And we are finally getting it NOW!
Click here for a great video: What AAUW does Be proud!
The gender pay gap won’t close until 2119 at the current rate of change.
AAUW is doing something about it. Take action now!
Empowering women since 1881
January, 2022
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A Few Thoughts from, Beverly
HAPPIEST NEW YEAR!!! To all our Branch members and their respective families.
I did plan on returning in January to Branch Board and General Meetings, but because Covid-19 and its variants are spreading so rapidly I have chosen not to return to in person gatherings and prefer staying on the safer side of caution.
December 29, 2021: L.A. County Reaches More than 16,000 New Cases in Midst of Dual Delta & Omicron Surges – Public Health Reports New Cases: 16,510 (1,649,376 to date) New Deaths: 25 (27,601 to date) Current Hospitalizations: 1,069. These figures are just for L.A. not the entire state of California and reflect issues about the large unvaccinated population.
Our Program VPs tried very hard to make our meetings “Hybrid,” but met with the difficulties involved and extreme opposition, therefore I believe that the safety of all is not being considered or respected. Those who choose to meet in person G-d bless you and be well.
The month of January starts with New Year’s Day on the 1st along with the Rose Parade in Pasadena and Rose Bowl Games, Epiphany on the 6th, Orthodox Christmas on the 7th, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday on the 15th and observed on January 17th. Our Branch member celebrating a birthday is Tobi Balma on January 22nd. Happy Birthday and may you have a long and healthy life.
I want to THANK everyone who has assisted and helped to keep our meetings running smoothly. I truly appreciate all the hard work.
May we all look forward to Sweet Memories in 2022 by being well and staying healthy.
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Please note: All our meetings comply with local rules and the accepted health guidance of Los Angeles and Orange counties for in-person meetings. Your board voted unanimously in November to hold board and general meetings in-person with due respect to members who do not wish to attend in-person. Those members may choose to easily attend and participate in meetings by connecting via phone to another member in attendance and have been doing so successfully.
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Please welcome and support your new officers. Remember that their job is to lead and encourage other members. Please offer to help them when they ask.
Reminder to members: As is written in your directory, the AAUW mail/email list is to be used for AAUW business only. If you wish to share something personal with selected members, please verify with the members first, if they want to be included. Members who find themselves receiving email they do not want should feel free to ask to be removed. We’re all friends here.
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Meeting & Program, Karen, Nancy & Mary Ann
La Palma Cerritos AAUW General Meeting
Thursday, January 20th
Cerritos Library Skyline Room
6:30 Social
Meeting at 7:PM
January program will be presented by Maria Korcsmaros on oceans and sea life and how climate changes. After a near-death shark attack experience in 2016, she turned her fear into fascination and then to advocacy. Her focus is on sharks and how their survival influences many other lives in the ocean. Maria is the Southern California Chair of Shark Stewards, an Ocean Health and Shark Conservation non-profit from the San Francisco area that was founded in 2000 by Marine Biologist and adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco, David McGuire. As Founder and Director of Shark Stewards, David will also be present to answer any questions about Shark Stewards.
Face masks required in Cerritos facilities.
Please note: All our meetings comply with local rules and the accepted health guidance of Los Angeles and Orange counties for in-person meetings. Your board voted unanimously in November to hold board and general meetings in-person with due respect to members who do not wish to attend in-person. Those members may choose to easily attend and participate in meetings by connecting via phone to another member in attendance and have been doing so successfully.
Women’s Issues/ Community Service:
The Su Casa Grocery Shoppers are back in action starting October 2021. We have four teams that will be shopping for the families at the shelter every other week. Thank you to the following members for volunteering to be shoppers: Marilyn Forsstrom, a 30 + year veteran, Harriett Moses, Joan Pylman, Mary Ann Quinn, Norma Williamson, and Diann Zenda. Norma and Diann are new to the team this year. Hurray!
We could use some subs. If interested call Joan Pylman, 562-865-6592
Gourmet will be starting in March. If anyone is interested who has not been contacted and wishes to join let Gail Ross or Joan Flax know. We will be meeting in homes with each couple bringing a part of the meal. A couple may be two women members of AAUW or member and guest.
Membership has no new members to add to our roster. We are looking forward to a healthy 2022 to begin to recruit.
Tech Trek, Celia and Edna
California Tech Trek plans to hold in-person camps in the summer of 2022. However, at this time, not all potential campuses have been confirmed. From the information we now have, the branch board plans to participate in Tech Trek 2022 and hopes to sponsor two girls to attend camp. We already have enough money to do so and no fund raising efforts would be needed. Our hope is to be able to send the girls to Whittier College with UC San Diego as an alternate choice.
Link to our Tech Trek page for more camper information. Link HERE
AAUW Fund, Esther, Thea
AAUW Funds have been very successful in the fundraising events for the year.
Non event brought in $1830.
We made $430.65 with Chipotle.
Panda Express paid us $74.40.
We appreciate everyone’s support with all the events. Now Esther and I are looking for a restaurant to have our AAUW Fund luncheon in February. Date to be determined. Tobi will get us a speaker.
You can…
Create Change,
Advance Equity,
Empower Women and Girls,
By helping to raise money for AAUW Fund.
AAUW Fund supports aspiring scholars around the globe – activists in local communities, women at critical stages of their careers and those pursuing professions where women are under-represented. It also provides funding and a support system for women seeking judicial redress for sex discrimination in higher education.
This tax-deductible fund now includes:
Legal Advocacy Fund
Eleanor Roosevelt Fund
Funding for a variety of College Student Seminars
AAUW Greatest Neds Fund
And many other advocacy and support funds
Due to the Covid 19 virus and the new variant many of our restaurant visits may not occur. However, we will continue to do fundraising for takeout. This would occur about several times a year. We usually have a restaurant luncheon where we invite a speaker for our February meeting. Again, depending on the state mandate on the virus, we may or may not continue with the luncheon. In that regard, we may have a non-event.
Both Esther and I have appreciated your support last year, and hope that you will continue to help us with the AAUW Fund this year.
The La Palma-Cerritos branch of AAUW created our own memorial fund in July 2017, called the Alberta Brose Memorial Fund, to go to women who return to school just as she did. We currently have completed our goal. This was a short time, two year fund with a goal of $5000 for completion by June 30, 2019. The branch got CA State and National recognition for completion. Final donation has gone to AAUW Fund for Career Development Grants for graduate students returning to school after 5+ year absence.
Elsie Carbajal is the recipient of our own Alberta Brose Memorial Fund. We are proud!
Career Development Grants
Name: Elsie Carbajal
Award Year: 2018-19
Award: Career Development Grant
Institution: Brandman University
Location: Irvine, California
Discipline: Education
Degree and Specialization: M.A., Education leadership
Elsie Carbajal is a seasoned special education teacher who is passionate about meeting the diverse needs of public school students with special needs. Her goal is to strategically reform outdated practices that limit the growth and progress of the unique population she services. She plans to obtain her master’s in education leadership to collaborate with stakeholders and make informed decisions to enhance student outcomes in and out of school.
Sponsors:
4431 – Alberta Brose Memorial Fund
1262 – Laguna Beach (CA) Branch/Laguna Hills (CA) Branch
1285 – San Diego County (CA) Branch/Marilyn George Poluzzi
1298 – Los Angeles (CA) Branch/Dallas Shenk
1484 – San Clemente-Capistrano Bay (CA) Branch
4105 – Redlands (CA) Branch/Bernice Black Johndrew
1491 – Somerset Hills (NJ) Branch—Science and Technology
Public Policy, Sondra & Harriet
Legacy Project, Norma & Gail
On Saturday, November 20, 2021, six high school young women participating in the jointly sponsored AAUW and ABC Unified School District Legacy of the Women’s Suffrage Movement Project, interviewed their first public officials, Diana Needham and Celia Spitzer. This project is partly funded through a grant by AAUW-CA and finances from AAUW La Palma – Cerritos Branch. The goal of the project is three-fold: to provide leadership opportunities to the participants, expose them to issues important to women and girls and to help them explore careers in public office.
Legacy Project Moderators Aleesa Gomez and Jamie Gokim, both juniors from Cerritos High School, skillfully and gracefully conducted the virtual interviews. Each interviewee received 3 questions each which had been developed by the Legacy Project participants beforehand. Each interviewee had 45 minutes to respond to questions and informally chat with the young ladies.
In their personal “thank you” greeting cards (mailed to their homes by Project Coordinator, Norma Williamson) Aleesa Gomez said this to Celia Spitzer:
“I really enjoyed it when you spoke about how you have volunteered for the school board since 1974 and how you focused on serving on many advisory committees. In fact, I never knew about the 7/11 committee and that is very interesting to learn about since I know many people who live in Encore and love learning about our community history”.
Jamie Gokim wrote the following words in her “thank you” greeting card to Diana Needham: “I really admire you and I am glad that I was able to interview such a strong and influential female public official! I really enjoyed it when you spoke about your experiences as first woman Mayor (at the age of 35!) and I want to thank you for continually supporting the city even after you retired as Mayor!”
The next zoom interview will be January 15, 2022 with Project Moderators Jamie Gokim and Leah Triana (a junior from Gahr High School). They will interview former Cerritos College Board Member Dr. Tina Cho on her board experience and her personal career as a psychiatrist.
Academic Achievement Awards, Joan P
Permanent Name Tag Orders are still being taken. The Tags will have the current AAUW Logo in green and blue. Your choice of backing – pin or magnet. Three lines of print.
Only $15, $6 of which will go to the AAA Fund.
Order yours now. Sale ending February 28th.
Contact Joan Pylman vis email: mojopylman@hotmail.com
Update: Haya Chehada
Haya is enrolled and attending her university of choice, USC. Her first Quarter has already begun.
Haya has been named a Transfer Merit Scholar and has been awarded a USC Transfer Merit Scholarship worth one quarter tuition. It is renewable each quarter as she progresses toward her degree.
Congratulations to this high achieving AAUW 2021 Academic Achievement Award recipient.
Help support other deserving women by donating to the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW Academic Achievement Awards fund.