September President’s Message
By Cathy Locke and Karen Burley

If the barrage of news and events during the summer hiatus has you frustrated and asking, “What in the world can I do?”, we encourage you to join your Sacramento AAUW members as we launch our 2025-26 program year.

Our theme for the past two years was “Lights, Camera, Action”. We will continue in that vein this year with “Spotlights”. Many of our programs will focus on areas of education that are experiencing new challenges at local, state and national levels. The goal of each program is to inform members about the issues and to equip us for action.

Our kickoff meeting on Sept. 20 will celebrate another successful year of Tech Trek, the AAUW-sponsored STEM camp for middle school girls. Students who attended the weeklong in-person camp at UC Davis and those who participated in the virtual camp will tell us about their experiences and answer questions.

Also at our Sept. 20 meeting we will vote to approve our branch budget. You can find the proposed budget <here>.

Hopefully you saw the email from the AAUW CEO, Gloria Blackwell, inviting you to the AAUW Fall Member Gathering on Thursday, September 18th 5-6pm ET. We’ll celebrate our achievements and learn about latest Initiatives. Register <here>.

In October, branch members Kathleen Papst and Carole Cline will turn the spotlight on California school choice initiatives and their effect on public schools.

We also want to welcome former CHAR (Citrus Heights American River) branch
members who have joined the Sacramento branch. They have added to our list of interest groups, which now numbers more than a dozen. These groups and our book groups offer the opportunity for education, entertainment and friendships.

In April we will be trying something new. We are looking for folks to host “watch parties” in their homes on April 18 to participate in the AAUW CA Annual Event held online. If you attended in the past you know that it’s not just watching – there will be breakouts and opportunities to engage. To be the host you must have a wifi-enabled TV or monitor so that you and your guests can easily see the event, and enough seating for at least 6 people. As a host, you are providing the room so your guests should provide snacks or beverages. Be creative, and be sure to take a photo of your group. We will announce a winner in May for the most interesting watch party and the host will win a prize! We have one host so far; is the next one you?

Please read the newsletter articles about our programs, interest groups and
opportunities to further AAUW’s mission.

We look forward to seeing you in September.