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FACETS MAY 2014
The Rockland County Branch of the
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American Association of University Women, Inc.
Rockland County Branch AAUW
P. O. Box 962 Monsey, NY 10952-0962
OUR WEB SITE: http://rocklandcounty-ny.aauw.net/
Mission: AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.
CO-Presidents: Barbara Williams Editor: Sylvia Miller (845) 358-1680
Joyce Brown
DATES TO REMEMBER
Thursday, May 1 AAUW ‘Rockland Readers Book Club’ 1:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble NANUET
` The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls
Tuesday, May 6, 2014 AAUW Board Meeting at Ellie Grossman’s 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 15 AAUW ANNUAL DINNER/WOMAN OF ACHIEVEMENT
Honoring Dr. Renee Brilliant-Donn
Nyack Seaport, 21 Burd Street, Nyack
6:00 p.m. cocktails (cash bar) 7:00 dinner
See reservation form at end of newsletter
Wednesday, May 21 AAUW Book Group New City Library 4:00 p.m.
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hossein
Tuesday, June 3 AAUW BOARD MEETING 7:00 p.m. host Joyce Brown
For old and NEW board members – year-end reports due
23 Dogwood Lane, Pomona, 10970
Please let Joyce know if you will or will not attend.
914-772-6618
Thursday, June 5 AAUW ‘Rockland Readers Book Club’ 1:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble NANUET
` Lakota Woman by Mary Brave Bird & Mary Crow Dog
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VISION STATEMENT: AAUW will be a powerful advocate and visible leader in equity and education through research, philanthropy, and measurable change in critical areas impacting the lives of women and girls.
DIVERSITY STATEMENT: In principle and practice, AAUW values and seeks a diverse membership. There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or class.
AAUW VALUE PROMISE: By joining AAUW, we belong to a community that breaks through educational and economic barriers so that all women have a fair chance.
President’s Message Joyce Brown
Our Woman of Achievement Dinner committee has planned a wonderful program to honor our 2014 Woman of Achievement, Dr. Renee Brilliant. She exemplifies her last name in every way. I won’t spoil the presentation but I am very proud that she has been chosen for the honor. Be sure to reserve your ticket. At the dinner will also be an excellent time to renew your dues. Payment of dues ($77) should be made by June 30, 2014.
Congratulations to Deborah Frank on being “founded” by the Summit Park Elementary School PTA on Thursday, May 1, 2014. She has been a coach with the STEM program since its inception in 2008. She has had a marvelous impact on the program and on the students.
Many thanks to Bijal Jani who has spearheaded the annual Diversity Brunch for the past 8 years, providing us with some terrific topics and speakers. She and her committee are stepping down this year.
The branch has several openings for committees. Please consider heading up or working on a committee (see listing further in the newsletter).
Our branch is only as strong as its members.
BRANCH NOTES
Congratulations to Cora Wilder who served as Grand Marshal at the sixth annual African American Day parade in Nyack on May 3.
Thank you Nominating Committee members: Frances Blauvelt, Joyce Brown, Ros Maxwell and Bach Tuyet Pham for a job well done. The following individuals have been elected for the 2014 - 2016 years: Co-President - Elaine Caubere and Membership Vice President - Sandy Masiello. And thank you Elaine and Sandy for accepting these positions.
We are still in need of a permanent treasurer.
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We extend our sincere sympathy to Betty Vallone upon the death of her mother and to Barbara Williams whose brother died in March.
We are sad to report that long time member Marion Leavitt died May 2, 2014. Since the death of her husband Burt last November, Marion had been living at Sunrise in New City. She was a founder of our Diversity Brunch and held many offices in AAUW. There will be a celebration of her life in the summer. Contributions to AAUW in her memory have been suggested in her obituary in the Journal News, May 7, 2014.
WANTED:
Joiners to Mimi Korb Scholarship Committee.
Purpose: to choose a student majoring in an area of STEM to receive a scholarship for Fall 2014 term.
Contact: Charlotte Sorger 845 253-1488 or
LAF BASKET RAFFLE. At our Annual Dinner on May 15 we will be offering our raffle basket. The theme for the basket is “Let’s have a PICNIC!” The basket could include wine, wine glasses, plates, napkins, chocolates, crackers, cheese, olives, nuts, citronella or anything else that would enhance a summertime picnic. Please bring your contributions to Pam Guevara at Red Hill Nursery, (previously Van Houten Gardens/Cropseys), 241 South Little Tor Road, New City by May 9.
STEM
This has been a busy year for STEM at Summit Park Elementary School. We have had some wonderful blessings. Nearly 20 volunteers from Gracepoint Gospel Fellowship, mostly math coaches, have joined our ranks. We have received some very generous donations of teaching materials and books. The work relationship with the staff has improved every year but more so this year. Mrs. Hewlett, the principal, has returned after a long absence and we are very glad to have her back.
As promised, Mrs. Patricia Koch Thaler returned to Summit Park and distributed books to the students and shook at least 450 hands. Two classes had prepared an assembly program with original songs and poems about healthy eating and bullying, two themes of her book, “Eddie Shapes Up.” The “thank you” notes written to her expressed how happy the students were to receive the books. There is a trend of thought that says that books are dead. Well not yet and not at Summit Park ES.
The program year ends with our Appreciation Luncheon on Thursday, May 29, 2014. We welcome all of our volunteers and members, past and present, to join us. If you plan to come, please call Joyce at 352-3275.
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WHAT’S REALLY COOL CONFERENCE by Patricia Lopez
The 12th annual What’s Really Cool conference was held on Saturday, April 5th in the Finkelstein Memorial Library. The theme of this year’s conference was “Can We Have It All?” The event was sponsored by AAUW Rockland Branch, Rockland Success Team/MHA of Rockland, and POW’R (Putnam, Orange, Westchester and Rockland) Against Tobacco.
More than 100 girls in grades 7 through 12 participated in the conference.
Beverly Cooper, ACT/Substance Abuse Specialist at MHA, delivered a thought-provoking keynote address, addressing topics that pertain to their lives and invited girls to contemplate what having it all means to them.
Special thanks go out to Joyce Brown, Dorothie Flieger, Rosalind Maxwell, and Bach Tuyet Pham for their early arrival. They dispensed countless doughnuts, water bottles, pizza, lolly pops, napkins, etc. and cheerfully served in any capacity that was needed. Thanks for spending your Saturday with these girls. It is hoped they will remember attending this conference, and when the time comes, become AAUW members!
LEGAL ADVOCACY FUND (LAF)
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Cases Challenging Contraceptive Coverage
On March 25, the U.S. Supreme Court heard appeals in two lawsuits filed by business owners who challenged the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that all employers include contraceptive care in their health plans. Both cases, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius, were filed by for-profit business owners who claim that because they are religiously opposed to the use of contraception, they should not be required to offer employee insurance plans that cover contraceptive care. Although the cases concern different legal theories – the Hobby Lobby plaintiffs challenged the requirement based only on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, while the Conestoga Wood plaintiffs rely additionally on the First Amendment’s protection for religious freedom – the court heard both cases at the same time.
Following the arguments, court watchers suggested that the justices seemed split over the cases, with four of the justices favoring the business owners’ arguments and Justice Kennedy’s inclinations still unclear. AAUW believes that for-profit businesses should not be exempt from providing health care coverage to their women employees, and we have signed on to amicus briefs in support of the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive care requirement. Look for more information once the Supreme Court issues a ruling in a few months.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND by Patricia Lopez, EOF V.P.
Educational Funding and Awards
The International Fellowships program awarded its first fellowship in 1917. It was originally intended to provide Latin American women with opportunities for graduate and post-graduate study in the U.S. The program now includes women from all over the world, and more than 3,300 women from 130 nations have been recipients.
International Fellowships are awarded for full-time study or research in the U.S. to women who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Both graduate and post-graduate studies at accredited U.S. institutions are supported. Applicants must have completed the equivalent of a U.S. bachelors degree by September 2014.
Recipients are selected for academic achievement and commitment to women and girls.
MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
Did you know that AAUW has several special campaigns to gain new members? Every member can help us grow. Here are some of the special programs:
Give a Grad a Gift - current AAUW members have the opportunity to give free national memberships to college graduates who have earned their degrees within the last 12 months.
Shape the Future – designed to help branches recruit new members and student affiliates by offering 50% off the national membership rate to new members who join on the spot at an event that is open to the public. (For every two new members who join, the branch earns one free national membership, up to a maximum of three free memberships per year.)
Member-Get-a-Member – designed to encourage current members to recruit new members by recognizing their efforts. Reward your recruiter with a certificate when they sign on a new member. They will also be added to AAUW’s Hall of Fame.
For more details of these programs, go to the AAUW website in the Member Center under Membership Campaigns.
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PUBLIC POLICY Equal Pay Day April 8, 2014
Dr. Susan Deer, PhD, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Services at Rockland Community College, was our speaker at the April branch meeting. Her experiences which brought her from a basketball coach to her current position were amazing and made for a great (and humorous) presentation. Her story was a very inspirational one in which she gave great advice for women making their way in today’s world trying to achieve pay equity.
AAUW NYS Convention at Harbor Haven Resort, Ellenville, NY April 25-27, 2014
This year’s convention was full of energy. AAUW National President Patricia Fae Ho spoke Friday evening and Saturday and inspired us all to do great things for our branches and AAUW. All NYS and national officers provided great motivation to help us all make our branches better. The LAF speaker was a dynamic young woman who shared her trials and tribulations of achieving equity in her workplace. Workshops included: Work/Life Balance in the 19th century; Revitalizing our branches; Women’s public health issues and It’s My body.
Patricia Lopez, Ann Mulligan, Sylvia Miller and Bach Tuyet Pham attended. Also Nancy Shoemaker, who lives in North Carolina but is a dual Rockland branch member, was there. Nancy has relatives in Rockland County. It was a pleasure getting to know her.
Thursday, May 15 AAUW ANNUAL DINNER/WOMAN OF ACHIEVEMENT
Honoring Dr. Renee Brilliant-Donn
Nyack Seaport, 21 Burd Street, Nyack
6:00 p.m. cocktails (cash bar) 7:00 dinner
Dr. Renee Brilliant is chairperson of our STEM Engineering Sub-Committee which provides a forum for high school girls regarding many aspects of engineering and the path to becoming Engineers. She practiced pediatrics and pediatric hematology from 1965 through 1991 in Rockland County. A founding member of SHARE Africa, she was also the Medical Director and has supervised several of SHARE’s women’s groups in Kenya. SHARE’s mission is to save lives, foster a sustainable future and improve the quality of life of children in African communities.
Come join us in celebrating this amazing woman. We will also be inducting our new branch officers.
And there will be GIFT BOOKS again this year! Come take your pick.
See the registration form at the end of this newsletter. And please send in your check ASAP.
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WANT TO GET MORE INVOLVED IN AAUW? GREAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE!!!
This AAUW year is coming to an end (June 30). Let’s hope the new year brings new people to join committees or take on new positions. Here are some possibilities:
Fund raising committee
Diversity brunch committee
Theater party committee
Newsletter editing committee
Financial committee
Scholarship committee
Please consider joining one of these committees to make our branch stronger than ever. The more people who work together make for more success! Send your reply to Sylvia Miller, Communications Chair, at or 845 358-1680.
MEMBERSHIP DUES for 2014-2015 year
AAUW membership year is July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015. Therefore, dues are due before June 30. National dues remain at $49 this year. State dues are $13. Branch dues are $15 for a total of $77. Remember, out of the national dues of $49, $46 is now tax deductible by each member due to restructuring of AAUW and its Educational Opportunities Fund, a 501(c) (3). The remaining $3 is used to support the AAUW Action Fund’s Section 501 (c) (4) activities (Lobby Corps and election-related activities). Now that our branch is also a
501 (c) (3), our dues of $15 are also tax deductible.
Please send your check payable to The Rockland County Branch of AAUW to Interim Treasurer Sylvia Miller at AAUW Rockland, P. O. Box 962, Monsey, NY 10952-0962 before June 30.
HAPPENINGS
Wednesday, May 14 – Cornell Univ. Cooperative Extension presents 2014 Seminars in Non-Profit Sustainability, Raising Money the Right Way, Cornell Coop. Ext., 10 Patriot Hills Drive, Stony Point, NY