November 2009, Vol. 55 No. 1
Unless otherwise noted, branch meetings are held at 7:30 PM at Morningside House, 7700 Cherry Lane in Laurel.
Tuesday, December 8, 7:30 pm - Branch meeting at Jan Loftus's home. It will be our annual holiday cookie exchange with a slide show on Eileen and Walt's trip to Nepal and India.
Tuesdays - January 19 - April 6 (except the last Tuesday of each month). Are you looking for information and discussion on eight current foreign policy issues topics and a chance to add your opinions to a national report sent to decision-makers? If so, call the Laurel branch library at 301-776-6790 to sign up for Great Decisions 2010. Beginning Tuesday, January 19, at 7:30 p.m., in the Laurel branch meeting room, attendees will watch a half hour informational video, discuss readings prepared by the Foreign Policy Association, and complete opinion ballots.
Wednesday, March 24 - Women's History Month Celebration (tentative date)
April 20, 7:30 pm - Branch meeting at Morningside House
May 19, 7:00 pm - Salad Supper and Maryland Legislative Wrap-Up at Morningside House
The Laurel Branch hosted the Maryland Fall Conference and Board Meeting on Saturday, September 26 at the Greenbelt Library. Thanks to Barbara Bricker, Mary Ellen May, Eileen Menton, Fatima Wahab, Adel Wortman for working at the conference and to Walt Burgess for catering breakfast and lunch.
On July 15, our Branch lost one of its founding mothers - Martha Garrison. While Martha was not active in the branch for the past several years, her interest and support never waned. She supported the Education Foundation and Legal Advocacy Fund and regularly sent notes in response to branch email messages.
At our branch planning meeting in July, Adel Wortman, Fatima Wahab and Eileen Menton agreed to serve as the branch's executive committee, in lieu of having a president and vice-presidents. Jan Loftus and Mary Ellen May agreed to continue as treasurer and as secretary. The by-laws are being redrafted to reflect this change and other changes mandated by AAUW bylaw changes at the national level.
Eileen and Walt will be in India and Nepal from November 5 - 22. Follow them on line at: http://www.thegildersleeve.org/40th/40th_conference_India.shtml
Empowered Women International (EWI) is embarking this fall in creating a variety of seasonal art gifts - all handcrafted by immigrant and refugee women in their program - to raise funds for their cause and support its women beneficiaries. EWI is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization helping immigrant and refugee women living in the DC Metro area integrate, participate as new citizens and become self-sufficient by using the arts as an economic driver and a catalyst for social and cultural integration. Its programs and services include career and entrepreneur training, coaching and mentoring, art retail and marketing services, multicultural visual and performing arts programs, and education and community outreach. More at www.ewint.org
Here is a list of various art supplies they can use:
- Any broken jewelry parts and beads or other jewelry making supplies
- Paints, Brushes, Canvas, Painting Boards, Frames, Mats, Painting Paper, Colored Paper, Scrapbook Paper, Photo album, Inks, Gel Pens, Colored Pencil, Stamps, Inkpads, Stencils, Transfer Paper, Heat Gun, Sewing Machine, Embroidery , Machine, Beads, Beading Accessories, Beading Tools, Sterling Silver or Gold Wire, Card making Paper, Art Storage Organizers, Printing Paper, Display Bin for Artworks, Jewelry Display, Jewelry Tags, Address Labels, Laptops, Fabrics, velvet, leather, etc.
- Gift Cards to Staples, Office Depot, Target, Wall Mart, ACMoore, JoAnnes, Michaels, Ikea, etc.
If you would like to make a donation, Kate Campbell Stevenson (301-622-1588), a member of the EWI board and of the Rockville-Kensington Branch, will pick them up.
AAUW member Carol Greider, who holds a chair at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine, along with Elizabeth Blackburn and Jack Szostak. They were honored for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that inspired new lines of research into cancer. This year, a record five women were honored by the Nobel committees. In total, only 40 women, including Marie Curie whose groundbreaking research on radium was supported by AAUW, have been named Nobel laureates. More than 800 individual awards have been bestowed since 1901.
25th anniversary of NCCWSL! This special 2010 National Conference for College Women Student Leaders will be held June 3-5, 2010, at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Each year, AAUW and NASPA jointly present NCCWSL-a unique, two-and-a-half-day conference, held in the Washington, D.C., area. The conference gives women student leaders the opportunity to hone their leadership skills and learn how to improve their lives, campuses, and communities. At the conference, attendees have the chance to hear exciting keynote speakers, attend the inspirational Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony, and get involved in community service projects. The conference also offers more than 50 skill-building workshops and the chance to network with other student leaders from across the United States and other countries. See the 2009 NCCWSL highlights to learn more about past successes of the conference.
For the first time in our nation's history, women make up half of all workers and are becoming the primary breadwinners in more families than ever before. Times have changed, but policies at government, education, and business institutions haven't kept up. AAUW has released policy recommendations in response to a new report from Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress. The Shriver Report-A Woman's Nation Changes Everything highlights the rise of women in the workforce while emphasizing that working women and their families lack the critical support they need to thrive in today's changing world. One of the report's main authors, Heather Boushey, is a former AAUW Fellow.
AAUW's recommendations are aimed at improving women's status and strengthening the economic security of families. In critical areas such as pay equity, work-life balance, education, and healthcare, they provide a number of policy and legislative recommendations for lawmakers at all levels to consider.
In the area of education, for instance, AAUW is advocating strengthening the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, improving access to higher education, and ensuring educational equity through Title IX. To advance pay equity, AAUW is building on the successful passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act by promoting the Paycheck Fairness Act, advancing pay equity within the federal government, and improving and supporting equal opportunity in the workplace. Its recommendations also include ways to encourage women and girls to study and pursue careers in the higher-paying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics professions as well as continuing affirmative action programs that establish equal opportunity for women and minorities.
Equity in numbers has not translated into gender equity in America's workplaces, educational institutions, or government agencies. In areas from pay equity and work/life balance to education and health care, there is much work to be done to break through the barriers which have impeded the progress of women and girls for far too long.
The International Museum of Women has just launched an on-line multi-media exhibit on Women and the Economy - http://www.imow.org/economica/index. It seeks to answer the question: How are the globalized economy and current financial crisis affecting women's lives? Amid all the debates and discussions about the worldwide economic meltdown of 2009, where are the voices and experiences of women? Topics covered include Basic Rights, Family and Fertility, Business Leadership, Microenterprise, Giving, Marriage and Money, Property and Wealth, and Grassroots Solutions. There are on-line video presentations, podcasts and articles. Well worth a visit.
By joining AAUW, you belong to a community that breaks through educational and economic barriers so that all women have a fair chance.
AAUW values and seeks a diverse membership. There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or class.