La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) held their first meeting of 2014 at the Cerritos Library Skyline Room on Jan. 16. President of the La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the AAUW Barbara Atherton reported on the branch’s successful fundraising and charitable activities of 2013.
She said that she was proud to be president of the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW, and thanked all members for their hard work. Atherton was especially pleased with the successful fashion show and luncheon in November, which raised approximately $10,000 for local scholarships. Scholarships will be awarded in March of this year to women students from Cerritos College who plan to continue their education at a four-year college or university.
After praising and thanking the local AAUW’s members, Atherton announced a new award that would spotlight members who went “above and beyond the call of duty” to volunteer and assist in many branch activities. Membership Vice-Presidents Gail Wendland and Judy Figal presented a “You Made a Difference” certificate to Sue Carruthers, who volunteered whenever help was needed.
Co-Vice President for Programs Barbara Dunstan then introduced Kathleen Doty, President-Elect of the State of California’s AAUW. Doty said that there are currently 139 AAUW branches in the State of California with 12 members serving on the board of directors. She urged members to consider running for six openings on the California AAUW Board of Directors.
Doty said that the sole purpose of the California AAUW is to serve the AAUW members in California by providing information. The California AAUW three programs are Speech Trek (a speech contest), Tech Trek (a math and science camp for girls), and Money Trek (a financial literacy program especially in branches, colleges and universities).
Besides these programs, the California AAUW provides limited liability insurance for AAUW activities, “Leaders on Loan” workshops (as requested to help train leaders), California State AAUW newsletters three times a year, and a California State AAUW Convention every two years. The state convention this year will be in April. Each regular AAUW member pays national, state and branch dues for a total of $85 this year. The state dues have been set at $16 for many years and Doty hoped that the state dues can be raised to $20 to meet ever increasing expenses.
The La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the AAUW usually meets on the third Thursday of each month at the Cerritos Library. However, there will be a change of venue for their February meeting. According to AAUW Funds Vice-President Dorothy Edwards, the Annual Funds Luncheon will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 11:30 a.m. at the home of Carol Marsh, at 5092 Cadiz Cir. in La Palma.
The AAUW Funds is funding exclusively for fellowships for graduate women. Guest speaker at the Funds Luncheon will be Aisha Najera Chester, an American Fellowship recipient who is working towards her Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at Claremont Graduate University. Cost of the luncheon is $35 per person, and proceeds will be placed in La Palma-Cerritos AAUW Funds account. For reservations, contact co-chairs of the AAUW Funds Luncheon Dorothy Edwards at 714-995-1148 or Thea Siegel at 562-926-3667.