Thank you for your interest in learning more about AAUW. Our mission is: To empower women through education and career development. One important way we do this is through our scholarship program. To raise funds, we will be collecting and selling used books and accepting cash donations. To help provide educational opportunities to more women in our community, please make your tax-deductible donation now.
OCTOBER LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Roxann King
Greetings, everyone. We will be seeing a whole lot of each other this month and into November. Our number one activity, our book sale, which funds our scholarships and branch functions, is drawing nigh. The collections have been very successful. The book sale itself is scheduled for November 6 – 9, after Election Day this year. (We are still looking for the location.) It brings together our families, friends, and the community in a very special way. Make sure to schedule slots during the sale. Make sure that you are a part of this, if at all possible. Check the Book Sale article in the newsletter for links to sign-ups.
You may have noticed that we often share activities with the League of Women Voters. During August through October, we have shared voter registration activities in high schools and at community celebrations. On Tuesday, September 30, we co-hosted a Mayoral Forum at Congregation Kneseth Israel. I wish to thank members Michele Hauf, who worked with the local LWV-AAC to develop questions, and Shawn Rich, new branch member and branch scholarship recipient, who asked the questions during the Forum. As co-hosts, we had a membership table and distributed water to event attendees.
The next big event occurs on October 18 when we will host the AAUW Maryland Fall Conference at Woods Church. In May, when we prepared the bookmarks for the parade, it did not dawn on those of us (especially me) at the book sale meeting, that we were committed to two big events at the very same time, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. If you are not able to collect books that day, please try to attend the conference at Woods Church through lunch. We have the 5 or 6 necessary volunteers but having members attend the conference would be supportive. The morning session features three excellent speakers on Maryland’s Native Americans, Past and Present. The registration flyer is included at the end of the newsletter. If you are a book collection volunteer, consider attending by Zoom if you have sufficient phone reception. I have asked that the session be recorded for us to share after the meeting and to discuss at our October 27 C&C. It takes about twenty volunteers to run the last book collection, and that, of course, is our main concern on October 18. That date is also No Kings Day, and rallies are planned all over the country. Finally, it is also the date for the rescheduled Annapolis Pride Parade, an all-day event, which was rained out in June.
I am writing this from my camping trailer at Delaware Seashore State Park, one of my favorite places. I have been here six days and will stay five more days, until the Forum on September 30. Being outdoors is like breathing to me. I am so happy to be here and the weather has been perfect.
Here’s to October! I am looking forward to working with you all during preparations for the November Book Sale.
For information about the branch’s Special Interest Groups and activities, please browse our website and contact us using the link above.
In accordance with its bylaws: AAUW is not affiliated with and does not support any other non-profit organizations; AAUW does not support the campaigns of any candidates for public office; but AAUW does support public policy initiatives related to education and equity for women and families that have been approved by the bi-annual voting of the AAUW members.