AAUW Newsletter

   Newsletter of the Northwest Suburban Branch American Association of University Women AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.

An Afternoon at the Movies! Sunday, February 18, 2018 2:00 p.m. At the Home of Fran Kampwirth 731 S. Lincoln Ave., Park Ridge The weather is cold and dreary . . . watching a movie is a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and that’s just what we’re going to do!

It will be warm and cozy and we’ll have some snacks and popcorn (you can’t have a movie without popcorn!) and we will enjoy Queen of Katwe. The film, starring David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o and Madina Nalwanga, depicts the life of Phiona Mutesi, a young girl who lives in Katwe, a slum in Kampala, Uganda, where she and her siblings scavenge for food and water. When she meets a man working in a mission program who teaches children to play chess, her world changes. As she learns to play, she enters competitions and tournaments and ultimately becomes a Woman Candidate Master after winning victories at the World Chess Olympiads, but she has had to learn much more than the game as she moves beyond Katwe.

This film, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and ESPN Films, was screened at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. Although it was not widely shown in the U.S. it received outstanding reviews and should give us food for thought and discussion. What’s the price of admission for this excellent film? We are suggesting a donation of $7.10 as we celebrate the 71st year of Northwest Suburban Branch’s existence! All contributions will go toward our Oakton Scholarship Fund. To help with setup (making sure we have enough chairs) please let Fran know if you are planning to attend. Call her at 773-710-1413 or email her at franstottkampwirth@gmail.com. (However, don’t stay away if the day arrives and you haven’t called! We’ll find room for you!)

Note that the date is different from what is in your yearbook as it was necessary to make a change. It is SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH .

FROM OUR PRESIDENT

Hello and happy winter! I am excited about all the events that are happening with AAUW. Please invite a friend to one of our events to help grow our name recognition and our membership! The Association has decided to raise dues next year after ten years of holding dues the same. Our national dues for 2018-2019 will be $59 instead of $49; $56 dollars will be tax deductible. The $3 that is not tax deductible is used for our lobbying efforts.

February, 2018 In March we will have a “Shape the Future” event at the Des Plaines Library. If a new member joins at one of those events, national dues are only half price! New members have 2 weeks to send in their application. Dues paid in March for new members will cover membership through July of 2019. If you’ve ever thought of being a lifetime member – now is the time. Currently the price is $980 or 20 years of dues. The price will be increasing to $1180.00. Life memberships are fully tax deductible. Lifetime members do not pay national dues after the onetime payment, but you still would pay state and local dues each year if you remain a member in a branch. Currently state and local dues are $22. Sorry about all this talk of dues. Please know that the work AAUW does is important and costs money.

Please look at its website, www.aauw.org, to see all the fabulous things AAUW does with philanthropy, research, education and advocacy. I hope to see you soon at one of our events. Cindy

WE’VE BEEN BUSY! Although you have not received a newsletter since early December, we have not just been sitting around waiting for spring to arrive. Our December social was both enjoyable and successful, with thirteen members attending. It was just what the title said, SOCIAL, with lots of great conversation and opportunities for new members and those who have been in the branch for a longer time getting to know each other better.

A really great thing that happened, however, was the wonderful response to our request to purchase books about women and STEM subjects for the Plainfield School Library in Des Plaines. Several members chose individual titles to purchase and a group of us pooled our resources to provide a larger set of books. Thanks to Suzanne Kowalski who worked with the librarian at Plainfield and with the Follett Publishing representative to purchase the books. Our total contributions for books came to $313.97 and the bill was $313.90! What a great holiday giving experience.

Then, early in January, Pili Richardson, Gwen LaCosse and Irene Jinks helped prepare the bags of materials to be distributed at Oakton’s Futures Unlimited program for eighth grade girls who will enter high school this fall. That event took place on January 12 when 508 girls and their school chaperones participated in a day of workshops and presentations. Megan Hildebrand and Pili Richardson coordinated our work with Oakton on this event. Megan presented a workshop, Wendi Thourson was a role-model presenter, and Cindy Grau and Pili helped with various tasks on the day of the event.

The last Saturday of January brought five of our members and a guest to the annual Networking Luncheon sponsored by Districts 4 and 5. The attendance was greater than it has been for several years, and those who were present heard an excellent presentation by Heidi Stevens, columnist for The Chicago Tribune. She involved the audience by presenting questions on living a purposeful life to be discussed at the tables. It’s interesting to talk with members of other branches and learn what they are doing – real networking.

All of us have received the lovely note cards send by AAUW, and many have made contributions for them. Now, AAUW is planning a new series of cards using artwork done by members as part of the annual art contest for women that it sponsors. AAUW members were invited to submit their work for consideration, and our own Wendi Thourson submitted a piece entitled Cobblestone Cove. AAUW members are invited to vote for their favorites; voting began on February 6th . Six winning entries will be featured on this year’s note cards. View the artwork at www.aauw.org/contests/ and click on “AAUW Annual Art Contest.” Then follow the prompts the view the art and vote. Good luck, Wendi!

PLANNING AHEAD – FOR MARCH Our busy schedule continues as we move forward! You will be receiving a newsletter with more information on several of these events, but be sure that you have them on your calendar so you won’t schedule anything else to conflict! On Saturday, March 10, at 10:30 a.m., we will be partnering with the Des Plaines Public Library for a Women’s History Month program featuring Leslie Goddard portraying Alice Paul. The fight for equal rights that she was involved in goes on!

Saturday, March 24th will be the Tech Savvy Conference at Triton College in River Grove, sponsored by the AAUW branches in the Chicago area. Over 200 students and many parents are expected to attend, so many volunteers are needed. The conference will run from 8:00 a.m. until about 4:00 p.m., but volunteers are also needed the day before, March 23, to help prepare registration packets and stuff bags. If you are interested in volunteering on either day, contact Harriett Lindstrom at iltechsavvy.signup@gmail.com or 630-747-7906.

Wednesday, March 28th at 6:30 p.m. we will again partner with the Des Plaines Public Library for a Women’s History Month event. The library will show the film Equal Means Equal, which some of us have already seen but which should be required viewing for all of us. Following the showing, we will have remarks from Michelle Fadeley, president of Illinois NOW, who will also field questions. This is the program mentioned by our president in her letter. . . .

AND INTO APRIL Tuesday, April 10th is Equal Pay Day, which is observed as the day that women need to work to in order to catch up with what their male colleagues earned in the preceding year. AAUW-IL, Inc. has given our branch a LEG UP grant of $500 as a co-sponsor of this event. We hope that many of our members will be able to add to the presence at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago at noon on that day.

Saturday, April 14th, is the annual AAUW Fellows Luncheon held at Lambs’ Farm. Women who are studying in the area on AAUW grants and scholarships are invited to attend and speak and this is a great opportunity for AAUW members to see their money at work.

NEWS FROM OTHER BRANCHES As we’ve said so many times, networking is important, so when we hear of other nearby branches having programs that might be of interest to our members we like to share the information. On Wednesday, February 14th, the Lombard Area Branch will present a program on Helping Women Achieve Leadership Roles. The speaker will be Andrea Danis, past president of AAUW-IL, who will talk about Barriers and Bias: The Status of Women in Leadership, AAUW’s report on barriers to women achieving leadership positions. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Hatfield Hall of the First Church of Lombard, 220 S. Main St., Lombard.

On Saturday, February 24th at 10:00 a.m. the Schaumburg Branch will present Rape Culture, with Kate Midday, a professor at McHenry Community College, as the speaker. This meeting, which is a little bit closer to us than the Lombard one, will be held at the Hoffman Estates Branch of the Schaumburg Public Library, 1550 Hassell Rd., Hoffman Estates.

On Thursday, March 22nd, the Chicago Branch presents Media Literacy in the Age of Fake News as a part of the Public Narrative Project. Suzy Schultz, the presenter, will conduct an interactive discussion about the state of journalism, news literacy in a democracy, social media, storytelling and the importance of communication in a climate where it seems no one is listening. This will be held at Columbia College, 33 E. Congress St., Chicago, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. There is a cost of $12.00 per person.

 AAUW IS MOVING FORWARD! LET’S BE SURE THAT WE’RE MOVING FORWARD, TOO Women and girls in STEM need Title IX. As demand for skilled workers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) has grown, women workers have helped to meet the needs of the labor market, thanks in no small part to the protections of Title IX. But despite progress, women’s representation continues to lag behind in those STEM fields considered nontraditional to their gender . Thanks to research like AAUW’s 2010 report Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, we know that girls are deterred from pursuing STEM at an early age. Academic and career achievement in math and science are negatively impacted by certain environmental and social barriers – including sex stereotypes and gender bias in education. Title IX coordinators can help to reduce these barriers, but they need additional resources and training. The Patsy T. Mink Gender Equity in Education Act (GEEA) of 2017 (S.1421/H.R.3828) would help address sex discrimination in all areas of education by supporting the vital, on-the-ground work of thousands of Title IX coordinators across the country through additional resources, training, and technical assistance. These investments are necessary to close the participation gap and help women and girls tackle the Barriers they face in STEM. Send a message to your members of Congress to urge them to co-sponsor GEEA today!