A message from the Co-President of AAUW
Marilyn Shankar & Heather Abushanab
This past year for AAUW Redlands Branch has been a huge success. An unprecedented number of new members joined our Branch in October. The Annual Boutique was exciting, and profitable, with the addition of products made by our Sew What! Group. We once again enjoyed the Holiday music from Rhymes with Orange. In January we held our first STEM Conference at Mt. San Jacinto College for 8th grade girls from the Beaumont and Banning School Districts. Next, the Public Policy committee held a very successful Candidates Forum at University of Redlands. This was followed by our Speech Trek. This was also the month that 8th-grade girls participated in the STEM Conference at University of Redlands. Gov Trek was held in February and March and the Inland Empire team was very successful. After a hiatus due to Covid, we held a Bridge Scramble in March that contributed greatly to our Mission fund. FilmFest was a great success and also was a profitable fundraiser.
In addition to all the above activities, the Program committee offered us a wide variety of topics at our Branch meetings that allowed us to learn and caused us to think outside of our individual bubbles. Community engagement increased this year due to our participation in Redlands Chamber of Commerce and Redlands Service Club Council. These gave us new opportunities and helped with more recognition. None of these programs and activities would have been possible or successful without the participation and support of all of you. I personally have made friends with many of you and had a lot of fun participating in many committees over the years. Thanks to each of you who were part of one or more of these committees. I encourage you to be as involved as your time permits. It is extremely rewarding.
This is my last newsletter article. It has been a privilege to serve as your co-president this past year, with special thanks to Heather for her extra commitment during my health issues. We are very fortunate to have Heather continue as President next year. Thanks to Tricia Stubbs and the nominating committee, the Board for 2024-2025 is exceptional. The future of Redlands Branch is in good hands.
Marilyn Shankar, Co-President
AAUW Redlands Branch
Juneteenth Event
We will have a booth at the 7th Annual Redlands Juneteenth Celebration. Mark your calendar for Sunday, June 16th in Sylvan Park. The Juneteenth Event is sponsored by the City of Redlands, Unity in the Community, Redlands Police Department, and The Village Second Baptist Church and will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This will be our third year participating in this event. Our participation in Juneteenth allows us to increase awareness of AAUW, support our community, address diversity goals, and perform outreach. Last year we had more than twenty members participate in planning, organizing, and staffing the event. AAUW members were able to circulate at the event, see the other booths, hand out fans and information cards, and connect with each other and with the community. Come join us!
Learn More About AAUW
If you are interested in joining AAUW, or have questions, please contact us at Membership@AAUWRedlands.org.