Dear Friends & Members,
For 85 years, our small but mighty local American Association of University Women (AAUW) branch has been dedicated to advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.
This year, we have a lot to be proud of and grateful for. On behalf of the AAUW Salem County NJ Branch, we’d like to say thank you for your support. With your contributions in 2022, we’ve been able to support women’s causes right here in Salem County as well as support efforts with AAUW National to shape national policies that advance equal opportunities for women.
12 Initiatives We’re Thankful for This Year Thanks to Your Support:
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Supporting Girls in STEM: Sponsored 1 7th grader to attend Tech Trek hosted by Stockton University
At Tech Trek, girls are immersed in a world that empowers and encourages them to think about themselves as future scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and computer specialists. We were happy to sponsor Hannah Gaughan from Woodstown! Hannah has stayed involved with our branch and volunteered to help us execute our Witches Brew event in October. We look forward to seeing Hannah thrive in her high school academic career and beyond!
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College Scholarships: Gave 2 high school seniors the $1,000 Nancy Timberman Memorial Award
Congratulations to Hope Campbell (now a Rowan University freshman) and Nia Newton (now an Old Dominion University freshman) for this award. We are so proud of your accomplishments, and thrilled for the opportunities that lay ahead for you both!
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Leadership Training: Sponsored 1 college woman to NCCWSL
Congratulations to Carly Timberman for virtually attending (two years in a row!) the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL), an AAUW conference to foster networking and leadership training among college women. Carly graduated with an impressive 3.8 GPA in Computer Science from Rowan University this past May–we’re proud of your hard work! NCCWSL will return to being in-person next year and we plan to send two students in 2023.
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Women’s Shelter Donations: $225 in gift cards and 6 small appliances
Every December we support Salem County Women’s Services which helps women and children escape domestic abuse and assault and start a new life in a new home.
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Voucher Program: $150* Distributed for Urgent Needs
On an at-need basis, local applicants request support from our branch’s fund to help pay for medical, car, insurance bills, and other necessities. *We’re still tallying the grand total of funds distributed this year, so this number may increase!
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Raised $431 for the Greatest Needs Fund
The fund supports and increases AAUW National’s agility to support and respond to critical issues as they arise – whether it’s a new threat to Title IX, an opportunity to partner with employers, or the dawn of a social justice movement like #MeToo.
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Featured Speakers: 3 amazing speakers at our events and meetings
Thank you to Eugenia Lynch, Esq. and Gaynel Schneeman for presenting at Witches Brew this Fall! Earlier this spring, we also had the honor to hear from Alfia Tomarchio about writing her story in Women Who Empower.
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Witches Brew: Raised $882 and gained new members!
Thank you to everyone who came to enjoy soups, participate in our witches hat contest, and learn about women’s rights (or lack thereof) from 1692 – 2022 in America. Check out the photos and great memories here.
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Boscov’s Fundraiser garners $200 for General Fund
We raised $200 in Boscov’s Gift Card Sales to support branch activities throughout the year!
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Pecan Sales for General Fund: We raised $541.00 to support our branch and program activities.
We have 18 1 lb bags still to sell! Send us a message if you’d like to secure your pecans today.
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Reached 6,300+ with our Facebook launch.
We’ve seen great results in getting the word out using our newly launched Facebook page! In the last 90 days alone, our page has reached 6,300 people, with 472 people having liked/commented/shared our posts. To date, we have 48 page followers and counting. On Instagram, we have 114! Special shout out to Fabio Murgia who has volunteered to use his incredible design talents to create social media and event graphics for our organization. We appreciate you!
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New Members: 8 women joined our branch!
We’re excited to welcome Catherine Bobbitt, Teresita Lenchitz, Sheila Palmer, Susan Remster, Natalie Seiple, Nicole Stemberger, Amanda Webb-Davidson, and Natalie Wulderk. We’d like to thank our existing members and officers for your time, effort, and delicious food you bring to meetings that make all these initiatives possible.
P.S. Men are also encouraged to become members! 🙂
5 Ways You Can Continue Support for AAUW:
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Buy a bag(s) of Pecans! We have 18 bags to sell to reach our goal – please reply to this email if you’re interested.
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Donate, if you’re able, to our branch for the charitable activities mentioned above! Our Venmo is @AAUW-Salem-County-Branch. We also accept cash and check.
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Forward this email to share our wonderful programs and mission with family and friends.
Thank you again for your support this year and we hope to see you at our events and activities in 2023!
Happy Holidays,
AAUW Salem County NJ Branch