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Loud and Clear - July 2014
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Welcome
New Members!
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Beth Anglin
Dede Berg
Jennifer Bernstein
Susan Cunningham
Kristine Emmons
Barbara Fraser
Elaine Fremder
Deanna Jent
Deborah Kelly
Linda Locke
Kathryn Sharkey
Nancy Spargo
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Member Dues?
See bottom panel for
MEMBERSHIP INFO
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A Word From the President...
On Being Loud: It's a Good Thing!
Our newsletter is called "Loud and Clear" for good reason.
- We are loud because we speak up for fairness, equality and social justice on a range of issues: health care, gun violence, income inequality, human rights, and many more.
- We are clear because we provide factual, straightforward information. We research and develop positions on complex and often controversial issues. Then we share the most accurate and timely information with you and the general public.
We hope you can join us for our monthly programs (second Thursday evening of each month, September-May). They are free and open to the public... so bring your family and friends (yes, men are welcome and attend often!).
We look forward to an exciting and eventful year. We'll be marking our 10th Anniversary in 2015 - stay tuned for our celebration plans!
Our growth continues... we recently passed the milestone of having 200 dues-paying members! In addition, more than 500 people are listed on our "subscriber" list. If you are a subscriber please consider becoming a member - dues are just $25 per year. (If you are unsure if you are a member, send us an e-mail at [email protected].)
Membership matters because when we advocate with state and national legislators, we tell them how many of their constituents belong to Women's Voices. The more members we have, the stronger our voice! Thanks for your continuing support. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] anytime!
-Lise Bernstein
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Speaking With One Voice
It's very seldom that a group of smart, outspoken women will agree on anything, but agree our members did when asked to oppose a proposed constitutional amendment that is slated for the Missouri ballot in August. The amendment would make the right to keep and bear arms an "inalienable" right in Missouri. Members of our Campaign for Common-Sense Gun Solutions requested that Women's Voices take a position on the issue.
To read more about why we oppose it, click HERE.
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Lock It For Love
Fresh on the heels of the successful "Safe & Sound" forum, members of the Campaign for Common-Sense Gun Solutions are undertaking a new venture, called "Lock It For Love."
Focusing on gun violence as a public health issue that disproportionally affects low-income children, committee members will be at the annual Back To School! Store sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women. While children are shopping for new clothes and items to start the school year, their parents can learn about how to keep kids safe if there is a gun in the home. Thanks to help from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, gun locks will be distributed to parents who request them.
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 Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow!
Women's Voices regular monthly programming will resume in September. Do you have an idea for a program? Is there a special issue you'd like to learn about? An important speaker you think we should consider?
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Make a Difference for the Environment
Civil rights leader and environmentalist Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley and KSDK Meteorologist Mike Roberts will be the keynote speakers at "Make A Difference: Environmental Action for Your Home and Place of Worship" on July 31, 6:45-9:00 pm at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park.
The event, co-sponsored by JCRC, one of our community partners in social justice, is free and open to the public, but registration is required (click HERE to register). For more information, contact Gail Wechsler at 314-442-3894 or [email protected].
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Never Give Up!
Following a memorial event at the Missouri State Capitol this past April at which Mary Clemons carried a poster featuring Melanie Shouse --a Women's Voices member who died at the age of 42 because she did not have adequate insurance to get treatment for breast cancer-- Mary wrote Melanie's parents. She sent them the flyer featuring Melanie's photo and information about her struggle which had been distributed to members of the Missouri legislature.
In thanking Mary, Marianne and Carl Shouse of Kansas write:
Dear Members of Women's Voices,
We want to thank each of you for your on-going stand on behalf of Medicaid expansion. It seems as though Missouri and Kansas rank on the negative column on this critical and moral issue. How many more lives such as Melanie's will it take for our elected officials to listen? I am sure that you are frustrated as are we - But as Melanie always said, "Never Give Up!" She would have been so proud of your continuing stand and attended every rally - never missing any! We thank each of you for your ongoing courage and determination. Many blessings to each of you.
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Kudos to... Women Who Write!
... to member Beverly Rehfeld for her letter to the editor published in the Post-Dispatch on May 27 about ending gun violence in Missouri. ... to member Rea Beck-Kleeman for her letter to the editor published in the Webster-Kirkwood Times on May 30 about adequate wages and health care. ... to WV co-founder Barb Finch for her letter to the editor published in the Post-Dispatch on June 4 about the soaring profits that managed care companies make at the expense of Medicaid patients and American taxpayers. ... to NEW member Susan Cunningham for her letter to the editor published in the Post-Dispatch on June 7 linking Missouri's inability to attract knowledge-based industries to having a state legislature with misplaced priorities. ... to WV's past president, Mary Clemons, for her article published in the Occasional Planet blog on June 13 about the steps needed to end racial disparity in St. Louis. ... to member Nancy Reeves for her letter to the editor published in the Post-Dispatch on June 20 about the laws that protect children from abuse not being applied to the Catholic hierarchy in St. Louis. ... to member Gloria Bilchik for her commentary published in the Occasional Planet on  June 25 about the collateral damage of arming schoolteachers. ... to member Beverly Rehfeld for her letter to the editor published in the St. Louis Jewish Light on June 25 titled "Sensible Gun Laws." And to... Women Who Speak OUT!
... to members Carol Wofsey and Barb Finch for a mention in a recent Don Corrigan column in the West End Word for their work on the WV Common Sense Gun Solutions committee. (Corrigan also mentions the WV Common Sense Gun Solutions Forum in his June 20 column in the Webster-Kirkwood Times.). And Special Mention to... Men Who Read and Write!
Special thanks to Darryl Forte, chief of police in Kansas City, who wrote to acknowledge a thank-you letter that our Campaign on Common-Sense Gun Solutions sent to him and Chief Sam Dotson following their commentary titled "Protect Families, Not Criminals" published in the Post-Dispatch several weeks ago.
"It is very nice to know there is support in Missouri for this issue, and I appreciate the time you took to express such to me," Chief Forte wrote.
BRAVO to all who raised their voices this month!
(If you have had a letter about a social justice issue published in the last month, click HERE and send us the scoop!)
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Not on Facebook?
Here's what you missed on the WV Facebook page* this last month:
*To receive WV news feeds on Facebook, click
and then click the "LIKE" button on our Facebook page.
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Have something to submit for LOUD AND CLEAR?
Loud and Clear is the official monthly e-newsletter of Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice and is distributed on the last Monday of the month. The deadline for article submission is on the 20th of each month; click HERE to contact editor Bethany Curtis.
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You love what Women's Voices stands for, you love our focus on education and advocacy to make people's lives better, but you still haven't joined even though you think you should. Does this sound like you? Well, get rid of that nagging gut and join Women's Voices today!
By joining, you support an effective organization by helping it to continue outreach to the community and policymakers. Membership at the Advocacy Level goes a long way to help support administrative costs, such as rental of our meeting venue and the sending of this newsletter.
HOW TO RENEW...
We've made renewing simple: First, we send you an email reminder when it's time to renew (the month in which you joined Women's Voices). When you receive your reminder, you can renew your membership by clicking the PayPal link in the email reminder message. Or, use one of the payment options at the right.
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$25 (Regular Membership)
$50 (Advocacy Membership)
$10 (Student Membership)
On the Join Us page of our website, you can select any of the 3 membership levels and initiate a PayPal payment for that amount.
You can use the PayPal button below for a $25 Regular Membership. When the PayPal page appears, if you don't have a PayPal account, choose the "Don't Have a PayPal Account?" option to pay by credit card.
Send a check (payable to Women's Voices) to:
Beth Alseth
444 Clemens Avenue
Kirkwood, MO 63122
Bring cash or check
to the monthly meeting, where we have a basket for renewals and donations.
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