Scholarships, Memoirs & Pay Equity [KAAUW Focus]

In March, Lois Shapiro-Canter, the president, CEO, and founder of the Saratoga Foundation for Women Worldwide presented their work. In addition, we've evaluated Kiva, a microfinance organization; the Haitian People's Support Project, a 21 year old Haitian support agency based in Woodstock; and Samasource, an international training, educational, and job placement program.

KAAUW's Board has committed to support the International Committee's recommendation that we "adopt" three international charities by donating or investing $500 to each.

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By joining AAUW, you belong to a community that breaks through educational and economic barriers so that all women have a fair chance.

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AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.

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Greetings!

April 12 is Pay Equity Day. Here's what I'd like you to do:

Wear red to indicate that as long as women get paid less for the same work, we're in the red
Tell at least three people why you are wearing red.
Make one of those three people a young woman or girl.

For additional details on Pay Equity Day, visit the Pay Equity tab on our blog.

Ruth Wahtera, Editor

Educational Fund

Scholarship Recipients Selected

Image by accent on eclectic

From Doris Goldberg
Two students attending the Ulster County Community College have been chosen to each receive $1000 scholarships from the Kingston Branch of the AAUW.

The scholarship award ceremonies will take place on Tuesday, May 3 at 7pm in the Quimby Theatre. All AAUW members who are able to attend and meet the student recipients afterwards are encouraged to car pool together to this event.

The students were chosen by a 3-person committee consisting of Doris Goldberg, Gloria Sender (co-chairs of the AAUW Educational Foundation) and Marjorie Reagan. Eleven resumes and application forms (sent to us by Brunelle Roser, Assistant Director of the Ulster Community College Foundation) were reviewed before 2 candidates were chosen. While all of applicants showed ability and desire to continue their education for a four year degree, the two selected showed unusual perseverance to obtain their education in spite of serious obstacles.

One is a woman in her early 40's, mother of seven children, who after emerging from an abusive marriage, re-entered college and was able to do honors work in the arts and a pre-med program. She is now able to transfer to a four year program and pursue her career goal of working in global public health.

The second recipient is a woman in her 30's, a graduate of Kingston High School, whose mother was a high school dropout . She grew up in poverty and has been on her own since age 18, some of this time with legal guardianship of her younger sister. While her college work was initially uneven, during the past year she has maintained a GPA of 3.9 and has developed a stronger sense of herself becoming an educated person who will have a career as a medical technologist.

Having the financial support of an AAUW scholarship will be critical to each of these young women in enabling them to continue their formal education. If you will be available on May 3rd, perhaps we can also convey to these women that they have supporters in the community truly interested in their success.

Branch Meeting

Memoir Writing with Beverly Sloane

Memoir Writing

April 16, 2011, 1 pm

Kingston Area Library Community Room

Image by Starkos

Do you want to publish? Or simply pass on the stories that make up your life to the next generation?

There will be assignments to trigger your memory and help you write a compelling memoir. The class will learn about the essential ingredients including dialog, setting, anecdotes, humor and, most important, finding and writing from your own voice. Students will work on their own memoirs. There will be constructive feedback from students and instructor.

Beverly LeBov Sloane is a writer and writing instructor. She has taught and lectured at several colleges and presently teaches memoir writing at Bard College Institute for Lifetime Learning. She is a graduate of Vassar College and received her MA from Claremont Graduate University in California. Sloane has written four books on health administration with her late husband. She is now focused on the subject of medical ethics and is working on her own memoir. Sloane is a Fellow of the American Medical Writers Association. She is listed in the "Who's Who In America" and "Who's Who of American Women."

Volunteers Needed

Make a Difference in Women's Lives

Women's Health and Fitness Expo

Over 5,000 people, mostly women, will wander among the booths and attend workshops at the

Women's Health and Fitness Expo on May 7

at TechCity. With your help, AAUW will be there sharing information about women's issues. We're looking for volunteers.

Here are some of the jobs that we need you to help with.

Designing the booth
Selecting literature to hand out
Setting up the booth on Friday, May 6
Working the booth -- a two-hour shift on Sat. May 7
Clean up/Break down

What's in it for you? You'll get free entry to the Expo, time to explore the other booths, and the opportunity to talk with many young women about issues you care about. If you're willing to work on any of these tasks, let Ruth Wahtera know by sending her an

email or calling her at 339-6568.

Public Policy

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price

AP photo/Douglas C. Pizac

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the Wal-Mart vs. Dukes class action issue on March 29. We won't know the Court's decision until June and the news reports indicate that the male justices seemed less than sympathetic to the plaintiffs' arguments.

On the same day, the Public Policy Film and Book Group watched the film Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Price. Several issues deserve discussion, especially given the Branch's tradition of providing Wal-Mart Holiday Gift Cards to our diversity recipients.

Here are some issues to think about:

How do we manage the tension between the benefits of low cost consumer goods and the exploitative practices that keep those prices low?
When corporate and stockholder integrity fails at responsibly managing a range of issues that have a negative impact on the community, on employees, and/or the environment, what can individuals and communities do?
What role should state and federal regulation play?
If Wal-Mart pays the minimum wage but the minimum wage is so low as to make it necessary for a full-time employee to apply for medicaid, food stamps, WIC, etc., who's to blame -- the corporation that pays minimum wage or the state legislature that refuses to increase it?

And, of course, the issue for the branch -- should we continue to provide gift cards from Wal-Mart?

As you know, AAUW financially and organizationally supports the lead plaintiffs in the gender discrimination case against Wal-Mart. The issue currently before the court is whether the case can move forward as a class action. For more information click here.

Book Discussion Group
Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery

Tuesday, April 19, 1 PM

Kingston Library, Community Room

This was first published in 1847-48. It satirizes early 19^th century British society. The title comes from Paul Bunyan's allegory, Pilgrim's Progress. Vanity Fair refers to a stop along pilgrim's progress: a never ending fair in a town called Vanity.

News, Celebrations, and etcetera
April Headlines

Welcome Home

Polly Langer has returned home after a prolonged stay at the Pines. Polly is recovering from a fractured ankle and will be in a knee-high boot for some time to come. Wish her well and if you're in Woodstock, maybe you can run an errand or help out in other ways.

Reflections on Geraldine Ferraro

Read member Rokki Carr's reflections on our blog.

Nominating Committee

Susan Holland, Ruth Bean, and Vivi Hlavsa comprise the branch nominating committee. They must present a slate for the offices of president, program vice president, and recording secretary and, of course, they will be looking for committee chairs and members. Elections take place at the June annual meeting.

Poughkeepsie Branch Writers' Tea

How about champagne and chilled hors d'oeuvres, a silent auction of handcrafts and services, and three fine Hudson Valley authors who will share stories from their lives and their books.

Harvey Flad, "Main Street to Main Frame: Landscape and Social Change In Poughkeepsie"
Mia Mask, "Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film"
John Pielmeier, "Agnes of God," Screen Play

Join the Poughkeepsie Branch at their major fundraiser April 10, 2011, 3-7 pm. Accompanying the authors' presentations will be tableside service of assorted tea sandwiches, mini pastries and a selection of teas. For more information and a reservation form.

You asked for it -- One Member, One Vote:

The first AAUW elections for the National Board under the new by-laws change begin April 15. We will publish a special edition of the newsletter sharing the candidates' positions and how to vote.

From AAUW Washington Update

Several Republican Senators Stand with Planned Parenthood

In the wake of House-passed budget H.R.1, which in addition to making harmful cuts to a variety of critical education and health care programs, would halt all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, several Republican senators have come forward to criticize this measure and voice their support for women's health. This week, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) spoke out against the GOP's attacks on Planned Parenthood, saying "the proposal to eliminate all funding for family planning goes too far." Brown's statement follows a stream of Republicans voicing similar disapproval for their party's actions, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). It is unlikely that this attack on women's health will pass without the support of these three senators.

AAUW supports the right of every woman to safe, accessible, affordable and comprehensive family planning and reproductive health services. The recent attempts in the House to limit this right are unconscionable steps in the wrong direction.

Gainful Employment Regulation Scrutinized in House Hearing

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing last Thursday to once again discuss the Department of Education's regulations requiring for-profit colleges and other higher learning institutions to adequately prepare their students for "gainful employment." The proposed regulations are intended to protect students from schools that may take advantage of their need for financial assistance, overcharge, or fail to prepare students for jobs that lead to economic security. The proposal has received pushback from some members of Congress. For-profit advocates and lobbyists have taken steps to fight these regulations; the Association for Private Sector Colleges and Universities filed a lawsuit in January challenging the legality of the Department of Education's rules, which the Department of Justice recently asked a federal judge to dismiss.

AAUW strongly supports the Department of Education's commitment to making higher education affordable and accessible for all Americans. To ensure that higher education is an engine for workforce training and productivity we must help students find affordable programs that lead to economically secure careers. AAUW supports the Department's efforts to define gainful employment and to ensure schools are held accountable for meeting this standard.

You can receive weekly updates on issues in Washington and elsewhere important to women by subscribing to AAUW Washington Updates