By Sheryl Swingley—
MUNCIE, IN—The annual membership meeting of the Muncie Branch of the American Association of University Women will take place from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 25, at Ivy Tech Community College, 345 S. High St.
The meeting is open to the public and people interested in joining AAUW.
The meeting’s speaker will be Jennifer Gasiorek, who is vice chancellor for workforce partnerships and strategic communications. The title of her speech is “Empowering Students to Succeed.”
Following Gasiorek’s presentation, a tour of Ivy Tech’s facilities will be available for those who would like to see teaching and learning labs, such as those for crime simulation, science experiments and innovation.
Meeting attendees should enter Ivy Tech’s building from Charles Street. There is free parking on the street and in green and blue Ivy Tech lots.
Those eligible for membership must have at least an associate degree or another advanced degree. Men and non-binary people who share AAUW’s mission of equality also are welcome. You do not need to be employed at a university. However, every branch of AAUW is affiliated with a university. The Muncie Branch is affiliated with Ball State University. Dues are $81 a year.
Projects the Muncie Branch of AAUW supports are as follows:
- One to four $1,500-$2,000 scholarships awarded annually to non-traditional students at Ball State University or Ivy Tech.
- $100 donation to Ball State Guardian Scholars program, which provides an on-campus “home” and support for students who become emancipated from foster care at the age of 18. Individual AAUW members also donate items for holiday baskets for the students.
- $100 donation to Indiana Coalition for Public Education, which is another organization some of our members also belong to.
- Local Science Fair awards of $100 to high school winner, $75 to middle school winner and $50 to elementary school winner.
- Host annual meeting in January on the state of education in Indiana at MOMS to call attention to that organization’s good work for literacy and childhood development in Muncie.
- Donate fiction and non-fiction books not purchased at AAUW / IPR Used Book Sale go to projects Branch members support, e.g., women’s prison. Children’s books not purchased go to the Ross Community Center and local Little Free Libraries. IPR staffers distribute books to the Little Free Libraries in the Muncie Community. The Muncie Mission or the local teachers store picks up the leftover books from the sale to support its operations.
This year’s used book sale activities in Assembly Hall at the Ball State Alumni Center will start on Saturday, May 27, and run from Tuesday, May 30, through Saturday, June 3, which is the day attendees can buy a grocery bag of books for $5.
Overall, AAUW empowers girls and women. Check out the https://www.aauw.org/ website if you haven’t recently.
Questions about the Muncie Branch of AAUW and the used book sale may be directed to AAUW member, Sheryl Swingley, sswingley@bsu.edu.
