President's Message

What do elephant seals, Women’s History Month, Equal Pay Day, Title IX 50^th anniversary, and Wildflower Run have to do with each other?  Read all about it in Marian's message about the incredible month of March.

Marian Sacco, President

Interest Group Spotlight: Evening Books

Evening Books just celebrated its 32nd anniversary; it is the second longest lasting institution (next to the Wildflower Run) of the Morgan Hill Branch. And, with over 50 regular or occasional participants, it continues to thrive!

Gretchen Merrick and her husband Dan have moved to the Sierras to be closer to their new grandson, Henri (named for his French grandfather). They live north of Truckee, about an hour from Reno, where their son and his family reside. They love helping care for baby Henri. Gretchen can be reached at gretchen.merrick@gmail.com

Jean Pinard fell and broke her patella in late January. She is using a walker and has a brace. The Friday Writers and Evening Books are taking good care of her: providing help, companionship, and dinners.

Suman Ganapathy and Robin Sheperd are among gmh Today's "People to Watch" in the Winter 2022 edition.

Leadership Morgan Hill has announced that Kathy and Brian Sullivan will receive the Leadership Excellence Award at the "Preserve and Protect" event in September.

Membership News

Welcome new member William (Bill) Barnhart who happens to be the husband of Sherrie Wren. Bill holds a BS from Cal Poly SLO in Landscape Architecture. He joined AAUW for friendship and to support women's education. He will assist with the Wildflower Run.

Sondra Serenka is a former member returning to our branch. Sondra holds a BS in Administration of Justice from San Jose State University and an MS in Criminal Justice from Boston University. She earned a Juris Doctorate from Lincoln Law School of San Jose. She is retired. Sondra Is interested in Travel Tips, Dining Out, and Wine and Whine. She joined AAUW to support women in education and jobs. Welcome back, Sondra.

Calling Long Time Members

Are you a long time branch member with a stash of old newsletters?

Carol O’Hare and Kathy Devine are trying to compile a complete collection of branch newsletters for our archives but are missing many issues from the 1990s. Please check your files, boxes, closets, and attic, and let us know what you find. The newsletters are now being stored at the historical museum at Villa Mira Monte.

Contact historian@aauwmh.org.

Condolences

We extend our sincere sympathy to longtime member Nancy Casey on the recent loss of her husband Lee.

And to Kulvinder (Kay) Arora, on the passing of her father in December.

We Need You, All Branch Members, to Support the Wildflower Run Now!

The 2022 Wildflower Run is March 27th. We need your engagement and support. There are many things that are necessary to make our only fund raiser of the year a success. If you don’t have a job, please contact volunteer coordinator. Pat Toombs and she can set you up with something you will enjoy.

Talk up the Run with friends and family.

We are an all-volunteer event and 100% of proceeds go to our community. Everyone is eligible for prizes, unique tee-shirts, medals for kids, bonus baby-tees. Best of all—it’s FUN!! Direct them to our website, WildflowerRun.org.

Register yourself and your family.

Check out the special family rates, bonus prizes for teams, and discounts for groups of 10 or more.. Remember, registration fees go up on March 18^th!— fun time for everybody!

So Many Ways to Help

Donate unused gift cards toward prizes

Contact Stacy Moeder at prizes@WildflowerRun.org to donate. We love to have great prizes to offer.

Make a member donation

Member donations are key to the success of the run. See the message below from Carol O’Hare on how to donate.

Augment our social media campaign.

Follow the Wildflower Run on Facebook or Instagram. Like and comment on our posts and share them.

Sponsor outreach is at $25,000 as of February 15, and remains in progress. Send any leads to sponsors@wildflowerrun.org. Interested in joining next year's corporate sponsors committee? Same email!

Annual Wildflower Fund Giving Campaign

The Annual Wildflower Fund Member Giving Campaign Ends March 27. Please donate now, by check or credit card, to support equity and education for women and girls. You may also be eligible to make a contribution directly from your IRA without being taxed on the withdrawal.

Proposed Slate of Officers

The Leadership Development Team/ Nominating Committee would like to present the proposed slate of officers for the 2022-2023 year. Please click on the button below to see the slate.

The Nominating Committee is also asking for any additional nominations “from the floor”. Please note that the President Elect, Programs Co-VP, and Membership Co-VP positions are still open. If you would like to be considered for an elected board position, contact Peggy Martin at fund@aauwmh.org, by March 15th to be included in this process

Equal Pay Day-- March 15, 2022

Equal Pay Day represents how far into the year that the average woman must work in order to earn what the average man earned in 2021. It is the symbolic day dedicated to raising awareness of the gender pay gap. Read Marian Sacco’s article that appeared in Morgan Hill Life last year (edited and updated).

Climate Education and Action Committee

The Climate Education and Action Committee, led by Margaret McCann, has been very busy getting a low carbon emission launch into community action, in addition to the weekly blasts for our members.

Redistricting 2021 – City Council Voting Districts

The Morgan Hill City Council must complete the redistricting process by April 17, with the new map to be based on population equality, voting rights protections, the California Fair Maps Act, and input from communities of interest. The Council will hold its second public meeting on March 2 to review proposed maps, especially maps 103, 104, 106, 108, and the NDC green map. Learn more and send your opinion to your City Council representative.

Candidate Forum

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, April 13, 7-9 PM, in the Morgan Hill City Council Chambers. Together with Leadership Morgan Hill, AAUW Morgan Hill will sponsor a forum for the candidates for the District 1 County Supervisor position, as Mike Wasserman terms out.
View the state’s list of candidates who have filed for the June 7 election  and scroll down to the Santa Clara County candidates.

National Membership Dues Increase

Your AAUW annual dues are comprised of three parts: 1) National membership dues, 2) California state dues, and 3) Morgan Hill branch dues.

National’s membership dues will be $67 for 2022-2023 ($64 will be tax-deductible). California state dues will remain the same at $20 (not tax-deductible) and the Morgan Hill Branch dues will remain $25. The total to renew your membership for 2022-23 will be $112 due by June 30, 2022. Watch for payment instructions in the March emails.

Keeping In Touch Grants Awarded to 15 Former Scholarship Winners

The Keeping in Touch (KIT) program was started over ten years ago to continue financial support for the winners of branch scholarships as they complete their undergraduate degrees.

Alexandra Mandel, the chair of the KIT committee, reports that this was a banner year for the number of applications the committee received, a total of fifteen. Click on the button to find out more. KIT grants are supported by the Wildflower Fund.

Title IX - The History and What We Still Need To Do

Santa Clara County AAUW Interbranch Council (IBC) invites you to a special event celebrating Title IX 50th Anniversary and Women's History Month! 

Save the Date of Saturday, March 19, 2022 for a one-hour Zoom event moderated by Danielle Slaton. Danielle is a US Olympic medalist and soccer television analyst with the San Jose Earthquakes.

Get Ready for Lobby Week, April 11-15

This year, AAUW CA introduces Lobby Week instead of Lobby Day. Meetings will be arranged with state representatives willing to participate (District 30 Assembly Member Robert Rivas, District 17 Senator John Laird). Our state Public Policy team will set our state legislative agenda in March. That agenda will be published in our AAUW MH weekly email in March-April.

If you are interested in participating in Lobby Week 2022, please complete the short survey (link below) no later than Feb. 28.

On April 7, a MANDATORY training webinar will explain how the meetings will be conducted and the details on the bills we are supporting. YOU MUST register for and attend the webinar (link below) to participate in Lobby Week April 11-15.

AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund

AAUW’s Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF) addresses barriers brought by unfair pay, pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault and violations of Title IX by informing people of their rights and using the legal system to seek justice and change. LAF was created in 1981 by AAUW members and has provided millions of dollars to balance the scales of justice.

AAUW has adopted the case of Dr. Audrey Miller, who had been a tenure track Assistant Professor of Psychology at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). When she complained about discriminatory employment practices, her promotion and tenure were denied, prompting her to file a lawsuit.