AAUW MARIN NOVEMBER 2022 NEWSLETTER

edited by Dottie Burk and Cherie Sorokin

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AAUW Advances Equity

for Women and Girls!

Did You Vote?

We're lucky in Marin to have representatives at the local, state and federal level who support women's rights and generally are aligned with AAUW's public policy priorities. Not all AAUW members are so lucky. But being blessed with like-minded officials doesn't mean our votes aren't important. Those that support our perspectives need our support in the vote tally. Make sure they hear you through your vote!

And encourage your friends to vote too, no matter how discouraged they might be about the current state of affairs. Now is not the time to be complacent. As our AAUW CEO Gloria Blackwell recently pointed out, "Women have the power to drive change. We vote in greater numbers than men and determine outcomes in race after race." In other words, especially in these times when we seem to be going backwards in so many ways, we as women have the power to change that direction!

For California women, voting YES on Proposition One is particularly important to protecting our reproductive rights. It's much harder to eliminate rights in our constitution than in our state laws. So fill out that ballot!

AAUW-CA Public Policy Team Scores!

7 of 8 priority bills enacted! AAUW-CA public policy committee does great work identifying important legislation that aligns with AAUW public policy priorities and works tirelessly to make sure our positions are known and understood by our legislators and the governor.

Our work helped make new law in CA that:

Requires campuses to develop and post uniform guidelines for reporting sexual assault.
Provides additional support for college students with dependent children.
Protects those from other states seeking abortions in California, as well as those providing services here, from the enforcement of a related civil judgment from their home state.
Requires insurance coverage in CA for over-the-counter contraceptive products.
Allows certified nurse-practitioners to perform some early-term abortions.

Two additional priorities were to encourage the legislature to issue a proclamation to recognize Title IX’s 50^th anniversary, which it did, and to support efforts in the Senate to adopt a bill placing a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to enshrine the right to an abortion and to contraception in our state constitution—which we know as Proposition 1 on the November ballot. Our efforts weren’t the only ones supporting these actions, but we were definitely visibly engaged in the efforts thanks to the great work of our state public policy team!

Gov Trek, Anyone?

Men still outnumber women in the halls of government. AAUW CA wants to work on that with a new program designed to encourage junior and senior high school girls to consider careers in public service and elected office. Come find out about this new exciting program on a free webinar to be offered November 16th at 7:00 pm. Register for this webinar here.

AAUW Marin News

Fun, Fun, Fun!

Join us for these upcoming programs!

Book Passage on November 19 at 10:00 am: The ever-delightful Elaine Petrocelli of Book Passage fame will entertain, educate and enlighten us on the latest and greatest books for holiday giving or otherwise. And remember, Book Passage always contributes a percentage of sales from our members that day to our branch! This is an in-person event at Book Passage in Corte Madera and space is limited to 50 people, so sign up quickly when you receive the invitation. Cost is $5 payable when you sign in and pick up your name tag.

Holiday Lunch on December 3 at 11:30 am: Get out your holiday finery, enjoy lunch with AAUW friends you may not have seen in a while, purchase or bid on some auction items, and more! We’re back at the Club at McInnis Park for this in person event. Cost is $45 dollars ($46 if paying by PayPal). Space is limited to 50, and an RSVP together with payment for lunch not later than November 28 are both REQUIRED. Watch for the email invitation next week.

You can check out all future programs on our website

College Scholarship Recipients and NCCWSL Attendees Featured at October Program

Every year in the fall we raise funds to help provide financial assistance to women at College of Marin and Dominican University. At our October branch meeting we met some of the women we recognized in 2022 with financial assistance that helps defray their expenses of attending college or the cost of attending NCCWSL, AAUW’s National Conference for College Women Student Leaders. It's always great to hear the perspectives of these college students. For example, have you heard of Design Thinking? That particular NCCWSL workshop was clearly a hit!

Pictured above (top) are Alicia Castro Carbajal (left) who will graduate from COM this year and Marta Tobar Batres (right) who was awarded our scholarship last year and is now at UC Berkeley, majoring in Environmental Science.

Also pictured are Carmen Hurtado Aragon (left) and Jessica Ramirez (right), two of the four Dominican University students who attended NCCWSL, with Nancy Lubamersky, President of the AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund.

Fundraising for the AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund is in Full Swing!

FOUR ways you can help raise funds for 2023 local college scholarships, NCCWSL, and Tech Trek sponsorships.

Respond generously to the fund-raising letter from Sharon Seifert, branch Scholarship Chair. Look for the email letter next week. Your donation can be unrestricted, or be designated for Tech Trek or NCCWSL sponsorships, Dominican or COM college scholarships, or our college scholarship endowment funds.
Bid, bid, bid in the online Silent Auction when it opens on November 20^thand ask your friends and neighbors to bid as well. Thank you to those individuals and interest groups who have donated items to be auctioned. We are building a nice selection of tickets, restaurant and merchant certificates, gift baskets, and experiences. It’s not too late to contribute. Contact us at aauwmarin@gmail.com
Fold some origami gift card holders. Origami wizard, Amy Anderson, will be teaching classes (supplies included) on Thursday, November 3 and Friday, December 9, 2 - 3 pm outdoors at the Bon Air Center. Cost is $20. Proceeds will be donated to the Scholarship Fund. RSVP to Amy.
Donate all year long with AmazonSmile! AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to the AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund. Just register at smile.amazon.com and select the “AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund” from the drop-down list as the charity to receive donations from Amazon via your purchases. Then start shopping!

Read more about the AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund on our website.

Member Corner

Invite a Friend and SHAPE THE FUTURE!!!

Did you know that if you invite a friend to join you at one of our wonderful in-person branch events, she can join AAUW that day and get 50% off National dues? This is a wonderful recruiting tool all our members can use, in addition to spreading the word about AAUW’s mission. Contact our Membership Chair, Chris O’Neill, to find out more about the Shape the Future Campaign. Remember, you are our most effective resource for increasing our membership. Thanks for your help!

Say Hello to Rozan Donals

Our newest member, Rozan Donals, joined us through her friendship with Cherie Sorokin and attendance at the joint program we held in September with Dominican's WLPC-- Women, Leadership and Philanthropy Council. We are particularly thrilled that Rozan joined us since she is a graduate of Dominican’s Pathways program, achieving her BS in Strategic Business Management. The Pathways program is for students like Rozan who don’t take a straight path to college after high school. Rozan worked for many years as an advertising account executive for newspapers, including the Marin IJ. She switched careers and learned the health insurance industry, eventually opening her own insurance brokerage specializing in Medicare supplemental plans. Bet she has valuable information for many of us! She lives in Fairfax with her husband and son and is an active Rotarian. Welcome, Rozan!

Other Member News

We regret to inform you of the passing of member Ruth Rymer. Ruth, a prominent Family Law attorney, joined AAUW in 1989 when she lived in the East Bay. She joined the Marin branch when she moved here in 2015 to live closer to her daughter Stephanie Miller. Ruth's obituary appeared in the September 28th San Francisco Chronicle.

Interest Group News

Ready to join a new interest group? All groups welcome new members. Just contact the group leader for information or to be added to the group email list. For a list of all Marin branch interest groups with leader contact information, click HERE.

Note: Interest Groups are just for members of AAUW Marin, but guests who may be thinking of joining are welcome to visit an interest group twice before being asked join. For general info or to suggest a new group, contact Interest Group Chair, Vicki Samo.

November Highlights

Art Tours Group

The Art Tours group will view Bearing Witness: Selected Works of Chiura Obata at the Asian Art Museum on Thursday, November 17. Tickets are $20 general admission and $17 for seniors. Members are always FREE. Carpooling at 9:30 am from the commuter lot at Strawberry Village. RSVP to Julia Geist. Please include your cell phone number.

Nonfiction Reading Group

We are combining our November and December meetings on December 5 at 1:00 on Zoom to discuss Benjamin Franklin, a wonderful biography by Walter Isaacson. There is also a very good PBS documentary about Franklin. What an interesting historical figure! If you would like to be on the group’s email list, email either co-leader for the Zoom link: Phyllis Kuehn or Olivia Ruel .

New Yorker Reading Group

Our next meeting will be November 14. We have an interesting selection of articles covering topics including the abortion underground, movies reviews, amateur archeologists and indigenous remains, flying solar, Bono’s early biography, and others. Something for everyone! You can read the New Yorker online free through the library, and we will also send you links to the articles. You can also listen to the articles through the links. Contact leaders Phyllis Kuehn or Olivia Ruel for links.

Additional Interest Group Notes

The LitWits Reading Group will meet on Zoom November 16 at 10 AM to discuss "Oh William," the third in a series of three books by Elizabeth Strout. Contact Ann Thomas.
Behind the Headlines will meet on Zoom on November 9, at 6:00 pm and feature Barbara Creed, a retired attorney and our favorite Supreme Court watcher. Barbara will be talking about three cases on the current Supreme Court docket and we'll have a chance to vote on which way the court will decide. Contact Cherie Sorokin if you aren't on the Headlines email invitation list.
Play Mah Jongg? Join our Mah Jongg Group. We play every Wednesday, 1:00-3:00 PM, in members’ homes or online using Myjongg.net. Contact Chris O’Neill for more information or if you don’t know how to play and would like to learn.
The November 3 Happy Hour is on zoom at 4:30 p.m. Join us for a chance to chat and BYOB. Contact Dottie Burk for the link.

Know Someone Who'd Like to Join AAUW?

AAUW women make an impact for women and girls.

Spread the news amongst your friends about what AAUW is doing. Word of mouth is the best way to recruit new members!

Why Join? AAUW offers you multiple ways to stay engaged with our mission of advancing equity for women and girls, as well as to develop friendship with others who understand that the fight for equality is still critical! Excellent national webinars! Engaging monthly branch programs! A wide variety of interest group meetings! Energetic, intellectually curious friends! A mission that is more important than ever! CONTACT Chris O'Neill for membership information.

DONATE TO AAUW

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