Monthly Archives: January 2018

Presidents’ Message by Marty McKnew and Donna Holmes

Gosh, we are past the halfway point in our branch year, and we have still more exciting programs to come! Over 28 of our members attended January’s IBC lunch, and we are thrilled with our branch’s attendance!

This month’s Speech Trek contest will be held on the campus of our latest C/U partner, Cosumnes River College. Besides hearing from these wonderful high school students, we will have the opportunity to help the students attending CRC. During our Deeper in Debt program last November, Funds co-director Alicia Hetman asked our presenters what our branch could do to help college students in our area. One request was food for an on-campus food locker. The details are in this newsletter.

Congratulations to our branch, Liz Jordan, her helpers and the Citrus Heights-American River branch as the Equal Means Equal program was selected by AAUW-CA for recognition for the 4th quarter of 2017! We have won several program awards, reflecting our focused, determined and dedicated members who live our mission and values as well as our theme: AAUW Speaks Out for Women.

February 25 is our branch’s 98th birthday! Only two years to our big 100th, and many of you are preparing. Every month you will see an article in the newsletter highlighting our upcoming centennial, and you will be given opportunities to participate.

See you at a program or event soon! Hugs and Cheers, Donna & Marty

Deeper in Debt Follow-Up: Cosumnes River College Food Closet Assistance by Deborah Dunn

At the November Branch Program, “Deeper in Debt: Women and Student Loans,” we learned from Yolanda Garcia, the Financial Aid Supervisor at Cosumnes River College, that the college is addressing the needs of its homeless and food insecure students by providing a food closet called The Hawk Spot. The food closet, a partnership between the Elk Grove Food Bank and CRC, is assisting about 500 students per month and is in need of non-perishable food.

As a follow-up to our “Deeper in Debt” program, during February, our Sacramento AAUW Branch will be collecting non-perishable items from members and donating them to The Hawk Spot. The most popular items students ask for are cereals, small bags of rice, pastas, flavored oatmeal, Jelly/jams, macaroni and cheese, and tuna. Other items to consider include soups, peanut/almond butter, and pasta sauce.

If you would like to assist The Hawk Spot with a voluntary food donation, there are a couple of ways to do so. If you are going to the Speech Trek Competition on Saturday, Feb. 17 at Cosumnes River College in Winn 150, please consider taking a bag of non-perishable food. Branch members will collect all the food brought to Speech Trek, and members of our Program Committee will arrange to deliver it to CRC during their drop off hours. If you are not attending Speech Trek but still want to help, you can drop off your bag of food at any the homes of the following members of the Program Committee: Deborah Dunn (located in Greenhaven/Pocket area), Nancy Nolen Swanson (located in the Folsom area) or Gloria Yost (located in the Fair Oaks area). Please email Deborah (deborahdunn80@gmail.com), Nancy (nancy.shipman@yahoo.com), or Gloria (gloriayost@aol.com) to make arrangements for dropping off your bag of food.

Thank you for your help in supporting student wellness and reducing the impact of food insecurity on learning. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Deborah Dunn, Program Co-Director, AAUW Sacramento.

Exploring Our Interest Groups: Cultural History by Cherril Peabody

One of our interest groups started out with a name I have forgotten. Then it was called the History of the World, but a couple of years ago it morphed into Cultural History. Members are curious about the world and people and what makes us tick. They pick books to read during the year that seek out perspectives on different aspects of life. In March, they will be starting a new book, Unnaturally Delicious: How Science and Technology Are Serving Up Super Foods to Save the World by Jason Lusk.

Here is what Group Chair Rosa Lee Black has to say about this book: “Our fears about foods include chemical use, high obesity rates, climate change, water availability, rising health care costs and insufficient food to feed the world. There is optimism with scientists, entrepreneurs and progressive farmers developing software to help farmers increase yields with less water and geneticists creating new varieties in order to grow more with less. Nutrient-enhanced rice and sweet potatoes are helping to solve malnutrition in the developing world. New developments are improving animal welfare, and 3D foods are becoming available at the same time, so that foods are more affordable for all to enjoy. The world has new challenges that are changing the way we think about food.”

The Cultural History interest group welcomes new members. The group meets the first Thursday of each month at 1 p.m. Call or email Rosa Lee Black (916) 453-0201 or rosaleeblack99@yahoo.com for more information about the group.

Applause Please by Kathleen Asay, Funds Co-Director

Did you know that AAUW is one of the world’s largest sources of funding for graduate women? For the academic year 2017-18, more than $3.7 million in fellowships and grants was awarded to 250 women and nonprofit organizations. And thanks to the longstanding generosity of AAUW members, a broad community of women continues to gain access to educational and economic opportunities.

The Sacramento branch’s 100th Anniversary Grant Fund, when completed, will join AAUW’s extended family of stipend-producing Research and Projects Funds. Since 1972, Research and Projects Funds have provided support to hundreds of individuals and communities around the nation to advance education and equality for women and girls through Community Action Grants. While early projects sought to help women balance family and education or supported the establishment of women’s resource centers on college campuses, that phrase “to advance education and equality for women and girls” is today’s focus. Special consideration is given to applicants’ projects centered on K-12 and community college girls’ and women’s achievements in science, technology, engineering, and math. Grants are awarded to individuals, AAUW branches and state organizations, and to local community-based nonprofits for innovative programs or non-degree research projects that promote education and equality for women and girls. Projects have become increasingly collaborative and girl-focused, bringing together AAUW branches and local community groups (for example, Tech Trek started with an R & P grant).

Sacramento AAUW has a proud 100-year history of working to improve the lives and education of women and girls in the Sacramento region and beyond. Our Anniversary Fund will continue that tradition for years to come.

We Want to Hear your AAUW Story! by Linda Whitney

At AAUW’s National Convention in Washington, D.C., last June, Gloria Yost and I attended a workshop on “Telling Your Story.” We heard about some amazing women who made positive differences in their communities. Some changed what was happening in our country and the world. For example, First Lady Lou Henry Hoover was an AAUW member and two-term National President of the Girl Scouts. During her tenure, the Girl Scouts began their first cookie sale.

We know some women in the Sacramento Branch have helped make positive changes in our branch, our city, and our state. Wouldn’t it be great if those women shared their stories with all of us?

The 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Sacramento Branch is in February 2020. A group of us are working to gather stories that help tell the story of interesting (and sometimes amazing) things Sacramento branch members have done over the past 100 years. Do you have a story relating to our branch that you could share? We are looking for all types of stories, from major contributions to special events, friendships, funny anecdotes and more. Click here for the form to share your story.

IBC Luncheon on Saturday, January 27th. Reservations Due on January 19 by Donna Holmes

This month we have the annual Capitol Cities Inter-Branch Funds Luncheon. This year’s two fellows, Kara Leong from UC Davis and Zawadi Ahidiana from UC Berkeley, are receiving their support from local grants. We are so delighted women honored to have grants in their name or their branch’s name will be introducing them at the luncheon.  Many of you have asked if we will ever meet the ladies who benefit from our soon to be completed Research and Project grant, and this is how we do it.  Just think, in another couple of years, one of our grant recipients could be speaking at this luncheon!  Click this link for the flyer and sign up today.  Note:  since this is an IBC function there is no EventBrite sign up.

We will also be hosting a silent auction to raise money for Funds.  Donna Holmes has donated an Americana double/queen size quilt.  Marty McKnew will have custom greeting cards for sale.  Bring your cash or checkbook!

Join Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, Chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, Monday, January 8, 2018

Join Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), Chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, Monday, January 8, 2018

Alzheimer’s is a Women’s Issue

Women face higher prevalence rates, provide the majority of family caregiving, and represent California’s long-term care workforce

RSVP for the Alzheimer’s Association’s special event with confirmed speakers:

  • Liz Hernandez, celebrity champion and NBC Access Hollywood and E! reporter as well as founder of Worldaful
  • Jennifer Kent, Director, California Department of Health Care Services
  • Pam Montana, national Early Stage Advisor and advocate for those who share a diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease
  • Heather Young, PhD, RN, FAAN, founding dean of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis and member of California’s Future Health Workforce Commission
  • Kaci Fairchild, PhD, clinical assistant professor at Stanford University School of Medicine

Your invitation is here.  To RSVP, please contact ngutierrez@alz.org or call 916-447-2731.

Presidents’ Message by Donna Holmes and Marty McKnew

Happy New Year! 2018 has arrived!

We can’t leave 2017 without acknowledging the wonderful team who worked so hard on our lovely Holiday Party – Carolyn Martin for her great presentation, Mary Williams on piano, Mary Schneider and Vivian Counts for the table décor, and Deborah Dunn and Nancy McCabe (in absentia) and all their team. Thanks to all of you, we collected more than 300 books for Love, Talk, Read. Gloria Yost encouraged the Sacramento State Affiliate members to attend, and it was great to have them with us. And finally, thank you everyone for the warm welcome to our surprise guest – the president of the San Antonio Branch, Karen Reichensperger, PhD.

Looking ahead to 2018, we have a great line-up of activities for our branch. In January we have the annual Capitol Cities Inter-Branch Funds Luncheon. This year’s two fellows, Kara Leong from UC Davis and Zawadi Ahidiana from UC Berkeley, are receiving their support from local grants. We are so delighted women honored to have grants in their name or their branch’s name will be introducing them at the luncheon. Look for the flyer in this newsletter, and sign up today.

Now that it is 2018, 2020 is not far away. What is so important about 2020, you ask? It was in February 1920 that the Sacramento Branch held its first meeting. Ruth Burgess is heading up a team to celebrate this big anniversary. They are asking for your help in the way of AAUW stories. We all have them. What’s yours? Ruth will be looking for it. Watch the newsletter for monthly updates on all the plans for 2020 and how you can participate.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2018!

Marty and Donna

The Countdown to 2020 Has Begun! by Gloria Yost

1928 AAUW Sacramento Roster

With the kickoff at the December meeting, AAUW Sacramento has begun the run up to our 100th birthday in 2020. Over the next two years, stories about AAUW, its members, issues we’ve supported, and the impact our organization and its members made in our city, state and nation will be shared in Capitol Ideas. We start the sharing of information with five questions:

DID YOU KNOW…that when the Sacramento Branch began in February 1920, it was one of Northern California’s largest women’s organizations with 800 members?

DID YOU KNOW…that the Sacramento Branch was actually part of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae when it was organized?

DID YOU KNOW…that the purpose of the Sacramento Branch was to unite college women in our vicinity with the national organization in working on educational, civic, and social problems?

DID YOU KNOW…that in 1921 the national organization changed its name to the American Association of University Women; however, its purpose remained the same?

DID YOU KNOW…that Sacramento Branch Records are archived at the Center for Sacramento History?

Mark Your Calendars for Saturday, Feb. 17 For Speech Trek Contest by Liz Jordan

It’s the future of the movement for gender equity. It’s the best feel-good event of the AAUW year. It’s a chance to see a dozen young people from the Elk Grove Unified School District high schools speak to the topic: “How do we stand-up to sexism?”

Please join us at Cosumnes River College in Room #150 of the new Winn Center. Easily accessible off Bruceville Road from 9 a.m. to noon. The setting is inspirational, the speakers are tomorrow’s leaders, and the issue is timely. These high school students will have 6 minutes to compete for cash awards of $100, $250 and $500.

Everyone, even those with handicap placards, must pay the $2 parking fee, so be sure to find the pay station before leaving your car. Otherwise, this event is free to members and the public. Bring a friend!

Want to help? Or need more information? Contact:

Shari Beck, 916-451-5143, gsbeck@surewest.net
Liz Jordan, 916-354-9608, lizjord@msn.com
Ann Arneill, 916-737-0131, ann@arneill.com