Dear Members of Redlands AAUW and Interested Readers:

 My name is Sue Wallace and I have the pleasure of serving as president of the Redlands branch of AAUW for the 2020-21 year.  This will be a challenging year for our organization and so many others.  Our interest groups and service projects, for the most part, are centered around close social activities and we will have to make adjustments to meet the guidelines for COVID-19 social distancing.  Our mission is to empower women to attain leadership roles both in the workplace and in their community.  Working together with other branches in California and throughout the nation our goal is to achieve gender equality in education, economic security, and leadership.  

Locally we have worked through our STEM projects to broaden the vision of our young female students to aspire to reach out into careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  At this point we may not be able to do this in our normal way of providing a day long seminar for 8th grade girls to hear the experiences of women leaders in those fields in an open social forum.  However, we will work together to provide that opportunity even if it is an online experience.  We will be adjusting our normal fundraising activities to raise funds to provide scholarship opportunities to students who plan on expanding their education beyond high school.  Our many interest groups which involve social, educational, and service opportunities for our members will be finding ways to alter their programs so that we can continue to social distance.  This will require changes but I know that our membership has many innovative ideas on how to make these adjustments.

November Updates

I know everyone is so glad this election year is about to come to a close. However, I want to take a few minutes to discuss the importance of voting, not just in this election year but whenever we have an election. In our system of government, we are privileged to have our individual rights protected by our Constitution. We have a tendency to stress our rights as citizens, but with those rights are also responsibilities. The most important of these responsibilities, as a good citizen, is to vote. A republican form of government depends upon an educated populace participating in the election process. For women, especially, who did not even receive the right to vote nationwide until 1920, voting should not be seen as just a right but a responsibility. We need to pay our respects to those women who fought so long and hard to get us that right to vote by using it whenever we have an opportunity. Many people say, “I have no interest in politics.” But that’s not true. Everyone has an interest in politics because politics is how we decide who will represent our views in our political system. To refuse to participate by not voting is relinquishing your individual right to participate in our democracy. have for a number of years served as a poll worker in our elections. As a poll worker you are required to attend a two-hour training workshop before each election. A number of changes were introduced this year because of the pandemic. Every person was sent a mail-in ballot. You can use that ballot to vote or choose to do so in person. Polling places will be open for four days this time, October 31-November 2 from 10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. and November 3 from 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Masks are required. I highly recommend if you vote in person, take your mail-in ballot with you to surrender. If you choose to use your mail in ballot, my recommendation is to drop it in one of the official drop boxes or take it to the polling place on the four election days. No matter how you choose to vote, VOTE!

If you are interested in joining AAUW, or have questions, please contact us at membership@aauw-redlands-ca.org pr follow us on our facebook page, AAUW Redlands.

Sue Wallace

President, AAUW Redlands branch