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Ely BranchPresident: Teresa Sagen email 218-365-6461 Ely
Newsletter AAUW Ely Branch 2008 – 2009 The Ely Branch of AAUW has a proud history, extending over 80 years, advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research. Board:
We welcome new members. Please contact Darlene Nemanich if you would like to become a member, or be a guest at one of our monthly meetings. Please email Laura or call 218-365-24552 Monthly Meetings All meetings are held at 7 PM on the second Tuesday of each month, unless noted. Any changes are announced in the monthly newsletters. Scholarship: Each year the Ely branch grants a scholarship to a non-traditional female student who attends an area community college. Adopt a Highway Community Service Project: Our branch has adopted a two mile stretch of Highway 169 south of Ely. We pick up litter along both sides of the highway, once in the spring and once in the fall. ELY Best of the Year
A second highlight of our
year has been collaborative efforts with local groups and organizations. In
October, we organized a candidates’ forum for the Ely mayoral and city council
elections in cooperation with Ely Rotary, Vermilion Community College, WELY, Ely
Echo, and Ely Timberjay. Our branch used this opportunity to educate attendees
about AAUW and our mission and to distribute copies of the “AAUW Congressional
Voting Record.” As part of this effort and prior to November elections, we
placed VOTE signs throughout the community. Another political effort involved
collaboration with EMPOWER (a local women’s group) and several other local
organizations to organize a town hall meeting with Senator Tom Bakk, chair of
the Senate Taxes Committee, to discuss State budget concerns and issues.
Our collaboration with
Vermilion Community College (VCC) in supporting women students is perhaps our
proudest achievement. The Branch has a member liaison that meets with VCC
counselors and women students in determining how we can lend support to the
students who represent about one-third of the student body. We invited VCC women
students to attend our December meeting as an introduction to AAUW and a time to
interact with members. In March, our branch, in collaboration with EMPOWER and
the VCC Ironwomen, organized a panel discussion involving nine women in careers
in the outdoors, which is the focus of many of the women students at VCC. The
panel discussed mentors/role models, working in a male-dominated field, pay
equity, harassment, and entering and advancing in a career. Currently, VCC is in
the process of joining AAUW as a College/University Partner with the support of
our branch.
The branch fundraising
efforts this year have provided ample resources for our many endeavors. In
December, a local business gave us 10 percent of profits during our one night
shopping spree. Additionally, we participated in Herberger’s Community Day and
organized raffles. We offered a scholarship for a nontraditional woman student
at VCC and partially funded a ninth-grade female student’s trip to the
International Science Fair in Atlanta and Project Olympiad in Houston to present
her project on wind energy in Minnesota. This year we made a special
contribution to the Minnesota Past Presidents American Fellowship in honor of
Isabelle Koski, an AAUW past state president from Ely. We also continued to fund
“Books for Babies” in cooperation with Friends of the Library, to purchase
books for the “I Love to Read” program in the Ely schools, and to
participate in the “Festival of Trees” which helps fund the local
Hospice/Respite Program.
The Ely branch continues to thrive. We have had a steady growth in membership, with 41 current members (a 7.89 percent increase from 2006 to 2009). Our goal is to continue to increase membership by offering quality, mission-based programming, by engaging our members in meaningful activities, and by sponsoring community events. |
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AAUW-Minnesota—American Association of University Women- ... advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research. Copyright © 2010, AAUW Minnesota |
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