Monthly Archives: July 2021

Welcome Summer!

Welcome Summer! By Karen Burley

Welcome to AAUW Sacramento’s mid-summer newsletter! We hope you are enjoying your summer and staying cool when the thermometer rises into triple digits. Your branch leadership team continues to work on your behalf, planning an enlightening and enjoyable year for our members starting in September. Please continue to tell your friends and acquaintances about all the benefits of AAUW membership and that we would love to have them join us. Enjoy this update, and we’ll see you in September!

Save the Date! Branch Program Dates Announced

Save the Date! Branch Program Dates By Kim Rutledge

Here are all of the current program dates for 2021-22:

  • Saturday, September 11, 2021, 10 am – 12 Noon
    Branch Year Kick-off and Tech Trek presentation, on Zoom (a joint meeting with CHAR)
  • Saturday, October 23, 2021, 12:30 – 2:30 pm
    In-person Ice Cream Social and Scholarship presentation, Eastern Oak Park, Maple picnic site (the one closest to the parking lot), 3127 Eastern Ave., Sacramento
  • Thursday, November 18, 2021, 7 – 8:30 pm
    Panel presentation on California’s child care workforce, on Zoom
  • Saturday, December 11, 2021, 11 am – 2 pm
    Holiday luncheon, Northridge  Country Club
  • Saturday, January 15, 2022, Time is TBD
    Speech Trek Challenge, on Zoom
  • Saturday, January 29, 2022, Time and Location are TBD
    IBC Luncheon
  • Wednesday, March 16, 2022, 7 – 8:30 pm
    Panel discussion, Master Plan for Aging update, on Zoom
  • Saturday, April 9,  2022, Time and Location are TBD
    Author’s luncheon
  • Saturday, May 21,  2022, Time and Location are TBD
    Installation of officers, Speech Trek winner, Named Gift and 50-Year Member Honorees

Equity Book Discussion

Living Our Mission of Equity By Charmen Goehring

We invite you to join us in a monthly equity conversation looking at our own biases, and what actions we can take to attract diversity to our branch and become better people in the process. We are reading the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” by Isabel Wilkerson and discussing what we have read, along with exploring other issues related to race and equity. We meet the second Wednesday of each month from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Zoom. We plan to continue to meet over the summer.

The Zoom meeting code is 737 420 3780, or you can join using this link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7374203780

We will discuss Parts 6 and 7 on August 11 at 7p.m. If you have questions and to RSVP, please email Charmen at charminme@yahoo.com.

2021-22 Budget Needs Branch Approval

2021-22 Budget Needs Branch Approval By Liz Jordan

The Board of Directors is reviewing the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2021-22, shown here. Branch members are asked to review the proposed budget, which will be voted on at the September Program meeting.

[Editor’s Note] A big THANK YOU to Liz for creating this budget for us!

Membership Update

Membership Update By Donna Holmes and Marty McKnew

Donna Holmes

Welcome to a new branch year, and your membership team is full of new leaders:

  • Jane Cooley, who has done Sunshine for over a decade, is now playing with the next generation of membership, Ashley’s daughter!  We all owe her our gratitude for everything she has done in this position.
  • Nancy McCabe volunteered to take Jane’s place, and the transfer of duties has occurred.  So, need a card sent?  Contact Nancy.
  • Sharon Anderson is giving up Membership Treasurer and moving on to????  We will need her help for so long she won’t feel gone for many months.
  • Donna Holmes, in addition to co-chair of membership, is taking Sharon’s position and plans on doing it for a long time.  The advantage for her is most everything is done from home, where she can keep her husband company, and she loves this kind of data-heavy work.
  • Marty McKnew is the other co-chair of membership, and we all know how capable Marty is!
  • Neither Marty nor Donna has ever worked with membership at the branch level. However, Marty served as Membership Vice President for CA AAUW for two years.  It is a good opportunity to learn more about AAUW and support the mission.

Membership History from the 19th Century to the 21st and Beyond

We will be exploring our membership history each month to illuminate how changes have worked over the last 140 years.  First:  In the beginning, members were hand picked by existing members and had to have attended particular universities.  The San Francisco Branch of AAUW is the second oldest branch in the United States, organized in 1886 as the Pacific Organization of Collegiate Alumnae.  The members were from UC Berkeley, Mills College and Stanford University.  We could still have Angela Scarlett, and Donna’s great-grandmother who attended California Collegiate starting in 1863, merging with Mills in 1864 — unfortunately she died in 1886.  Donna’s grandmother, Rebecca Suhr, was the first woman to graduate from the Stanford School of Law in 1903 and became a member.

We will move further into the 20th century in a future article. Stay tuned!

AAUW Sacramento Interest Groups

AAUW Sacramento Interest Groups By Vicki Nicholson

AAUW Sacramento is fortunate to have so many Interest Groups! Book and interest groups are good places to get to know other members who share common interests.  Most groups plan to resume in-person gatherings in 2021 or early 2022, so check with the individual group’s contact, which is listed in the front of the directory.  Any general questions may be directed to Vicki Nicholson, whose contact information can be found in the Sacramento Branch Membership Directory & Handbook.

Interest Group leaders will include short articles on their groups in upcoming branch newsletters. Here’s what to expect:
Sept.–Readers’ Theater                        Feb.–Travel
Oct.–Great Decisions                            March–Healthy Heart
Nov.–Art & Architecture                        April–Scrabble; Board Games
Dec.–Singles Dining Out                       May–Bridge
Jan.–Film Fans

Messages from our 2021 NCCWL Attendees

Messages from our 2021 NCCWSL Attendees-Forwarded by Gloria Yost

NCCWSL = National Conference for Collegiate Women Student Leaders

I wanted to let you know that I got the NCCWSL tote bag and the wonderful card! I did have such an enjoyable experience at NCCWSL. I learned a lot, but my favorite part was the STEM table. Being a STEM major myself, I found it inspiring to hear from the women featured. One of the ladies, Jen Tassi, was a forensic chemistry major in college and that’s what I’m majoring in, so it was just so exciting to hear from someone who went through the same path I’m currently working through. We focused a lot on mentorship in our breakout room with Maria Molina Higgins, who is a professor of engineering at Penn State University; how to find a mentor, how to be a mentor, how to promote yourself, etc. It was a smaller and more intimate talk than the main Zoom session, so it was good to hear the questions from the other girls.

Overall, I had an amazing experience, and it made me excited for the future working with AAUW! Thank you very much for the opportunity!
–Serena Sotelo

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I want to thank the Sacramento AAUW chapter for the tote bag and support in attending the NCCWSL. I enjoyed listening to the amazing speakers and participating in conversations around succeeding as a woman in a science major. I left the conference feeling inspired and motivated. It was great to speak with those who are on, or have been on, a similar path.

I also enjoyed Dr. Taharee Jackson’s talk that centered around the Black Lives Matter movement. I appreciated her sharing different stories, wisdom, and the importance of being willing to learn about the challenges people in our communities face.  Humanity is a community, and when someone is suffering in a community, it is important to listen and learn to make changes so that every person in that community feels equal, safe and respected.

Thank you again for the meaningful experience!
–Tiffiny Joseph

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I want to thank the Sacramento AAUW chapter for sponsoring me to attend NCCWSL, sending me the NCCWSL tote bag, and for opening your doors to allow me to get to know the chapter better!

I thoroughly enjoyed NCCWSL, and attended several panels and workshops, including one on starting a nonprofit, which reignited my excitement in nonprofit work! I also attended a panel on financial confidence, something that was and continues to be so helpful to me right now as I have just graduated and my financials will be changing soon, once I get a job.

Thank you again for your assistance and kindness, and I hope to meet you all in October! Sending wishes of health and happiness to you all.
–Ashley D. Jeffers

Celebrating August Birthdays!

Celebrating August Birthdays! By Sharon Anderson

Happy Birthday to All!

  • Jennifer Krebsbach            8/5
  • LindaPatterson                   8/5
  • Marlys Huez                        8/6
  • Nancy McCabe                   8/14
  • May Ruth Lynch                 8/22
  • Susan Rubinstein Szabo   8/22
  • Barbara Smith                    8/25
  • Vicki Nicholson                   8/28
  • Catherine Locke                 8/31