A Message from the President of AAUW

Heather Abushanab

A Message from the President

One of the benefits of being on the branch board, and even more so as the branch president, is getting a very “big picture” view of the branch. I’ve seen how our membership has rebounded after Covid and now has exploded well beyond any numbers we have had in the past. I’ve gotten to hear ideas about various directions for our branch from thoughtful board and branch members.  I get reports from committees and interest groups even when I can’t attend, and I have learned a lot about how things operate in our branch.

Our membership is now the largest it has ever been.  Some of that growth came from sad circumstances with the closing of the Hemet branch and the slow decline of the Riverside branch. Some of it has come from an unexpected source: our FilmFest. Over the last two years, many women who had never heard of AAUW before were invited to FilmFest by friends or even stumbled upon it while looking for an evening activity. There they enjoyed a welcomed night out but were also introduced to the mission of AAUW and made aware of the amazing branch we have here in Redlands.

Many of the women we have gained through this avenue are younger than our traditional, recently retired, new member demographic. These younger women have less time available to them because they are still juggling work, family, and other responsibilities. They join AAUW for the same reasons we all joined: (1) the mission of advancing equity for women and girls through education, empowerment and advocacy, and (2) the fellowship of a diverse group of women who are committed to the mission. Their schedules make it difficult for them to participate in many of our interest groups. They attend branch meetings when they can and mingle with other members, but such a large event makes getting to know people challenging.
This month, we held our first informal Meet-Up event targeted at this younger group of women. Tansu Philip, the owner of Viva La Boba on Orange Street, agreed to open her shop an hour early on a Saturday so that we could have a place to gather informally and chat with each other. Roughly a dozen women dropped in to try out Tansu’s Boba (or coffee for some!) and enjoyed an hour of conversation and fellowship. Many people who could not attend expressed hope that there will be more of these scheduled in the future. Amy, Kathryn, and I will be looking for opportunities over the next few months to schedule a few more and exploring with those interested how we might form a new interest group to meet the needs of this younger demographic. It is never our intention to exclude anyone from these events, so if you are feeling younger on the day of one of these events, please come and Meet Up! As plans develop, more information will be provided in upcoming newsletters

Heather Abushanab
President, AAUW Redlands Branch