By Edna Ethington
The public is invited to come to the May general meeting of the La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) on Thursday, May 16, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Liberty Park, 19211 Studebaker Road in Cerritos, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. There will be a social time with refreshments from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., followed by Guest Speaker, Michele Steggell, and concluding with a brief business meeting.
It will be interesting to meet one of the movers and shakers in the city of La Palma. Michel Steggell has been a resident of the city of La Palma since 1970. She attended Walker Jr. High and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 1987. After becoming a real estate agent in 2006, she started giving back to her community by becoming involved more in city activities.
She was first elected to the La Palma City Council in 2014 serving as Mayor in 2017. Michele was re- elected to the La Palma City Council for a second term in 2018. She is dedicated to fulfilling her duties as a councilmember while actively working as a realtor.
During her tenure on the council, she started the La Palma Community Foundation in 2017 to connect charitable individuals and organizations with causes that improve the lives of people in La Palma and neighboring communities. As Founder and President of the La Palma Community Foundation, she plans fundraisers to raise funds especially for two special programs in the city of La Palma.
Since its founding in 2017, the La Palma Community Foundation has assisted in funding the programs: the “Every 15 Minutes” Program at JFK High School, and the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program in all of the schools in La Palma. The “Every 15 Minutes” Program has the goal of teaching high school juniors and seniors how important it is to NOT to drink and drive, and to see the deadly consequences that could happen if you do drink and drive. The School Resource Officer Program’s goal is to teach K to 12 students
that police officers are good people working on their behalf. The students can get to know the police officers through the SRO program. After the students become comfortable talking to them, they might tell the officers about problems before they happen and avoid fights, bullying, drug use, and shootings.
Anyone interested in supporting these two programs can come to the fundraising Michele is planning for September 14 at Knotts’ Berry Farm with all proceeds going to these programs. For more information about the La Palma Community Foundation, visit lapalmacares.org or call Michele at 714-270-4133.
The La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the AAUW has hosted a number of guest speakers at their monthly meetings to educate people about different opportunities to learn about other charitable non-profit organizations and support them financially or physically when possible. In November of 2018, they had Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission come and tell about the needs of URM. In March, they had guest speaker Jackie Shahzadi representing Women Graduates USA and VGIF, explaining how the groups support women and girls in developing countries. In April, Cerritos College Board of Trustees member Dr. Shin Liu discussed Cerritos College and what the school has to offer to students as a community college.
The La Palma-Cerritos AAUW will be planning their programs and activities for 2019-2020 in June. Members can contact President Harriet Moses at 714-994-1487 with ideas for programs and suggestions for possible speakers.