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

Recently, I was looking for some information in AAUW files and I came across an article published by AAUW National titled “Successes in 2019”. I don’t remember reading it in a timely manner in 2019 or 2020, but it did have some interesting statistics. The article highlighted eleven facts related directly to the involvement of AAUW from around the country. Some of these facts included:

• AAUW research found that 59% of Americans believe systemic barriers are to blame for the gender pay gap.
• Women carry two-thirds (2/3) of all student loan debt in the United States.
• With the help of AAUW advocacy efforts, 11 more states passed fair-pay laws in 2019, leaving only one state with no fair-pay protections – Mississippi.
• An audience of 14 million people, in over 1200 media articles, were exposed to the highlights of AAUW’s accomplishments through: NPR, The New York Times, Good Morning America, Time, Money, U.S. News and World Report and MSNBC.

I think that is a pretty impressive roster of accomplishments for one year. It would be interesting to compare 2019 with some more recent years. The only way that list of accomplishments could come together would be directly connected to the level of involvement and commitment of AAUW members. Recent information shows a total of 452 Maryland AAUW members, with Anne Arundel County having 70 members, the largest in Maryland. Gaithersburg was the smallest with 28 members and a statewide AAUW Online Community has 18 members. I don’t have the membership numbers for 2019, but I feel safe to bet there were a few more members in 2019 than now. Membership in professional groups, church congregations and many other neighborhood organizations have yet to recover from the effects of the Pandemic. Many lives were taken, many more must deal with lingering health issues as a result of having COVID, lifestyle changes and the fear of exposure to germs in a large group still continue. My grandchildren have missed more school in each of the past two years than pre-covid years combined. They seem to catch every illness that someone brings to school, and they seem to catch it twice! These are signs of changing times and lifestyle adjustments that still need to be resolved. While we will soon be celebrating another successful year of accomplishments at our spring banquet, we are also looking forward to the rest of the year and starting to make plans for fall and winter programs.

We also need some members to step up and commit to becoming an officer, a committee chair, a member of the board, an involved participant in at least one project or fundraiser for our next program year. If it takes a community to raise a child, you can bet it takes a group of involved and committed members to do what we do, for others in need. Because of AAUW and the scholarships we award, several women with financial need will be able to go to college and not acquire debt to do it. A lot of children and adults will keep reading gently used books they could not buy new, and a lot of paper will be appropriately recycled and repurposed. Members will have opportunities to learn about someone else, their community and its needs, make new friends and be a more involved community participant. The more people involved, the less work there is for each one.

Be on the lookout for the announcement from AAUW National about voting on the membership changes. There will also be a survey from your local board asking for your input to help us plan for the future. Please respond and let us know what your needs and desires are. There are also several conferences being planned from April through the rest of 2024. Please consider attending at least one of them and providing feedback to the board on the conference and what you liked/disliked about the program and the experience.  If you have questions, please leave a message via phone or email, or call a board member and talk with them. I will also be hosting a C&C later in April at my home. Everyone is invited and more details will follow. Hope to see you soon!

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.