Newsletter of the Makefield Area Branch

Newsletter of the Makefield Area Branch,
Volume 20, Number 1
September 2015
Makefield Area AAUW Branch Programs 2015-2016
INSIDE

Thursday, September 10 at 7 pm at Attleboro Retirement Village, Meg
McSweeney, Chief Operating Officer, David Library of the American
Revolution: “History of the Library.”

Tuesday, October 20 at 7:30 pm at Sunrise Assisted Living (upstairs).
Amy Kaissar, co-producer of the Broadway show, “Fun Home” will present “Behind the Scenes on Broadway.”

Tuesday, November 17 at 7:30 pm at Sunrise (upstairs), Francine Block,
Certified Educational Planner, will present “How College Search Has
Changed From When We Went To School.”

Wednesday, December 2 at 6:30 pm, holiday party at the home of Eileen
Heitman, 343 Richard Road, Yardley.

Tuesday, January 19, at 7:30 pm Sunrise (upstairs), Patti Sheehy, author,
will present the voices behind her book, “The Boy Who Said No”.

Saturday in February at the Lower Makefield Township Bldg, Date TBA,
Urban Boat Works, a STEM program, featuring boat building.

March at BCCC with date TBA, Kathy Quinn, PhD, JD, will present
“Tech and Translation, New Careers in the Language Industry".
Tuesday, April 19 at 7:30 pm at Sunrise (upstairs), Kathy Bennett,
Associate Director, NOVA, Network of Victim Assistance, will present
“Human Trafficking”.
Branch Events ……...cover
Management Team Letter..2
AAUW-State & National
& Local……….…...............3
Continuing Interest
Groups...............................7
Calendar........................... 8


Monday, May 2 at 7 pm Girls Recognition Reception at Charles Boehm
Middle School.

Tuesday, June 7, 6:30 pm Annual Awards Dinner at Garden of Eatin’
Woodbourne Road, Levittown.
Other 2015-2016 Events

PA District East Meeting: October 3 at Cedar Crest College in Allentown,
PA, 10 am to 2 pm.

STEMgirlz 2015 Saturday, October 17, 9 am to 4 pm at Bucks County
Community College.
Connections
Page 2
A Message from your Management Team
Dear Members,
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Acting Presidents
Sept, May Carol Kurland
Oct: Kathy Quinn
Nov, March: Dori Kramer
Dec, April: Alice Snare
Jan: Maureen Gross
Feb: Carol Dubas
June: Kathy Shaginaw
Membership VP
Awaiting to be filled
Carol Dubas (National Contact)
Program VPs
Carol Kurland
Frances Strickberger
Patti Santoro
Finance Officer
Kathy Quinn
Secretary
Kate Sweeney (Board)
Alice Snare (Branch)
Administrative Officer
Carol Dubas
Executive Committee
Kate Sweeney, Chair; Dori Kramer, Alt., Maureen Gross, Kathy
Shaginaw, Kathy Quinn
COMMITTEE COORDINATORS
Communications
Maureen Gross, Patti Santoro
Bylaws & Policies
Kathleen Thrush Shaginaw
Girls’ Recognition Reception
Eva Miller, Theresa Ricci
Let’s Read Math
Eileen Heitman
Fundraising
Valerie Monkowski, Barbara
Shandelman, Kate Sweeney,
Carol Kurland
Scholarship
Harriet Freidenreich, Pat Kolle
Publicity
Open Position
OTHER
AAUW Funds
Kristin Sullivan
Good and Welfare
Miriam Nachman
Historian
Doris Kramer
Hospitality
Susan Bingley
Member Listserv
Amy Lowenstein
STEM Chair
Kathleen Thrush Shaginaw
Website & Directory
We begin the 48th year of our branch, this time as a 501(c)(3) organization, Our
organizational meeting was officially held on June 11, 2015.This enables the
branch, now known as AAUW Makefield Area Branch, Inc. to function as a tax
exempt organization. A donation made to the branch can be claimed as a
charitable donation. A special thanks to Kathy Quinn and Kathy Shaginaw who
spent considerable time achieving this goal.
We installed the new governing board in June at the awards dinner held at the
Garden of Eatin’. The Board of Directors includes: Kathy Quinn, Fran Strickberger,
Kathy Shaginaw, Maureen Gross, Kate Sweeney, Dori Kramer, Carol Kurland,
Carol Dubas, Eva Miller and Alice Snare. For a second year the evening was a
great success. Food was delicious and the socialization lots of fun. The
following awards were given to members: Outstanding Woman: Maureen Gross;
Spotlight Award: Susan Bingley; and Helen Sudhaus Award: Kate Sweeney.
Congratulations to all!! Bea Donini capably served as the installing officer.
The initial Board meeting for the year will be held on Tuesday, September 1 at
7:30 pm at Sunrise Assisted Living of Yardley in the first floor dining room. All
members are welcome to attend. The first Branch meeting will be held on Thursday, September 10 at 7 pm at Attleboro in Langhorne. Upon their request to
accommodate the residents, this meeting will be held earlier than our usual
beginning time.
Committees that will be operating in the new year are: Scholarship, Fundraising,
Communications (including Connections), Let’s Read Math, Girls Recognition
Reception, Bylaws and Policies, Membership, Program, and Finance. Kathy
Shaginaw continues to need help for the PAGES™ program and Arta Szathmary
will chair a new STEM program at BCCC. If interested in assisting, contact Arta at
215-295-1415.
Board members have accepted responsibility for chairing various committees.
However, additional help is needed from the membership, since all the required
functions cannot be accomplished by a single person. There are also numerous
other supportive functions needing willing hands, such as the website, LISTSERV,
good and welfare and hospitality. Please feel free to contact the leaders to offer
your assistance. The new Directory available in October will inform you of the appropriate person to contact.
Thanks to the various organizations that have provided the branch with free space
to hold both the board and branch meetings. We are grateful to the Sunrise Assisted Living of Yardley, Attleboro Retirement and at a later time, the Lower Makefield
Township Building. When you have the opportunity, please express your thanks.
Look forward to greeting you at the opening branch meeting on September 10 that
Attleboro.
Carol Kurland Acting President for September
Connections is published nine times a year by the Makefield Area Branch AAUW. Deadline for submission is the 14th day of the month
preceding the month of publication. Send submissions to: [email protected].
Volume 20, Number 1
Page 3
Knowledge Transfer:
AAUW National —Washington DC. June 14–17, 2017.
Sad news
save the date now!
Ann Grossman’s husband, "Butch" passed away.
This Labor Day, make sure you understand the Family and
Medical Leave Act, which allows eligible employees to take
up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for
certain serious health conditions or family obligations without professional retaliation. http://www.aauw.org/whatwe-do/legal-resources/know-your-rights-at-work/family-and
-medical-leave-act/
Our website—Get Connected
See Connections online: makefield-pa.aauw.net. Here is the log-in
AAUW State
District East Meeting, October 3, 2015, Cedar Crest
College, Allentown, PA, 10 am-2 pm.
Please join your AAUW members at our annual District
East Meeting The Allentown Branch has graciously
offered to host us this year.
 Our featured speakers this year are Carol Tracy
from the Women’s Law Project in Philadelphia
and our own Public Policy gurus, Toni Hoffman
and Susan McNamara.
 Carol Tracy will talk to us about Gender Equity in
Pennsylvania and how we can help to get bills
passed to update our state.
 Toni and Susan will talk to us about the new Public
Policy grant and GOTV.
 Lunch will be a box lunch and I will send that
information separately as well as directions to the
college. The registration desk will open at 9:30 am
with coffee and tea provided.
Sept 2015 Keystoner
http://aauw-pa.aauw.net/files/2015/07/201509-AAUW-PAKeystoner-E-News.pdf
Highlights:
 Recap on summer retreat and the national convention
 Plans for AAUW fall district meetings – One right here
in ALLENTOWN – October 3rd
 AAUW-PA public policy report
 AAUW-PA year-end financial statement
 AAUW-PA Education Committee priorities
 AAUW college connections
 Branch Bits & Pieces
 Branch Archiving: Save, Send or Toss? – article by our
own LINDA ROBBINS
2016 AAUW-PA Convention
Save the date: April 15-17, 2016 for the convention
will at the Chateau Resort and Conference Center, Tannersville, PA. The date changed from the original one.
information for the two password protected pages on the
website:
Branch Newsletter page: Connections
Branch Archives page: makefieldpa
The links are to the right on the home page. The archive page
contains bylaws and meeting minutes, etc.
Volunteer opportunities await….don’t hesitate. We need someone to help on various committee. We need your help today!
Meeting Dates
The Branch Board, 501(c)(3), will meet the second Tuesday of the
month. The Action Fund Board 501(c)(4) may also meet at this time.
Branch membership meetings will be scheduled for the third
Tuesday of the month unless programming dictates otherwise.
Scholarships
 AAUW Makefield has been the recipient of a check for $15,000
from the Paul and Carol H. Kurland Philanthropic Fund for the
creation of a scholarship fund in honor of Carol's daughter.
Carol has asked that the scholarship be titled "In memory of
Amy Kurland Toney, daughter of Carol and Paul Kurland." The
donation is specified to be for scholarships for mature women.
Our thanks to the Kurland family. The Scholarship Committee
will want to take this into account in its planning and proposals
for scholarships for the coming year.
Thank you to Carol for the generous donation to help women
return to complete their college education.

An anonymous donation of $500 to be used as scholarship, or
part of a scholarship for HS Seniors in the Spring, was submitted.
This kind contribution is "in honor of Fran Strickberger's long
and dedicated service to the Makefield Area AAUW Branch."
Welcome to our fiscal 2016 year. Thank you for being part of
the Makefield Area Branch which serves the Yardley-Newtown
area and surrounding communities of historic Bucks County,
Pennsylvania. Let’s make a difference!
Page 4
Connections
STEMgirlz—Arta Szathmary, a member of
our branch and a faculty member at Bucks
County Community College (BCCC), is planning a STEM event on Saturday, October
17th as a cooperative venture between the
college and our branch. You may not know
that BCCC recently became a National
AAUW partner, thanks to Arta. The
STEM event will be daylong, requiring branch
participation as volunteers and possible presenters. The college will provide the facility
and lunch for attendees, as well as in-person
assistance on the day of the event. There
will be anticipated help from college students.
STEMgirlz at BCCC this Fall
One of the highest priorities of AAUW is to serve middle school girls. http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/
stem-education/branch-programs/ Makefield Area AAUW and STEM department at Bucks County
Community College are planning for our first STEMgirlz Conference.
Save the date! Saturday October 17, 2015. Save the time! 9 am to 4 pm.
Registration is open for girls, so please share the information with friends and parents of middle school
girls. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stem-girlz-tickets-17905977260
Session Description Each Session will be 1 hour long. There will be approximately 5 girls, a leader,
a college student and an AAUW member. Each session will be a hands-on activity workshop which
will be repeated 4 times by the leader. Girlz, college student and AAUW member will move to new
location each hour.
We need many volunteers to make this a success. 20 concurrent presenters, 20 College Students, 20
AAUW members.
AGENDA
8:30 Registration
& Refreshments
12:00 Lunch
9:00 Welcome
Assembly
1:00 Session 3
9:30 Session 1
2:15 Session 4
10:45 Session 2
3:30 Closing
Assembly
We need AAUW volunteers to be assigned to the small groups (5 to 6 girls). You will
accompany them to the 4 presentations and chat with them about your own life
experiences. We will also have a current college student volunteer with each group. We
also need volunteers for registration desk. Also need a volunteer who could take pictures
throughout the day. If you have STEM skills, we could put them to work. Please email
[email protected] if you can volunteer.
For more info on the event:
https://www.smore.com/app/pages/preview/fn9dp
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stemgirlz-tickets-17905977260?team_reg_type=individual
Volume 20, Number 1
Page 5
Thanks to our local sponsors! Please patronize them and let them know you saw their
advertisement in AAUW Makefield’s Connections newsletter.
Page 6
Connections
Jewelry Needed
We are planning on having another jewelry sale in the Spring of 2016. Our stock is
fairly low, so we welcome your contributions of gently used jewelry to add to our
current merchandise which is stored in a member’s garage.
Earrings, pins, necklaces, bracelets, watches, rings, craft beads, as well as men’s jewelry attract
customers and add to our fund raising income for the branch. As soon as a date becomes available, you
will be informed. Usually our sale of jewelry is held at the Levittown Library during their book sale.
Volunteers are always needed to help set up and serve as sales persons. Bring your jewelry to any
branch meeting or call Carol Kurland at 215-949-2489 to arrange pickup.
VOTER REGISTRATION VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Makefield Area branch belongs to Bucks County Women's Advocacy Coalition (BCWAC). Join a short
term collaborative project with other Bucks County women interested in registering high school and
college students for upcoming local elections.
The 2015 elections of Judges, School Board, County Commissioners, and local offices happens on
Tuesday, November 3rd. The BCWAC, League of Women Voters of Bucks County, AAUW-Doylestown
and AAUW Levittown-Lower Bucks are teaming up again to Get Out The Vote.
We have updated our GOTV toolkit for organizations and agencies and we are looking for new volunteers to train to help register students at high schools and colleges in Bucks County.
Contact Peggy Dator to learn more. Click here to download and share the GOTV Why Vote handout.
See more AAUW National info, at Celebrate
National Voter Registration Day! http://www.aauw.org/resource/organize-a-voter-registration-drive/
,
Annual June Award Dinner
This year’s dinner was a packed event with time to socialize and recognize. At left, see a collage of
your AAUW Makefield members at our revisit to the Garden of Eatin’. They again served us well,
no pun intended, with a private room, delicious
meal including a refreshing dessert.
Dori Kramer led us through a delightful recap of
the year and Bea Donini chaired the award
presentations. Thanks to all who helped make
2015 a great year for the branch. We are hoping
for other members, new and existing, to get more
involved as we start the 2016 year to ensure our
continued success.
Volume 20, Number 1
Interest Groups
Daytime Literature –This
book group meets the third
Tuesday of the month at 1
pm, Sept. through May.
We each choose to read
and report on whatever we
want monthly and once a year we read
and discuss the same book. A warm, fun,
and open-minded group of ladies, would be
delighted to welcome visitors and/or new members. Please don't hesitate to contact Sharon
Abrahams, Chairperson, with any questions.
(215) 750-6921 or [email protected].
Bookmarks–a daytime Literature group
that meets at noon on the 3rd Monday of
each month. Each member chooses a book
and gives a brief review at the meeting. We
invite all members who love to read to attend.
There is no September 2015 meeting.
The next event is on October 19 at the
home of Bernice Heriot, 3225 Fonthill
Ct, Langhorne. Contact Becky Evinski
for additional information at 215-968-5453.
Evening Book Salon–Meets the first Thursday
of each month. Group members all read the
same book and come together for an eveningdiscussion. All group members help decide on
Page 7
future books. Contact Kristin Sullivan at 215-369-2852 or
[email protected].
Writers’ Group–a small support group of enthusiastic writers who meet monthly around
Langhorne. New members or visitors are welcome. Contact Gail Stringer at 215-295-7149,
[email protected] or Manerva
Lescher to find out meeting dates /
times.
Trivial Pursuit–Normally on the 3rd Thursday
or Saturday of a month, the September Trivial Pursuit will meet the
***4th*** Saturday, September 26, at
1:30 at Helen Sudhaus's place. For
more info, contact Amy Lowenstein at 267987-2667 or [email protected].
Meets on an asneeded basis to plan programs for children or
to arrange training programs for adults. Find
out how to HAVE FUN WITH MATH! Contact
Claire Passantino at [email protected] or 215493-0458.
UPDATE YOUR CALENDARS — BCWAC's Fall 2015 activities are not to be missed!
 Friday, September 25th, 9:30-11:30 am at Pennswood Village. Special guest speaker, Fritz Walker, Ph.D. on the topic of
gun safety and violence prevention.
An organic chemist by profession, Dr. Walker was profoundly effected by the December 14, 2012 shooting in Newtown,
CT. He started attending various events hosted by organizations devoted to gun violence prevention, and also began a
course of self-study to educate himself on the causes of gun violence in America and what could be done to reduce the
tragic toll gun homicides, suicides and accidents take year after year on our society.
 Fritz serves on the Board of Directors of CeaseFirePA, is a Lehigh Valley team lead for Everytown for Gun Safety, and the
state Gun Violence Prevention Lead for Organizing for Action. He is a frequent contributor of op-ed pieces dealing with
gun violence prevention for local publications such as the Lehigh Valley's Morning Call.

 Who Cares? The Economics of Caregiving . A symposium with nationally known experts on caregivers, employers and
legislatorsFriday, October 30th, 9am-2pm, Montgomery County Community College. The symposium is co-sponsored by:
Bucks County Women's Advocacy Coalition, Aging Adults Services Montgomery County, Bucks County Area Agency on
Aging
Montgomery County Women's Center. Keynote speaker: Gail Gibson Hunt, President and CEO of National Alliance for
Caregiving. Special Guest comments: Teresa Osborne, PA Secretary of Aging.
Check local cable for notice of each branch meeting
channel 20
CHANNEL 22
Sept 2015
Sun
Mon
Daytime Literature
on vacation until
Sep.
6
Tue
1
Wed
2
Thu
3
Board Meeting
7
8
Fri
Sat
4
5
11
12
Book Salon
9
10
Branch Mtg
Attleboro 7pm
13
14
15
Daytime Book
Group 1pm Sharon Abrahams
16
17
18
19
21
22
23
24
25 BCWAC: Guns &
violence prevention
9:30-11:30 am
Pennswood Village
26 Trivial
Rosh Hashanah
starts
20
27
28
29
30
BCWAC = BCWAC is Bucks County Women's Action Coalition
Bookmarks is on hiatus this month.
MAKEFIELD AREA AAUW
2009 Woodland Drive
Yardley, PA 19067
FIRST CLASS—DATED MATERIAL
Makefield Area Branch AAUW
v i s i t u s o n t h e w e b : h t t p : / / m a k e f i e l d - p a . a a u w. n e t /
Pursuit Helen
Sudhaus’ 1:30pm
30
Writers’ Group
(refer to group)