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Sheila’s Message
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
G.K.Chesterton
“Welcome to the new AAUW year!
The summer has been a busy one with the MD State conference being held here in our county on July 29. I hope you were part of that day because it exceeded expectations with Maureen Broy singing about her family’s (specifically her paternal grandmother’s) work with the ERA in its infancy. Her songs were her own words telling her story with such emotion. Mary Ann Gorman shared information on what we can do to help get the ERA passed and JoAnn Macdonald talked about Patsy Mink’s work as the first woman of color and first Asian American in Congress. The afternoon presentation by Sharon Jackson Wilder provided information about diversity issues and the ERA. It was a great day – and Olivia Spencer’s painting, along with 2 ERA posters brought in $525 dollars in raffle money for VoteEqulity. A big shout out to Maureen North, my co-chair for the conference, Marlene Lieb for securing the location and helping with conference bags, Hazel Hopkins for securing and working with helpers and decorations, and to everyone else in the branch who helped that day.
As this is my first letter as president, I also want to thank Marlene Lieb and Rose Ann Ward for their work as past co-presidents. Working with Marlene last year was so helpful for my “learning the ropes,” and I truly appreciate her taking the time to do that with me. And I will continue the tradition of using a quote at the beginning. I chose this quote because this is a letter of information but also gratitude. Read on!
We have already had our first Board meeting to plan the year and have determined the theme for this year: Joining Forces for Advocacy. This can mean that we are joining forces in our branch and/or joining with other organizations to advance advocacy. Our Program VP, Theresa Freligh, has been working hard and has many programs already planned to fit this theme; see her report later in this newsletter.
Jeanne Blades, your Membership VP, has found an excellent location for a member-recruitment October meeting. The Board voted to have our branch participate again in Pride Day, to be held on Saturday, October 7 at Concord Point Lighthouse Park in Havre de Grace. We already have volunteers to “woman” the event! This summer, two Harford Community College women were chosen for book scholarships. Sushmitha Balram and Amber Smith will be invited to a meeting later this year so that you might have the opportunity to meet them in person.
Finally, I will soon be sending the yearly letter to you requesting funds for the Toni Bram Scholarship. Last year we voted to sponsor one girl for four years at the Furaha All Girls’ School in Kenya. Last year, we sent Robert $800 to pay for the tuition of Moreen Kendi Dancun with the promise to pay for three more years. This is the picture of Moreen. He also sent me her report card. Keep in mind that this is mid-year since their year runs from Jan to Dec. I will report on her grades at our September meeting. I have thank-you notes to read to you as well. We had extra Toni Bram scholarship money last year, and we sent that to help support two other girls but did not commit to that funding this year.
The Board has decided that any extra money we collect this year will be held for future years.I am posting a thank-you note from Moreen below. Finally, we held a Bunco game night to support the purchase of sanitary napkins and science supplies at the allgirls’ school in Kenya. From that event, we collected $625!!! That was from those of you who attended and others who sent in donations for the school. You are all so kind and generous. And special thanks to Sandy Guzewich, who held the event at her house. It was a fun evening and a perfect setup for Bunco. In response to receiving that money, Robert sent a note to thank and to inform us of how the money was used to buy sanitary pads for 33 girls throughout the entire year and another 107 while in school only. Additionally, some of that money was used for benches and 7 water sinks in the science lab. I’ll read that letter to you at the September meeting. I am so thankful to all of you for your generosity, and I look forward to my next two years working with all of you. Have a wonderful end of summer, and I look forward to seeing you in September at St Paul’s Church in Aberdeen. To better read the letter below from Moreen Kendi Dancun (below), the student we are sponsoring in Kenya,on your computer, please enlarge it. I will also bring a copy to the September meeting.
Submitted by AAUW President, Sheila Allen