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.
APRIL LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Joyce Moyer
It seems each day should begin with a plan of some sort. There should be a specific goal to meet, smaller details attended to, tangible things accomplished, and time to reflect and decide what comes next. The absence of a plan for anything to be accomplished seems like a kind of “loose thinking” route for the day. We all need some unplanned time now and then, but when one really wants to accomplish something specific it is good to have a plan. All the different things happening that are not included in a daily plan and yet may affect your plan for a given day – possibly including an incidence of climate change, nonfunctioning traffic signals or signs, road work that delays traffic, time zone changes, meetings postponed, deliveries not received and a thousand other things that can put confusion or disorder in front of everything else has a name – chaos.
It’s a word I see or hear almost every day, more than I have ever noticed before in my entire life. I checked the definition in the dictionary. In fact, chaos is described as: (1) “what existed before the ordered universe”, and (2) “extreme confusion and disorder”. This is what we face every day according to the news. Wildfires, cataclysmic weather, pandemics, extinction of nature’s gifts, technical innovations beyond imagination and a new government administration we don’t understand.
What can we do to eliminate confusion and disorder? The simple answer is to put some order in place. Put some plans together and implement them. Not everyone will do the same task the same way, but to accomplish a goal some thought must be applied to a plan. Perhaps the first step is to learn to understand all you can about the chaos and its source. There is a famous saying from the military about being able to combat your enemies better if you know them better. Another from the same source is to keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. The more you know about the problem, the chaos, the better you can cope with it and then overcome it. There is something, no matter how small it may seem, each of us can do to combat chaos.
Under AAUW leadership, members across the state did some very clever planning to help put order in some chaotic situations in Maryland. For details, read the legislative articles elsewhere in the newsletter. The members of the Public Policy committee have done a stellar job. They wrote and presented testimony, visited legislative offices, made phone calls, sent emails, kept in touch with the membership and asked for your help when it was most critical. All those who participated are to be commended for your efforts.
This is an effective way to deal with chaos. Get the facts, prove the validity of the information, prepare a plan and make it work. Don’t sweat the small stuff but pay attention to the important stuff.
The committee for the fall book sale is starting with their planning. If you would like to be part of a GREAT group of women who do a lot of work, raise a lot of money, and give to those who need it most for a better education, just let me or a board member know and you will be added to the committee. This is one of our best activities because we also get help from so many other people. Whole families have helped pack, sort and move books, set up for the sale, staff the site during the sale, and put everything back to rights after the sale. Please consider joining us! We have a lot of fun while working together. It is also a great way to make new friends.
We have also been trying some new meeting ideas. The March meeting with author Jeff Holland was a real treat and we had record attendance. The tea has been rescheduled for April after being snowed out in February. It is sold out. There will be a Lunch Bunch group coming up on April 26. Details are in this newsletter. In May we have our annual luncheon to award the scholarships and induct new board members. We still need a CO-VP for Programs, someone to help with publicity, and a historian. Help us keep the chaos under control by donating a few hours to AAUW. It is your organization and we want to do the best for you!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.