program.  If you are already a Two Minute Activist or if you signed up as a result of this message or the February article, please contact Cherril Peabody at capeabody@comcast.net and let her know.  Thanks!

Calling All Available Members! Your Presence is Needed April 11 for Equal Pay Day! by Nancy McCabe

"Aunt Sam" needs you!

“Aunt Sam” needs you!

We need local AAUW members to attend a session of the California Assembly on Monday, April 11 as our AAUW Resolution on Equal Pay Day will be up for a vote. We need a large group to gain visibility for AAUW California. You will enjoy seeing how our state’s elected officials work. We are gathering at 12:30 p.m. outside the L Street entrance to the Capitol to go through security and be in place by 1:30 p.m. Email Nancy McCabe at mccaben@comcast.net ASAP if you can join us. It is painless and should be fun! Gathering for lunch beforehand is always an option!

AAUW Scholarships Awarded by Anna Storey


scholarshipThe AAUW Sacramento Scholarship Committee awarded $2,000 scholarships to three outstanding students for the 2016-2017 academic year.

Maha Haidairi is a civil engineering student currently studying at Sacramento City College. She will be attending California State University, Sacramento in the fall.  In addition to her engineering studies, she has given many hours of her time volunteering both in her field of study and in the community.   Her goal is to become a civil engineer focusing on transportation so she can help improve California’s infrastructure.  And she hopes to show other women in the community that with determination one can succeed in any field. She has been awarded a branch scholarship.

Christina Ibarra is studying speech and language pathology at California State University, Sacramento. A single mother of two teenagers and the first in her family to attend college, Christina’s goal is to earn a master’s degree and work with special needs children.  Her academic career has been notable for her high achievement: she has consistently maintained a 4.0 cumulative average.  She has been awarded the Kit Mahnke Scholarship.

Brandi Veal is studying business administration at California State University, Sacramento.  She has maintained a 3.85 cumulative average at CSUS and is Vice President of Student United Way on campus. She is passionate about business and literacy and hopes to use her degree to work with libraries in order to create a rich learning environment for people of varying backgrounds. She has been awarded the Mary and Donn Random Memorial Scholarship.