American Association of University Women – AAUW – Who Are We?
The AAUW was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1881 for the purpose of increasing educational opportunities for women and to enable women to utilize their training. Each member holds an associate or equivalent (RN), baccalaureate, or higher degree. Its mission is to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. The AAUW community empowers women worldwide by advocating for their rights, researching the barriers that hold them back, and delivering programs that give them the confidence and skills to succeed.
Our Harford County Branch of AAUW accomplishes this in several ways.
We host the Judith A. Resnik Awards Brunch every spring to recognize young women in their junior year of high school for excellence in math and science. The brunch is named in honor of Dr. Resnik, an astronaut and former AAUW member who perished in the Challenger disaster.
We make donations to Harford Community College’s Foundation through our book scholarship program and through the Toni Bram GED Scholarship Project. The latter was established in honor of Toni Bram, a loving wife, mother, teacher, county council member, mayor, and active member of AAUW until her passing in 2013. She cared deeply about making the world a better place. Beginning this year, we are reaching out internationally to sponsor student(s) attending the Furaha Girls’ High School in Kenya.
We contributed to the Homecoming Project, Providing a Safe Home for Women in Recovery. Gift cards and funds were collected and donated to this remarkable residence in Bel Air which helps women who are on their road to recovery from drug and alcohol abuse.
We sponsored Celebrating Women’s Voices Through the Arts with the exhibit and sale of original art by local artists and college students.
“Fun”draising efforts occur throughout the year from Virtual Trivial Pursuit Competitions to Progressive Dinners to Silent Auctions to our May Arts Festival with many opportunities to participate in planning and execution.
Our monthly meetings feature a wide variety of informative topics and discussions.
Friendship, sharing, and respect are cornerstones to all of our activities such as:
Book Group – If you love to read, this is the group for you! We bring interesting and diverse points of view to the discussion of virtually every book we read. Our group gathers on Saturday mornings (usually the 4th Saturday) from 10 till noon at members’ homes year-round. The joy of reading is multiplied when we share it with others.
Foodies – Participants are simply passionate about food (isn’t that everybody?!) Our members may not be as ambitious about doing the cooking, but we are always highly interested in the consumption! There is always plenty and even if you don’t have time to prepare something, just show up and socialize. Meetings are held on the 2nd Saturday at lunchtime in the home of an AAUW member.
WIGS – We’re Interested in Going Somewhere begins with suggestions from branch members. The WIGS have visited museums and galleries, toured interesting towns, centers of interest, and historic homes, attended plays and concerts, enjoyed gardens, exhibits, and many fine restaurants and gift shops, and even learned glassblowing. Our goal is to stay active and expand our minds.
Thinking of joining? Contact Jeanne Blades, Membership VP for our Harford County Branch at jeanmarieb@gmail.com, or learn more at harfordcounty-md.aauw.net or www.aauw.org