AAUW’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative webinars

End 2024 on a high note and unlock opportunities for personal and professional growth with the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Join our empowering webinars this November and December, designed specifically for women, to enhance your career and financial skills and set yourself up for success in the new year.
Register:
https://www.aauw.org/resources/programs/womens-economic-empowerment-initiative/

Upcoming Webinars:

AAUW Money Smart: Smart Future
Date: November 21, 2024
Time: 3 – 4 p.m. ET
Gain vital personal finance skills to ensure long-term financial security, from budgeting basics to savvy investment strategies.

AAUW Work Smart: Refresher
Date: December 3, 2024
Time: 3 – 4 p.m. ET
If you’ve previously participated in any Start Smart, Work Smart or Work Smart Online programs, this is a perfect opportunity to brush up on your skills.

Fundamentals of Saving for Retirement
Date: December 5, 2024
Time: 12 – 1 p.m. ET
This session is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and tools needed to effectively plan and save for a secure retirement. By the end of the session, participants will have a foundation to make informed financial decisions. This session is being presented by our partner, The FINRA Investor Education Foundation.

AAUW Work Smart/Start Smart Deep Dive: Developing Your Value Statement
Date: December 10, 2024
Time: 3 – 4 p.m. ET
Understanding and articulating your value is crucial for successful salary negotiation. In this session, explore how to develop your Value Statement, the first step in the Salary Negotiation process: Knowing Your Value.

AAUW Money Smart Deep Dive: Budget and Credit Management
Date: December 17, 2024
Time: 3 – 4 p.m. ET
The AAUW Money Smart program is aimed at providing all women with the personal finance information they need to ensure their own financial security. Learn the ins and outs of budgeting and understand how to manage your existing credit and debt. We will cover how to set up a budget and how to improve your credit.

Our webinars are designed not just to educate but to transform. They provide practical, actionable strategies that empower you to take charge of your career and financial future.

Warm regards,
Deborah McCall
Senior Program Manager
American Association of University Women (AAUW)

P.S. Share this opportunity with others who might benefit. Your recommendation can make a significant difference in another woman’s life.

Our Fall Luncheon was a success!

The AAUW Kingston Fall Luncheon, held on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at Reginato Ristorante in Lake Katrine, was a success! Many branch members, guests, and 16 students attended.

We heard from local author Susan Stessin-Cohn as she shared details of a new website developed in connection with the Ulster County Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She revealed stories from her new book, Bearing Witness: Exploring the Legacy of Enslavement in Ulster County, which documents a handful of notable Black residents of Ulster County, from the early days of enslavement under the Dutch and English, to the blossoming of free Black culture in the era following New York’s legal abolition of slavery in 1827.

Susan is a professional genealogist and a former professor of Education at SUNY New Paltz. She served as Director of Education at Historic Huguenot Street, and chair of the New Paltz Historic Land Commission. Susan co-curated several exhibits focusing on the history of the Hudson Valley on topics such as: slavery, 19th-century women’s needlework, poverty and the poorhouse system, the Civil War, and the Lenape People. She is currently the Historian for the Town of New Paltz, New York and serves as co-chair of the New Paltz Historical Society. Susan is also an award-winning quilter and currently resides in New Paltz with her husband Robert where they raised their four children, Mikael, Evan, Adam and Aliyah.

2024 General Election Information
Election Day: Tuesday, November 5
Please get out and vote.
Encourage your friends, family, and co-workers to vote too.
For more info, see: https://www.vote411.org

We have federal, state, and county races, and 1 state proposition.
Ulster County has 2 propositions.
For Ulster County sample ballots and propositions, see:
https://elections.ulstercountyny.gov/sample-ballots-2/

Turn Your Ballot Over!
There are some important propositions on the back of the ballot.
There is a proposal to amend the NYS Constitution – the state Equal rRghts Amendment (NY-ERA). More info: https://www.nyequalrights.org/
In addition, there are 2 proposals to amend the Ulster County Charter.

Polls are open in our area from 6 AM to 9 PM.
Call or text me if you or someone you know needs a ride to the polls.
Susan H., 845-389-3961, susan-holland@usa.net

Board of Elections websites
– NYS: http://www.elections.ny.gov/
– Ulster County: https://elections.ulstercountyny.gov/
– Dutchess County: https://elections.dutchessny.gov/

AAUW Kingston Fall Luncheon
Saturday, November 2, 2024
11 AM to 2 PM
Reginato Ristorante
34 Leggs Mills Road
Lake Katrine

Join us for an afternoon with the author Susan Stessin-Cohn as she shares the new website, developed in connection with the Ulster County Truth and Reconciliation Commission. During the presentation, she will reveal stories from her new book, Bearing Witness: Exploring the Legacy of Enslavement in Ulster County, which documents a handful of notable Black residents of Ulster County, from the early days of enslavement under the Dutch and English, to the blossoming of free Black culture in the era following New York’s legal abolition of slavery in 1827.

Susan is a professional genealogist and a former professor of Education at SUNY New Paltz.
She served as Director of Education at Historic Huguenot Street, and chair of the New Paltz Historic Land Commission. Susan co-curated several exhibits focusing on the history of the Hudson Valley on topics such as: slavery, 19th-century women’s needlework, poverty and the poorhouse system, the Civil War, and the Lenape People. She is currently the Historian for the Town of New Paltz, New York and serves as co-chair of the New Paltz Historical Society. Susan is also an award-winning quilter and currently resides in New Paltz with her husband Robert where they raised their four children, Mikael, Evan, Adam and Aliyah.

Menu:
House salad, choice of dressing
Sorbet
Entree – choice of:
Eggplant Rollatini
Chicken Parmesan
Fish Almondine
Chicken Francese
– All come with a side dish of pasta
Cannoli or ice cream
Coffee or tea
Food orders will be taken in the restaurant
Cash bar

50/50 drawing and door prizes

Cost: $40 for members, $45 non-members
This is a fundraiser event for our student scholarships. Donations are welcome.

Please send a check made out to AAUW Kingston by 10/25/24
Dorothy Draper-Silberg
7 Garden Court
Saugerties, NY 12477

For more information or to sponsor a student, contact Lynn Gore
(lynngore54@gmail.com)

Thursday, October 24, 4 PM
Kingston Library Community Room, 61 Crown Street

There will be an important AAUW Kingston Branch Meeting on 10/24 at the Kingston Library to discuss the Equal Rights Amendment, which will be on the ballot in New York State next month.

Dare Thompson, president of the Mid-Hudson League of Women Voters will be joining us to lead a discussion about the NY-ERA. Dare will present an overview of the facts about the NY-ERA, then we’ll have a Q&A, so please come and bring your friends and your questions! The League’s ultimate goal is to get people comfortable with what the NY-ERA is so they will vote for it (Prop. 1) on Tuesday, November 5 and they will encourage others to turn over the ballot and vote for it too.

Directions: Turn off of North Front Street onto Crown Street (one-way). The library entrance is on the right. Park in the front or back of the building. There’s a ramp in front. Once inside: the Community Room is to the left of the circulation desk. To exit afterward, turn left onto Green Street (one-way) at the back of the building.

Speaker bio:
Dare Thompson grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and earned a BA from Swarthmore College and an MAT from Oberlin College. After teaching English and social studies for several years, she spent a quarter century as executive director of three arts organizations: Kirkland Art Center (Clinton, NY), Ohio Citizens for the Arts (Columbus), and The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center (Sleepy Hollow).

Her primary volunteer activity since 1972 has been with the League of Women Voters, including service as the state president in Rhode Island, first VP in Ohio, and NY state president 2015 to 2019. She has lived in Marlboro since 1998 and is currently president of the Mid-Hudson LWV, which serves Ulster, Dutchess, and Orange Counties.

Dare is also an active Quaker and enjoyed learning more about the key role Quakers played in the history of women’s suffrage when she served on the NYS Women’s Suffrage Commission headed by then Lt. Governor Hochul. She is also the treasurer of the Women’s Rights Alliance of NYS.

More Prop. 1 info: https://www.nyequalrights.org/

Check your voter registration: https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/

Rosendale Theatre
408 Main Street, Rosendale
Fri., 9/27, 7:30 PM
Sat., 9/28, 2 PM
Sat., 9/27, 7:30 PM
Sun., 9/29, 4 PM

In What the Constitution Means to Me, Heidi Schreck mixes the personal with the political. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful and achingly human new play, she resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives. This boundary-breaking play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans.

Schreck’s timely and galvanizing play became a sensation off-Broadway before transferring to Broadway where it received two Tony Award nominations among countless other accolades. Peter Marks from the Washington Post writes:” Endearingly funny and deeply affecting…it would be hard to identify a work for the theatre with its finger more on the pulse of America right now.”

The cast includes Ivy Meehan, Rick Meyer, and Lydia Pidlusky. It is directed by Ann Citron. For more information, contact: ann@rosendaletheatre.org

Suffs on Broadway
2 PM matinee on Wed., November 13, 2024
The Music Box Theatre, 239 W 45th Street, NYC

Cost: AAUW Members – $190, Non Members – $200
Our trips help fund scholarships for girls and women to promote equity for all.

To hold your seat, email: lynngore54@gmail.com
Send checks payable to AAUW Kingston by August 30 to:
Lynn Gore, 400 Chestnut Hill Road, Stone Ridge, NY 12484

Suffs is the Tony Award®-winning musical that’s making history on Broadway! Created by Shaina Taub, who is now the first woman to ever independently win Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score in the same season, Suffs has also been named Best Musical (Outer Critics Circle Award), received two Drama Desk Awards including Best Score, and is “unquestionably the most emotionally stirring musical of the season” (Chicago Tribune).

It’s a given that the women of the suffragist movement—who called themselves “Suffs” for short—were brilliant, but as they fought tirelessly for the right to vote, they were also flawed, stubborn, passionate and funny. Suffs tells their story: the remarkable friendships, the heartbreak, and how this movement brought them together—or, in some cases, tore them apart. Boldly exploring a struggle for equality that’s far from over, Suffs is a “theatrical masterpiece that demands to be seen” (Forbes) and a reminder that progress is always possible but never guaranteed.

Lunch is on your own, or you could join the group lunch.
A restaurant and the cost will be announced soon.

Itinerary:
8:30 AM Departs Kingston Plaza
9:00 AM New Paltz Thruway Park & Ride pickup
11:30 AM drop off near Music Box Theatre
2:00 PM Show at 239 West 45th Street NYC
4:45 PM Pick up near the theatre
7:00 PM drop off in New Paltz
7:30 Return to Kingston Plaza
(Return times depend on traffic conditions)

Here’s an event that might interest some of our branch members (info courtesy of member Margaret McDowell)…Susan H.

Five of us fun-loving AAUW Kingston branch members went on our annual outing on
the Solaris, joining a sold-out music cruise on the evening of Thursday, July 18.
The weather had cooled off after one of this summer’s heat waves, so being out on
the water that night was simply delightful.

Rick and Marilyn, a folk rock duo based in Hudson, NY, performed many great tunes —
an awesome array of originals and favorite classic folk/rock/country/blues cover songs.

So ’til we meet again the same time next year, check out our photo below!…Susan H.

L to R: Margaret McDowell, Geraldine Popko, Glory Jasper, Lynn Gore, Susan Holland

AAUW National Webinar:
It’s My Vote! Voter Registration Training
Wed., 7/24, 7 PM ET
Register:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wqhRLVv1SgGzmwUvquUZ6A

Given where we are in this election year, it’s important we prepare for the fights ahead. How do we do that? By registering ourselves and our communities to vote.

Join us to discuss everything you need to know to conduct local voter registration.

We’ll dive into the ins and outs of AAUW’s voter registration portal, provide insights, and share practices for maximizing your voter registration efforts — equipping you with the right tools to make a meaningful impact.

When We All Vote’s Managing Director of National Organizing will share some tips and tricks on holding voter registration events.

The session will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers. And if you can’t make it, join When We All Vote on Thursday, August 1, at 8 PM. for their National Voter Registration Day/Week of Action training.