The Twig Midland Branch Newsletter - April 2015 AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research. Used Book Sale Midland Mall Friday & Saturday 9-9 Sunday 10-4 Trudy Dutot, Book Sale Chair Books are coming in! I hope you have already signed up to help in some way. We need people to pick up books, price them, box them by category, set them out and sell them. Sort room hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. During this time, you can put price stickers on books, sort them into category boxes, and help mark prices on children’s books. The Mall is again allowing us to use a vacant store to process the thousands of books that are donated. This sale we have a large space, the previous Deb store located between Barnes & Noble and J. C. Penney. Stop in anytime during sort hours to give us a hand. Call Marge Haskell to volunteer for these needs: (1) stack books on sale tables Thursday evening, April 23; (2) take a 2-hour shift at the sale, selling or keeping tables straightened; (3) at the end of the sale help box remaining books to be donated to nonprofit organizations. We welcome help from spouses and friends From the President Pauline Pittsley I urge all of you to support the Used Book Sale. Our goal this year is to raise $14,500 for our traditional gifting plan (see the list below). There are many things you can do to provide support – donate books, work on the sale, buy lots of books and spread the word to bring in customers. Tell them we always have a wonderful selection of great books. We also welcome financial contributions. Proceeds of the sales fund: College scholarships for local high school girls and women who are returning to college after an absence in their education. We will award four $2000 scholarships this year. AAUW scholarships, grants and fellowships for women at the national level. The branch is close to completing Midland Branch American Fellowship #4277. When fully funded, it will support a graduate level fellow. Legal Advocacy Fund support. In 2014, LAF adopted three more lawsuits supporting survivors of military assault. Scholarships for local college women to attend a national leadership conference. This year we will send two young women to the National Conference of College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) in Washington, D.C. Scholarships for local girls to attend camp sessions that feature STEM activities, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Our plan is to award $500 in scholarship support this summer. Higher Education Loans Plans and Scholarships (HELPS) is updated annually to provide online information about locally available student financial aid. Area high school counselors and the Midland Area Community Foundation tell us HELPS is a great resource. The Twig April 2015 September 2014 Named Gift Honoree is Gina Pederson 2014 Alice Morgan & Jane Wirth Gina Pederson is a woman of varied interests and experiences. Her association with books began at a very young age. Her curiosity took her to her local library frequently and she became a voracious reader as a result. Now retired and a Master Gardener, Gina has more time to spend in their expansive yard which has been transformed into a delight for the senses and the soul. Gina has been very active as a mentor and judge for 4-H gardeners. Her recent community projects include helping to identify wildflowers along the rail trail and membership on the Midland Beautification Committee. The Used Book Sale has benefitted greatly from her enthusiasm and organizational skills as well as her vast knowledge of books and authors. Gina also co-chairs the Gardening for Fun Interest Group. A true renaissance woman, Gina Pederson is this year’s Named Gift Honoree. Note: One of the wonderful traditions for our branch is selecting a Named Gift Honoree. The first ones were named in 1946 and over the years at least 106 women have been so honored. Honorees have made significant contributions to both the branch and to the Midland community. The branch makes a $1,000 contribution to AAUW Funds in the honoree’s name and the honoree selects the particular fund to which the contribution is directed. Branch Officers and Convention Delegates Elected at Annual Meeting The following slate of officers was elected unanimously: First Vice President for Program - Christine Ferrando (2015-17); Communications Officer - Catherine Menning (2015-17); Delegate at Large - Kim Steinke (2015-16); and Nominations Chair - Donna Wedge (2015-16). No candidate was identified to be nominated as Branch President, therefore the bylaws provide that the current President remains in office until a successor is elected or appointed. Pauline Pittsley is willing to continue for one year. The Branch is allowed four voting delegates to the May 15-16, 2015 State Convention in Escanaba, MI. The Nominating Committee presented the following slate: Betty Chenoweth, Judy Donahue, Catherine Menning, Kim Steinke, and Jane Wirth as an alternate delegate. The slate was elected unanimously. Authors to be at Book Sale Local authors will be signing and selling their books on Saturday, April 25 at the AAUW Used Book Sale at the Midland Mall. Come meet and support our local authors from 11:00am to 2pm. Ned Brandt, historian, who has recently published “Bug Fighters, A History of Dow Agroscience”. Barb Hagler, children's books author, will have her “Hope Farm Series/Adventures” there. Ed Hutchison, retired nationally syndicated garden writer, will feature his “Digging in the Dirt”. Norbert Bufka, historian, has published “From Bohemia to Good Harbor”. AAUW Midland Branch TWIG – April 2015 p. 2 of 4 The Twig April 2015 September 2014 The Status of Women in the States: 2015 — Employment and Earnings Institute for Women's Policy Research (March 2015) 2014 Women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, and their earnings are essential to the economic security of families across the nation. Yet, gender equality at work remains elusive. Women who work full-time, yearround still earn only 78 cents on the dollar compared with men, and during the last decade little improvement has been made in closing the gender wage gap. The glass ceiling persists, and occupational segregation— the concentration of women in some jobs and men in others—remains a stubborn feature of the U.S. labor market. These national trends show up in states across the nation. (In Michigan, women earn only 77.1 cents compared with men. Michigan ranks 33 out of 51 states.) Equal Pay Day AAUW of Michigan invites you to the Equal Pay Day rally on April 14 in Lansing. This annual event provides an opportunity to lobby our legislators to support “equal pay for equal work” bills. Sponsored by a number of women’s organizations, it features a noon gathering at the Rotund in the Capitol building. An issues briefing will be held prior to the rally. For more information contact Sally Doty, [email protected]. Lily Ledbetter AAUW has been on the front lines of the fight for pay equity since 1913. AAUW members were in the Oval Office when President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law, and more than 50 years later, we continue to lead the push for policies and legislation to encourage and enforce fair pay in the workplace. Pay equity is a priority for AAUW, and it will continue to be until women everywhere earn a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. In January 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, thanks to the hard work and leadership of AAUW, our members, and our coalition partners. Since then, AAUW has worked for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would give women additional and much-needed equal pay protections. Ready to Run Michigan is a nonpartisan program for women who want to run for elected office, work on a campaign, get appointed to boards or commissions or learn more about the political system. Ready to Run is one-stop training to run for office or get involved in public life — from the school board to city council to the state house and beyond! It will be held April 18, 2015, at Saginaw Valley State University. Prominent elected leaders, campaign consultants and experts will lead sessions on the following: • Media training • Fundraising strategies • Networking • Developing a campaign • Messaging with authenticity • Building political leadership Why Michigan Needs You! Women make up 20.9 percent of Michigan’s Legislature. Michigan ranks 33rd in the nation for number of women serving state legislatures. Women legislators provide increased access to government for disadvantaged groups. Women tend to make government decision-making more open and transparent. Cost: $125 Register online at www.gvsu.edu/readytorun AAUW Midland Branch TWIG – April 2015 p. 3 of 4 The Twig April 2015 September 2014 Zonta Invitation to Annual Auction Going Once … Going Twice … Sold! 2014 Grab a paddle and join the fun. The Zonta Club of Midland invites members of AAUW Midland Branch to attend their annual Live Auction. The event will be held Tuesday April 21, 5:30 pm at the Midland Country Club. Doors open at 5:00 when attendees can browse the many items to be auctioned. The action begins after dinner with a professional auctioneer “selling” these many treasures, everything from wine baskets and jewelry to a Loons Suite for one game. Checkout will occur once all auction items have been sold. Payment is by cash or check. Auction proceeds are used to fund local and international opportunities for club leadership. Cost, $25 in advance, includes dinner. A cash bar is available. RSVP by April 10. Send your check to Zonta Club of Midland, P O Box 196, Midland MI 48640. Note: Several Branch members have attended this event for a few years. It is a lot of fun and there are great bargains. AAUW donates a basket of books to advertise our book sale to be held a few days later. Our book basket always fetches a good bid. Save the Date for the May General Meeting Thursday, May 21, 2015 at 11:30 AM Annual Spring Luncheon Midland Country Club Mark Your Calendar April 24-26 May 21 Spring Used Book Sale at the Midland Mall Luncheon 11:30 a.m. at the Midland Country Club President: Pauline Pittsley, 1st VP Program: Chris Ferrando, 2nd VPs Membership: Barb Galloway & Rayana Larson Web sites: http://midland-mi.aauw.net www.aauwmi.org AAUW Midland Branch TWIG – April 2015 Email: [email protected] p. 4 of 4
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