Itanyan
“To grow by reason”
NORTHEAST METRO BRANCH
November 2013
Volume 36, No. 3
November Program
November 14th meeting
6:45 PM at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church
1965 County Road E, White Bear Lake
Crafting for the Holidays, with a felting project by Chris K
This is a time before the holidays to create some hand
crafted gifts. Last year we tried wet felting and made
felted soaps and a felted wall hanging. Everyone seemed
to enjoy the crafting. So we will try some new ideas and
create some hand-crafted items for the silent auctions and
gifts. One idea is to do some needle felting. This is a
process of punching yarn through a felted fabric. I'll bring some felted blankets and some
felted red fabric. My idea is to make bags from the blankets to sell at the auctions. We
can make ornaments from the red fabric.
Another idea is to work with pine cones. We will have two
different items to try: white paint-dipped pine comes and
yarn embellished pine cones. Be
sure to wear clothes that can get
wet and dirty. Since one craft
might not appeal to everyone, we
will have 3-4 stations so member
can choose what they want to do.
Chris has many pinecones but we
could use more. Please bring some if you have any.
Upcoming events
December 7: Holiday Brunch and Auction at Oak Glen Country Club
January 13: Ramsey County Sheriff
February 15: Valentine's Tea at the Avalon Tea Room and Pastry Shoppe at 2 PM
March 10: Viewing of the documentary “A Walk To Beautiful”
April 10: Bird watching in India by Nancy Fitzgerald; pack gifts for Solid Ground
May 12: Janet Streff from the MN Office of Energy Security
June 12: Salad Supper
Inside this issue:
OCT BRANCH MINUTES
CHARITABLE GIVING
2013-2014
2
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
3
HOLIDAY AUCTION
VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP
MESSAGE FROM DORIS
4
HOLIDAY AUCTION
5
FLYER AND INFO
LAF EXPRESS
6
AAUW INFORMATION
ITANYAN EDITOR
OFFICER LIST
7
Itanyan
October branch minutes
The October branch meeting was held at the White Bear Center for the Arts, and was preceded by a tour of the
facility by director Suzy Hudson. We were also given a pottery-making demonstration by an artist and dinner
catered by Margaux’s Table.
The meeting was called to order at 7:50 PM PM by president Chris Koentopp. 10 members were in attendance.
Changes were made to the membership directory, which was distributed to those present.
Committee Reports
Program: The November meeting will be crafting. Bring soap if you want to felt it. As a branch, one craft item will
be donated for the Holiday Auction and another to the State Convention’s silent auction.
Itanyan: Kathy asks for travel news and photos or other mentionable news to include in each issue.
Publicity: Information was circulated from national AAUW about protesting the government shutdown. Robbie sent
out the info, detailing how the shutdown harms women and children.
Unfinished Business:
Chris tallied the votes, and our branch will be giving our charitable contributions this year to World Banking ,
Lakeshore Players, and Civil Society.
Announcements:
Kathy invited members to Take Back the Campus, a rally at Hamline on October 17 from 4-6 PM. The rally raised
awareness of sexual violence and domestic violence by giving people a chance to speak out or network with local
organizations.
Robbie reported that the White Bear High School—South Campus writing center needs volunteers for their writing
lab. Contact principal Tim Wald if you are interested.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 PM.
Respectfully submitted by Kathy Burleson, Secretary
Selected groups for 2013-2014 charitable giving
The following organizations were voted as our picks for charitable giving this year by branch members:
Women's World Banking is the only microfinance network with an explicit focus on women. Their
network of 39 financial organizations from 28 countries provides small loans, sometimes as modest as $100,
to women to start their businesses. Customers use these loans in different ways to make a decent living and
support their families' basic needs. Many are able to send their kids to school for the first time, eat three
square meals a day, or make small home improvements that can actually have a significant effect on the
household. http://www.swwb.org/about/about-wwb
Civil Society provides help to victims of human trafficking, sexual assault, and abuse. http://
civilsocietyhelps.org/
Lakeshore Players Theater provides community enrichment opportunities through the performing arts. Our
branch has supported them in the past by donating towards a scholarship for girls. http://
www.lakeshoreplayers.com/index.html
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Volume 36, no. 3
Food for Thought: Hunger in the Suburbs
Food for Thought: Hunger in the Suburbs will be held Nov 7 at Century College, presented by COLLAGE.
Join us for an evening of art and conversation to explore the issue of hunger in our
community. This unique event features:
 soup dinner (in a handmade bowl for you to keep!)
 three original 10-minute plays
 a hosted discussion
 a sculpture made of canned goods created before your eyes
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here. No one will be turned away for inability to
pay. For sponsored tickets, call 651-773-8401 ext. 119. Help contribute to the sculpture by
bringing a non-perishable food item. All food will be donated to the White Bear Area Emergency Food Shelf.
COLLAGE is a collaboration of White Bear Lake area nonprofits working to raise social awareness using arts as a
catalyst. Partners include Solid Ground, Century College, Lakeshore Players Theatre, White Bear Area Emergency
Food Shelf and the White Bear Center for the Arts.
Message from the President
"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." Margaret Thatcher
When I need to write something I usually start by researching what others have already written. Not that I plagiarize,
but it gives me ideas. So I started like I usually do and went to Google and asked for 'AAUW presidents letter.'
First I reviewed the words of Beth Nienow, President of the Rochester (MN) Branch. She wrote about attending the
National Conference in New Orleans. I also linked into their website to get some ideas. Then I looked at what the
AAUW Toledo branch president, Michelle Radtkin, had to say. In September she quoted Maya Angelou about sharing
our stories. In October she asked her members: "How can we ensure our 20/20 vision becomes a reality in
2020?" That was what prompted my thoughts.
Last night I hosted my KnitWits group at my home. We hit on many subjects during our discussions but one stuck with
me. Ann asked if women have really progressed on equity issues. So I did some research. On the positive side,
this year we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Title IX. I also found out that in February we celebrated the 20th
anniversary of FMLA. I'm sure there are more positives. We can vote. We can own property. And others.
But further probing into AAUW posts pointed me to the gender pay gap information. I found out that Minnesota is
listed as #17 (80%) of the 50 states. DC is 1st at 90% and Wyoming is last at 64%. The average is still 77%. This
number has not budged in 10 years. The WRP, Women's Rights Project, is still fighting many of the same fights they
worked on in the 1970's under Ruth Bader Ginsburg's leadership. " Indeed, the top priorities of WRP in its first
decade remain our priorities four decades later: pregnancy discrimination, women's role in the military and single-sex
education based on gender stereotypes." https://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights-lgbt-rights-religion-belief/howfar-has-womens-movement-moved-last-40-years
So I really have been rambling. The message is that women have won some fights, but there are others that are still
there and different organizations have been working on them for years. As a branch we will do our best to help get
these and other issues permanently resolved. That is our mission.
Chris Koentopp, President
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Itanyan
Holiday auction volunteers needed
Annual request for Holiday Brunch Volunteers
Please contact event Co-chair, Linda Ruggles if you are able to volunteer!
Tasks:
Volunteers:
Runners: Stands by tables as tables close. Disburse items not picked up when a table
closes and to collect dollars during "dollar auction."
1.
Arrange auction tables: Sets up divisions of tables with ribbon, Helps disburse items
monetarily between tables, Stands by tables as tables close.
1.
2.
2.
3.
Check-in table: Greets members and guests giving them name tags and auction numbers
1. Clara Gray
Prepares Name tags/bid cards
1. Clara Gray
2. Joni Henry
2. Joni Henry
Thank you in advance for your willingness to help. And thank you again Clara and Joni for making name
tags and greeting our guests.
Holiday Brunch & Auction Co-Chairs,
Doris Morrison ([email protected])
Linda Ruggles ([email protected])
Holiday auction note
Northeast Metro, MN, AAUW Branch
… is composed of an amazing group of generous women!
You never cease to amaze me year after year with your wonderful donations to our annual
Holiday Auction Brunch.
You with all of your creative contributions, are what makes this fundraiser a FUN SUCCESS!
You are the reason people come back year after year to enjoy the day!
Thank You in advance for your fabulous contributions this year!
See you soon Doris Morrison
Holiday Brunch Co-chair
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Mission Statement:
AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research.
HAMLINE UNIVERSITY
Officers 2013-2014
President:
Chris Koentopp
Co-Vice Presidents for Membership:
Gail Van Horn and Nancy FitzGerald
Vice President for Programming:
Chris Koentopp
Co-Treasurers:
Margaret Cochran and Christine Johnson
Learn more about AAUW!
The American Association of University Women has promoted the
advancement of education of women and girls for over 120 years.
Learn more about our publications, leadership programs, and
scholarship opportunities at www.aauw.org
Take action! Visit the AAUW Public Policy site to find ways to get
your voice heard. www.aauw.org/act/issue_advocacy/
To access the Itanyan online and see other state branches, visit
aauwmn.net
Join the AAUW Facebook group to connect with the broader
community and get daily updates on AAUW issues.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/AAUWMembers/
Secretary:
Kathy Burleson
AAUW Funds Chair:
Doris Morrison
Newsletter Editor:
Kathy Burleson
Newsletter Editor:
Kathy Burleson
846 Arlington Ave W
St. Paul, MN 55117
[email protected]
Itanyan Editor
Please e-mail your submissions to me by the 20th
of each month. I will make sure the Itanyan is sent
out 2 weeks in advance of our meetings.
I welcome your news, photos, articles, interesting
links and anything else that you want me to
highlight in the newsletter. Please send them to
[email protected]