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Empowering women since 1881

September  2022

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE FROM CELIA

Welcome to the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW 2022-2023 year.  I look forward to all of us gathering together in person for interesting, educational, stimulating and fun programs; interest groups, and special events.

The branch planning gathering in June was attended by 16 members who spent over five hours working together to brainstorm about the direction we want our branch to go, areas we want to address and programs we think will be of interest to and educate our members and the community.  If you already have not seen Chris’s excellent notes from that meeting, you can find them HERE in our website.  Please read them for the details of the gathering.

We plan to have programs about branch accomplishments (Tech Trek sponsorships, Fund recipients and Academic Achievement Awards) and today’s important issues that impact women and girls.  Please attend our monthly meetings and support the Program VPs efforts in facilitating them.

Our kickoff meeting on September 15 (see separate article for details) will feature the two girls whom we sponsored to attend the AAUW CA Tech Trek camp at Whittier College in June.  In addition, branch officers will present their plans for the coming year and interest group chairs will provide information and sign-ups for Cover to Cover, Gourmet, Great Decisions and Readers Theater.

Planned for October is a presentation about the propositions that will appear on our November statewide election ballot and in November we plan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of our branch.

As you know, recent Supreme Court decisions, particularly Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, will impact women and families particularly hard for a long time.  In their dissent to the majority’s decision in this case, which overturned Roe v. Wade, Justices Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan wrote:  “After today, young women will come of age with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers had.”  They also said, “One result of today’s decision is certain:  the curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens.”

Both AAUW and AAUW CA have been sending emails to all members addressing these decisions, how AAUW is taking action regarding them and what we, as branches and individuals, can do to lessen the impact of these Draconian actions.  While we live in a state that provides many protections against these decisions, we can try to exert our influence in states where rights of privacy and protections from violence do not exist.

On a happier note, as reported in the August 11 Los Angeles Times, Governor Newsom has nominated California Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia Guerrero to be the next chief justice of the court, elevating a Latina to California’s top judicial post for the first time.  Current Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye recently announced that she would not seek a second term when hers expires in January.  The governor also nominated Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kelli Evans to fill Guerrero’s associate justice spot. Evans, who is Black, would be the first openly lesbian woman on the high court.

I know you may be tired of me asking, but we still need a branch publicity chair to, at least, write a short article about our monthly meeting and submitting it to specific publications that cover our membership area.  Without someone doing this, we will not be able to reach out to the community and educate people and, hopefully, attract new members.  Also, it would be great to have a president elect.  Please call me if you are interested in either position.

And, finally, I want to send belated July and August birthday wishes to Saurabh, Dorothy, Nancy, Shin, Carol and Diann Z and September wishes to Barbara A., Sue C., Harriet and Diana N.

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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, Faith & Cathy
Thursday, September 15

Cerritos Library Skyline Room
Social time at 6:30
Program at 7:00 PM,
Business meeting to follow

 

The meeting will feature a presentation about the AAUW CA Tech Trek STEM camp at Whittier College this summer by Lyanne and Kristen, the two girls sponsored by the branch to attend. Member Tobi Balma, who was Assistant to the Camp Director, will introduce our campers and tell us more about Tech Trek. In addition,  branch officers and interest group chairs will present their plans for the branch for the coming year.

“New rules” means “No Rules”.  Bring your favorite potluck dish to share. Hospitality will provide paper goods and beverage.  

Please note:  All our meetings comply with local rules and the accepted health guidance of Los Angeles and Orange counties for in-person meetings.  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.

From the City of Cerritos:  FACE COVERING IS OPTIONAL. It is strongly recommended, but not required, to wear a face covering when inside any City of Cerritos facility.

Election results:

ELECTED OFFICERS
President:  Celia Spitzer
President Elect:  Open
Program VP:  Faith Herschler and Cathy Niederman
Membership VP:  Saurabh Deedwania and Jackie Shahzadi
AAUW Fund:  Sue Solomon and Tobi Balma
Secretary: Chris Taxier
Treasurer: Marilyn Forsstrom

APPOINTED OFFICERS
Public Policy:  Sondra Cohen and Norma Williamson
Publicity:  Open
College/University Liaison: Tobi Balma
International Interests: Jackie Shahzadi
Bulletin/Website, etc.:  Marilyn Forsstrom
Bylaws: Marilyn Forsstrom
Tech Trek: Open

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.

39 inspiring California fellow and grant recipients will share nuggets of their fascinating studies at four fall AAUW Fund virtual events. See what, and who, your AAUW Fund dollars support. Sign up for one or all to learn about sustainable environments, global migration, refugee studies, and other topics.

The AAUW Legacy Circle:  The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Most of us contribute to the AAUW Fund yearly. We are proud of the Fellowships AAUW awards and by contributing to the Greatest Needs Fund, we know we are helping AAUW’s mission.  The Legacy Circle enables you to keep contributing to AAUW after your death. Become a beloved visionary who is committed to advancing equity for women and girls long into the future.

Some members think they need to have a healthy bank account in order to become a Legacy Circle member. The answer is, no, you do not need to be well off to be a Legacy Circle member! A Legacy gift is not something you give during your life-time- it is given by your estate. There are many ways to leave a gift, including making AAUW a beneficiary on an insurance policy or annuity, donating a set sum or a percentage of your estate, creating a charitable gift annuity, or even creating a COD account at your bank (You deposit money now, either one time, or several deposits, and it is payable to AAUW upon your death). Knowing that we are a part of helping secure the future of AAUW, an organization that we have contributed our time and talents makes us feel proud.

The top three motivations that AAUW donors cite for making a planned gift are the importance of AAUW’s mission; the belief that AAUW makes a significant impact; and the ability to make a larger gift through an estate gift than is normally possible during the donor’s lifetime.

• There is no minimum gift requirement to join the Legacy Circle, and the benefits are many. For example:
• Planned gifts afford you flexibility to provide for your family and support AAUW.
• Certain planned gifts may reduce estate or capital gains taxes.
• Planned gifts need not affect your cash flow during your lifetime.
• Certain types of planned gifts allow you to support AAUW while also providing income for the rest of your life — or a fixed income for a loved one.
• The joy of knowing that your legacy gift will sustain AAUW’s programs for years to come is the ultimate benefit!

To learn more about the benefits of planned giving, please contact Judy Horan and Charmen Goehring, of the AAUW Legacy Circle Team (queenjah@pacbell.net and charminme@yahoo.com), or by contacting Tobi.

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

READERS THEATER

Our talented branch thespians, aka Readers Theater, will start off the 2022-23 year on Monday, Oct. 3, at 6:45 p.m. at a home yet to be determined.  We will read a different play the first Monday of each month through June.  We will be rotating houses this year with, hopefully, all participants taking turns.  I know that the following members plan to participate:  Esther, Tobi, Gail, Dorothy, Jackie, Chris and me.  If anyone else would like to do so, please call Celia at 562-924-5227 by Sept. 1 to let me know so that there will be enough copies of the plays for us

GREAT DECISIONS

The next meeting of the AAUW Great Decisions interest group will take place on Wednesday, September 28th at 7:00pm at the home of Dorothy Edwards.  The topic of the discussion will be Industrial Policy.  Each member of the group will be a discussion leader and Faith will provide refreshments.  Please RSVP to Dorothy if you plan to attend.

GOURMET, JOAN F & GAIL

Gourmet will be going strong this year. We hope to do regional recipes that all of us will enjoy.
Registration is open to all AAUW members who would like to partake of our delicious meals and wonderful companionship. A couple can be 2 AAUW members or 1 AAUW member and a friend.

The first meal will be scheduled for Saturday, October 15, so mark your calendars now.

We hope to have 3 groups of 4 couples, so plan ahead, and if you haven’t been in Gourmet before, we’d love to have you join us.

Please RSVP to Gail Ross. gailross1947@gmail.com  Looking forward to seeing you.