AAUW National has a challenge for the branches called the 5 Star Program.
Each branch is encouraged to complete a survey about the year’s activities. I completed the survey and we were awarded 3 Stars. I received the following letter from Diane Owens, a Californian and Director on the AAUW National Board. “On behalf of the AAUW Advancement Committee, I want to thank you for submitting your FY 24 Branch Survey this year. I also want to congratulate you, your branch board and the entire Greater Whittier Area Branch membership for earning 3 Stars this past year! AAUW appreciates your dedication to our mission of achieving equity for women and girls and the time and effort spent completing the report!” I also thank everyone for all that you have done, especially with our many Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) activities.
We still need volunteers to serve on our nominating committee. If you are at all considering a leadership position in the branch, please let me know ASAP. New members would be welcomed with open arms. S.heck4peace@gmail.com
Our Math/Science Conference for 8th Grade Girls at Whittier College on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 went beautifully. We had at least 25 branch volunteers for the day and they were so appreciated. (See Dolores Seidman’s article in this newsletter.) Lunch was served to most of the volunteers and the speakers at the end of the conference on the college campus. We even delivered box lunches to some of the speakers who were unable to stay.
A story has come to me regarding one of our 20 speakers, Dr. Christina Scott, a psychology professor at Whittier College. She and her two young daughters were evacuated from their home in Sierra Madre, the night before our conference. They spent the night on air mattresses at the college, and she still gave fantastic presentations in the three workshops on Wednesday. Thank you so much Dr. Scott! My biggest fear for the day was an electrical outage because of the winds. It did not happen and everything went smoothly. Thank you to all who helped.
Here are a few quotations from the hundreds of 8th Grade student evaluations: “Really fun, had a lovely time, very nice campus – cool jobs I’ve never heard of “ / “Good Job!” / “Very fun, I got a lot of information, a lot of advice, made me feel motivated” / ”I think this was an awesome event, I was actually interested” / ”Speakers and everyone were friendly and inspiring” / “They were all so fun to learn from.” / ”I really enjoyed being here. Thank you for having me. I learned many things about my dream career and more.” / ”Amazing experience!” / ” The conference overall was very inspiring and helpful. “ / ”Very good” / “I LOVED IT!”
A New Year is one month in, and my hope is we continue to have wonderful branch meetings at our venue, First Friends Church Whittier. I would love to see many of you at our February 8, 2025 meeting where you will hear an excellent speaker on Literacy and Economic Security. Together we can make a difference in our community and in our world for women and girls.
Sharon Heck, Branch President
AAUW MISSION STATEMENT – To advance equity for women and girls through research, education, and advocacy.
