Tag Archives: Programs

December 9th – Looking Back

Sacramento Branch of AAUW Presents By Hedda Smithson

Having Fun and Doing Good – December 9 Looking Back

Our December gathering was one to remember. North Ridge Country Club didn’t disappoint with a lovely setting, delicious food, friendly wait staff and all our friends!! Countless bags of offerings for the CSUS Food Pantry covered the donation table that we crammed into a small car. The following Monday Team Smith and Smithson drove to CSUS, met a young man with a golf cart, visited the pantry, and helped unload the golf cart!

Our three scholarship winners reminded us of our heritage – helping women achieve their dreams through financial support and encouragement. We met Elizabeth, an Anthropology and Economics major who received the Charlotte Rasmussen scholarship. Nataliia received the Wyndel Holmes scholarship and is majoring in Business Administration. Wahida told us she was an Asian Studies major.

Cathy Locke and Cherril Peabody gave us some details about our Scholarship Program. Liz Jordan told us about our Speech Trek program and also shared the latest about the Equal Rights Amendment. Nancy McCabe reminded us that several projects could use a helping hand: the March program (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), Public Policy, Gov Trek, Speech Trek, and Newsletter. See page 8 of your directory for names of contacts. Gloria Yost reported that we have 15 new members so far and held the monthly opportunity drawing.

Thank you to all who brought donations and thank you for transporting them to a loading zone outside the building. We are stronger together!

 

AAUW Winter Luncheon

AAUW Winter Luncheon – Last Call!

*When ? Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023 at 11 AM
*Where? North Ridge Country Club, 7600 Madison Ave., Fair Oaks
*What’s on the menu? You have a choice of a Chicken Piccata OR Quinoa Bowl.
*What is the cost? $40
*How do I register? Before Nov. 30, use Eventbrite to choose your entrée and pay electronically. Contact Hedda Smithson for more options. Text or call on her cell; see page 25 of the directory.
*When will registration close? Per the requirements of the venue, registration closes Nov. 30.
*What will we do there? —

Sacramento Branch of AAUW Presents: Episode Four of “The Rights Stuff”
Lights, Camera, Action!! The Right to Higher Education By Hedda Smithson

Did you know AAUW Sacramento has been around since Feb. 25,1920? Some of us helped celebrate our 100th birthday on Feb. 29, 2020. One of the first projects these early members started was a scholarship program.

We have invited each of our five current scholarship recipients to tell their stories and share a wonderful luncheon with us. At this writing we are not sure who will be joining us – so you will need to come to find out. Will it be Elizabeth, an anthropology and economics major at UC Davis; Erin, a graphic design major at Sacramento City College; Nichole, an exercise science major at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS); Wahida, an Asian studies major at CSUS; or Nataliia, a business administration major at American River College? Be ready to greet them warmly and make them feel welcome.

By the time you receive this newsletter, several email “blasts” have been distributed. A big thanks to Shari and Karen!!

And now – it’s time for ACTION!

Branch members often have a “cause” or a “charity” to support at this time of year. We know that college students may have financial hardships and low food security. Please consider supporting the Associated Students Inc. (ASI) Food Pantry at California State University Sacramento. Acceptable items:

  • Non-perishable, individually packaged, single-serving food items
  • Students like low-sodium, low-sugar, low-processed items
  • Spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, ground cumin, curry powder, etc.)
  • Non-perishable, individually packaged, single-serving food items
  • Toiletries (toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, bar soap, etc.); menstrual products

AAUW Fund Luncheon

AAUW Fund Luncheon By Donna Holmes

Sponsored by your Capitol Counties Interbranch Council

Saturday, January 20, 2024 Northridge Country Club, 7600 Madison Ave. Fair Oaks, CA
Noon – 2:00pm

Keynote speaker: Tracy Ramondini, Elk Grove Sheldon High School teacher  and Gov Trek State Committee member, will update us on the Gov Trek program.

In addition, two current AAUW Fund Recipients will share their educational journeys,  focusing on details and progress of their work.

Reserve your spot today; deadline for reservations is  January 10, 2024.

Make your $40 check payable to AAUW CHAR and mail to:
AAUW CHAR, P.O. Box 1555, Fair Oaks, CA  95628
Include the following information:

Name _______________________________________ Branch _________________________

Phone __________________________ Email _______________________________________

Please indicate your menu choice:

____ Turkey w/mashed potatoes & veggies

____ Vegetarian Risotto

2024 AAUW IBC Luncheon Flyer

November Program: The Rights Stuff

“The Rights Stuff”: Episode Three By Hedda Smithson and Gloria Yost

Saturday, November 4, 2023 10 AM until noon
Carmichael Library, 5605 Marconi Ave, Carmichael

We turn our lights and camera to the Right to Personal Safety and Second Chances at our next branch meeting.

Representatives from My Sister’s House, St. John’s Program for Real Change, WEAVE and Women’s Empowerment have been invited to speak. Each is dedicated to improving the lives of women in our community who are dealing with serious issues like domestic violence and homelessness. Each speaker has been given a series of questions to address as they speak to us. We will look for ways to focus on our Action or Actions to support these efforts.

Doors will open at 10 a.m., and the meeting will begin at 10:30. Light refreshments will be available.

To make sure we have enough chairs for everyone, kindly register on Eventbrite by clicking <here>. Or contact Hedda Smithson, whose contact information can be found in the Membership Directory. Registrations will close on Nov. 3. Please wear your AAUW name tag. If you haven’t had time to visit Shop AAUW and order one of these cool items, a name tag will be provided. For future events, name tags can be ordered at aauw.source4.com, then choose Accessorize.

Here are the speaker bios for our panelists:

Women’s Empowerment’s mission is educating and empowering women who are homeless with the skills and confidence necessary to get a job, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and regain a home for themselves and their children: this is the mission of Women’s Empowerment.

Zoe Fishman joined the Women’s Empowerment team in March of 2019 bringing a plethora of experience in both the private and nonprofit sectors.  As an advocate for underserved and marginalized folks, Zoe believes that there are many ways to get involved, but inaction is not an option, and applies that philosophy in everything she does.

My Sister’s House’s mission is to serve Asian and Pacific Islander and other underserved women and children impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking by providing a culturally appropriate and responsive safe haven, job training, and community services.

Grace Yoon, Esq. Grace Yoon is a staff attorney for My Sister’s House.  In 2022, the Sacramento County Domestic Violence Prevention Collaboration recognized Grace with a Symbol of Service Award for her commitment and service to the survivors of domestic violence in our community.

St. John’s Program for Real Change mission is to unleash the potential of women and children in crisis. We accomplish our mission by adhering to our vision — breaking the cycle of poverty and dependence, one family at a time.

Julie Hirota is an accomplished business executive and CEO for Saint John’s Program for Real Change. She has more than 25 years of extensive leadership and operational experience in private, public, and non-profit sectors driving meaningful outcomes.

WEAVE’s mission is to promote safe and healthy relationships and support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and sex trafficking.

As the CEO of WEAVE, Beth Hassett has led the charge to promote safe and healthy relationships and support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and sex trafficking since 2006.  She is committed to ensuring that WEAVE’s programs are accessible, respectful and culturally responsive so clients from all communities can heal and rebuild their lives.  In 2020 Beth received two honors from the Sacramento Business Journal, the Corporate Citizenship Award as Non-Profit Executive of the Year and she was named one of Sacramento’s Most Admired CEO’s.

Programs: Looking Forward, Looking Back

Programs: Looking Forward, Looking Back By Hedda Smithson

Sacramento Branch of AAUW Presents

Episode Four of “The Rights Stuff”: The Right to Higher Education

Lights, Camera, Action!!

Saturday, December 9, 2023 11 AM

North Ridge Country Club, 7600 Madison Avenue

 AAUW Sacramento was founded in 1920. Some of us helped celebrate our 100th birthday on Feb. 29, 2020. One of the first projects these early members started was a scholarship program.

For our December gathering we will invite our current scholarship recipients — Elizabeth, Erin, Nichole, Wahida and Nataliia  to join us for lunch at the lovely North Ridge Country Club.

A choice of entrees will be offered and an opportunity to “take a future grad to lunch” by helping to pay for the lunches of our scholarship guests. There may be a chance to do other giving as well.

More information and how to RSVP for this event will be provided in an upcoming eBlast.

Recaps: September and October of the Rights Stuff

The first two episodes of “Lights, Camera, Action”  are “in the can”. Both were SRO (standing room only!!). Running out of chairs is a good thing? Here are the highlights:

September 23 at the Arcade Library on Marconi Avenue

  • Members approved the budget for the 2023-24 membership year as presented in the September issue of Capital Ideas.
  • Seven Tech Trek campers shared stories of blood draws, food science, and playing with lights and sound at the Mondavi Center in Davis. Each received a Tech Trek bear.
  • Two National Conference of College Women Student Leaders participants told us what they had learned during three days of intense workshops and networking.
  • We learned how to be Membership Ambassadors and earn a star!!
  • New members include Susan Cox, Joyce Humphrey, Pam Harder, Kim McDaniel, Sasha Mowrey, Joy Allender and Tom Smithson. Be sure to watch for and welcome each to future events.
  • We were invited to join a group tour at the Sojourner Truth Museum on Oct. 7 for an African Marketplace, featuring live music, food, and shopping opportunities.

October 14 at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center on Gibbons Drive

  • Members from Sacramento and Citrus Heights/American River Branches met for more than a month to put together this program.
  • Representatives from Planned Parenthood Mar Monte spoke to us briefly about their local focus.
  • We listened to stories from The Abortion Chronicles and discussed what we heard.
  • We heard how medical students and doctors have had to make choices about their futures.
  • We learned about maternal care deserts both before and after the Dobbs Decision.
  • Each participant was given a packet full of information, including two pages of actions that each of us could take.
  • Our lesson in government included how amendments become part of the US Constitution and what we can do to have the Equal Right Amendment published.

Reproductive Healthcare

Reproductive Healthcare Part I By Liz Jordan

AAUW Position on Reproductive Healthcare: AAUW supports choice in determining one’s reproductive life and increased access to health care and family planning services.

On Saturday, Oct. 14, in a Joint Branch meeting, the Sacramento and CHAR branches presented a program about the current state of reproductive healthcare in the United States.  The program presenters did a dramatic reading of several pre-Roe (1973) stories from The Abortion Chronicles, written by Lynn Wenzel of Nevada County.  Integrated into the second half  of the program, the facts/informational part, were more stories of women’s experiences since June 2022, when the Dobbs decision was handed down.

We learned many facts about what is happening all over our country. Some important points that were made are:

  • California is one of 4 only states labeled Very Protective for reproductive healthcare protections on the Guttmacher Institute interactive map. We are one of 14 states are considered Protective; on the other hand, 36 states are considered Restrictive to Most Restrictive because they limit or ban abortion. https://www.guttmacher.org
  • Healthcare records, nor providers of reproductive care, are safe from prosecutions, even in states where many women travel to get reproductive care. Nineteen states (19) have challenged a Health and Human Services Department order protecting healthcare records of people who travel to another state for healthcare services; they cite that these records might evidence of a crime in the patient’s home state.
  • Reproductive Healthcare providers are leaving many states to practice where their actions are not considered felonious until proven innocent. For example, according to the New York Times, 75% of Oklahoma’s OBGYNs are either leaving or considering leaving the state.
  • A growing number of U S counties are considered Maternity Deserts where there is limited or no access to birthing hospitals, birth centers offering obstetric care or obstetric providers. For example, in Texas 53% of counties are considered Maternity Deserts! Where You Live Matters: Maternity Care Deserts and the Crisis of Access and Equity | March of Dimes
  • Furthermore, nearly 60% of medical students are avoiding practice in states with abortion restrictions.
  • The Gender Equity Policy Institute reports that women, living in states with abortion bans, are three times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth; their babies are 30% more likely to die in the first month of life.

This movement, to control reproductive care, does not plan to stop at the status quo.

So, what can we do, here in our Protective State with only a few Maternity Deserts? One idea expressed at the meeting is a clear gender protection in the U S Constitution.  If we had a gender-equity protection, as a 28th Amendment, the Supreme Court could be less-likely to make a decision like Dobbs.

Next month, we will answer what happened to the Equal Rights Amendment?  And what can I do about it?

Click <here> to access Paola Mendez’s report on legislation that went through the legislature this year that deals with issues around healthcare.

Printable Newsletter Articles

Click here for Printable Newsletter Articles.

 

October Program

Sacramento Branch of AAUW and CHAR* Present (By Hedda Smithson and Liz Jordan)

Episode Two of “The Rights Stuff”:
                               The ERA and Reproductive Rights 

                             >>> Lights, Camera, Action!! <<<

Saturday, October 14, 10 AM-12:30 PM in the Sacramento Fine Arts Center, 5330-B Gibbons Drive, Carmichael

Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Join us for an educational, energetic and timely program about our rights to reproductive health care and its relationship to the Equal Rights Amendment. What position does AAUW take on our rights to reproductive healthcare and on the ERA?

A Readers’ Theater presentation will start the program and then we can engage in an interactive discussion about the current issues surrounding reproductive healthcare. We will share information about the trend of laws in the 50 states, as well as what is happening in California and our Sacramento Region. How does the Equal Rights Amendment, ratified in 2020 but still unpublished in the Constitution, apply to these trends?
> Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
> Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
> Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

What happened to the amendment written by Alice Paul 100 years ago in 1923, passed by Congress in 1972? Where is it? What can we do as individuals or as a group? What kinds of action might make a difference?

We have questions, some answers and information to share, and some ideas for individual action.

The doors open at 10 a.m. and the meeting begins promptly at 10:30. Seating is limited so please make your reservation by either calling CHAR’s Lee Battershell, 916-230-1110 or at Eventbrite by clicking <here>.

Click <here> for the event flyer.

*Citrus Heights/American River Branch of AAUW

DEI Event

Diversity in Action! By Lisa Howard

As the DEI Chair for the branch, I would like to invite members to join me for a field trip to a
black cultural center in Sacramento. The trip is an opportunity for members interested in bringing diversity to the branch membership to experience a predominately black space in our own community at the Sojourner Truth Museum and Sac African Market Place on Saturday Oct. 7 at 1 p.m.. The museum will provide us a custom tour of the museum exhibits highlighting women. Before or after the tour, members are free to explore the market, which is held in the museum parking lot at 2251 Florin Road from noon to 6 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays each month.  Come explore the shops, food and entertainment.

Sojourner Truth Museum requests an $8 donation for the tour, which can be paid at the door. Tour size is limited to 30 individuals. Please RSVP to Lisa Howard if you plan to attend so we can estimate the group size. My email address and cell phone information can be found in the Membership Directory.

Please let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Lisa

Upcoming Programs

Sacramento Branch of AAUW Presents (By Hedda Smithson)

Episode Three of “The Rights Stuff”:
                The Right to Personal Safety and Second Chances  

                             >>> Lights, Camera, Action!! <<<

Saturday, November 4, at the Carmichael Library

                         Coming Attraction!!      Save the date!

On Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 we will gather at the Carmichael Library to listen to leaders from Sacramento’s leading organizations dedicated to improving the lives of women in our community. Our panel will feature representatives from My Sister’s House, St. John’s Program for Real Change, WEAVE and Women’s Empowerment, Sacramento. They will discuss their programs as well as local women’s needs for personal safety and second chances. We will look for ways to focus on our Action or Actions to support these efforts. See the next issue of Capital Ideas for more details.

And Another:        Coming Attraction!!      Save the date!

AAUW Fund Luncheon By Charmen Goehring

Save the Date!  Saturday, January 20, 2024 Noon to 2pm
Northridge Country Club, 7600 Madison Ave., Fair Oaks

Join us for the first in-person AAUW Fund Luncheon since 2020. Hear from your AAUW California state officers and be inspired by 2023-24 AAUW Fund scholars.

Enjoy the luncheon and speakers while benefitting the AAUW Fund.

Reserve your spot today: Send $40 to AAUW CHAR, P.O. Box 1555, Fair Oaks, CA 95628
Note “AAUW Fund Luncheon” on the memo line. Specify your luncheon choice of either Turkey with mashed potatoes and veggies  *OR* Vegetarian Risotto.

You can find the event flyer <here>.

September Kickoff

Sacramento Branch of AAUW Presents (By Hedda Smithson)

Episode One of “The Rights Stuff”:
                               The Right to Equal Opportunity

                             >>> Lights, Camera, Action!! <<<

Saturday, September 23, 10 AM in the Arcade Library, 2443 Marconi Ave

We begin our program year with a double feature: our camera focuses on two very important programs that empower women and girls: National Conference of College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) and Tech Trek. Each participant will be invited to meet with you to share her experiences.

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – poet Muriel Strode.

The most recent NCCWSL conference was held May 31 to June 3 at the University of Maryland, College Park. Details of the three days of leadership training, inspiration and networking agenda are found at aauw.org. Sacramento Branch sponsored Marissa Floyd and Paola Mendez. Marissa majored in Child Development and was a behavior analyst at a local school district. Paola is a political science journalism major.

Tech Trek was created in 1988 by Marie Wolbach at Stanford. The STEM-oriented camps (virtual and in person) are designed for girls ready to enter 8th grade. Science teachers from Will C Wood (Eli) and W. E. Mitchell (Corinna and Jonathan) nominated students to be considered by our Tech Trek committee. Students wrote essays and were interviewed by committee members as a part of the selection process. Phyllis and Melena (Will C. Wood) and Isabella, Chelsea, Victoria, and Avery (W.E. Mitchell) attended the camp at UC Davis last July while Mia, Jaila, and Sana attended a virtual camp. Each camper experienced a full week of exciting workshops, sessions and evening events. Kathleen Deaver, Lori Franz, Hedda Smithson, and Gloria Yost visited to see what was going on. Long time supporter of Tech Trek, Jo Reiken, was there as our guide. The highlight was watching the solar powered cars, designed and built by the students, compete. Tech Trek is but one program offered through aauw-ca .

The Lights and Camera are focused on NCCWLS and Tech Trek. Now it’s time for Action: interact with our guests, volunteer to help with a committee, and/or donate to the branch for one or both of these programs. Or write your own role.

Closing credits and details:

This article represents your TICKET! Take advantage of this opportunity to see AAUW Sacramento in action. Greet old friends and make new ones. Bring a relative, neighbor and/or friend. This event is open to the public. Let’s spread the word!!