July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018

Coalition partner with several organizations Pennsylvania Campaign for Women’s Health‘s Community Conversations event in Carlisle on July 19, 2017. The conversations focused on a wide range of issues affecting the health and economic well-being of Pennsylvania women and their families, as well as legislative solutions that will help the commonwealth improve its continually abysmal rankings in key indicators of women’s health and economic security. Check out the report, especially page 7 for a recap of the Carlisle event.

For the fourth year, AAUW Carlisle registered voters at the Carlisle Harvest of the Arts festival (September 23). With volunteers from League of Women Voters, Cumberland Valley Rising, and the AAUW Dickinson College we registered 18 new voters. Just as important, we answered dozens of questions and highlighted the importance of making our voices heard by voting on November 7. Voter Registration at Harvest of the Arts on September 23, 2017.

September 26, 2017 branch meeting was AAUW and Public Policy. Nancy Sigrist, Public Policy Chair, provided a general overview of how AAUW identifies the Public Policy Priorities. Randi Teplitz and Megan Healey spoke about the work of the Pennsylvania Commission on Women–illustrating the impact of public policy advocacy.

Redistricting Reform: A Nonpartisan Consensus for Cumberland County on October 12, 2017.

Letter to the Editor in The Sentinel on October 22, 2017 urging colleges and universities to continue to follow the previous Title IX guidelines in the face of Secretary DeVos’ interim guidelines.

October 24, 2017 branch meeting, Dee Danser, Assistant VP of Student Life and Chief of Public Safety, Dickinson College presented Title IX and Sexual Assault Prevention at Dickinson College.

Carlisle Area School Board Candidate Forum on October 25, 2017.

Topic Talks — our book-group-like discussion of public policy topics explored AAUW research Barriers and Bias on November 7, 2017.

Letter to the Editor of The Sentinel on November 14, 2017 recognizing Latina Equal Pay day.

Letter to the Editor of The Sentinel on December 6, 2017 opposing SB2–Education Savings Accounts.

Conducted voter registration training for Hope Station Women’s Group on February 13, 2018.

Registered voters at the Hope Station Black History Festival on February 24, 2018.

March 15, 2018 – Voter Registration at Project Share
Volunteers from our branch set up at Project Share for one of their food distribution days. Our goal was to offer Voter Registration support for the Project Share community. We successfully added citizens to the rolls of registered voters here in Cumberland County and provided information about our upcoming primary and general elections in 2018 to a myriad of people.

April 10, 2018 – Equal Pay Day at the Capitol
Several of our branch members joined AAUW members from across the state and our friends from BPW-PA (Business and Professional Women-Pennsylvania) in the capitol rotunda on Equal Pay Day, April 10, for a rally at 2:00 pm. We began our day at 11:00 am with a briefing for visits to our legislators. Then it was off to visit with our representatives to thank them for co-sponsoring the pay equity legislation or to encourage them to do so.

April 17, 2018 – Topic Talk on Title IX
Our Discussion Leader, Carlisle Schools Superintendent Christina Spielbauer, focused our discussion on the current response to the District’s issues with bullying and sexual abuse or harassment.

May 14, 2018 – Topic Talk on Deeper in Debt
The evening focused on AAUW’s research on the differential impact of student loan debt on women, and how we can work to level the playing field for women pursuing higher education. The discussion was facilitated by Branch member Peggy Jennings who served on the statewide committee that adapted this research for use by Pennsylvania AAUW Branches.

May 22, 2018 – Donation Drive for Carlisle C.A.R.E.S.
In honor of our Gateway to Equity Award winner, Shari Bellish, Executive Director and Founder of Carlisle C.A.R.E.S (now Community C.A.R.E.S.), at our May 22nd General Meeting our membership generously gathered together many items from the Community C.A.R.E.S. “wish list”. we delivered 124.8 lbs. of donated items to Community C.A.R.E.S on Thursday, May 24th.

May 24, 2018 – AAUW Bylaws Voting Social
AAUW Carlisle member, Virginia Mueller, hosted a “voting open house” from 2:00 to 4:00 PM at her lovely home and art gallery, Hauto Zat Gallery. Members voted on the proposed AAUW by-law changes while admiring and discussing Virginia’s art.

July 1, 2016–June 30,2017

This was a busy and successful year for Public Policy thanks to the dedication of the committee members, support of the Board, and volunteers. We registered the most Public Policy events/activities of any Pennsylvania branch—19 in total—and continued successful collaborations with the LWV, MomsRising, YWCA Carlisle and added Employment Skills Center.

Highlights of this year include three new projects. Topic Talks is a “book group” exploring public policy issues. Attendees read material prior to attending an informal gathering where a subject matter expert introduces the issue followed by group discussion. Equal Pay was the first topic. Know Your School Board Candidates questionnaire is the second new project. Fulfilling the AAUW mission of voter education and supporting public education combined with the knowledge that school board races are some of the least covered led us to this project of sending questionnaires to the candidates in Big Spring, Carlisle Area, Cumberland Valley, and South Middleton school districts. A voter guide for each school district was created. The third new project was delivering a Work Smart workshop.

Below is the list of Public Policy events/activities in addition to the projects mentioned above.

Equal Pay

GOTV (Get Out The Vote)

  • Voter Registration events.
    • Harvest of the Arts (September)
    • Employment Skills Center (September)
  • Collaborated with MomsRising to send 50 postcards to “not likely to vote” persons in swing states
  • LTE in The Sentinel and Shippensburg News Chronicle
  • Co-sponsor Carlisle Area School District school board candidate forum with LWV and YWCA.

Title IX

  • Emailed CRDC and Title IX resources to twenty-six school districts in Cumberland, Adams, Perry, and Franklin counties.
  • Members attended Carlisle Area and Cumberland Valley school district board meetings to present CRDC results and urge accurate reporting of sexual harassment and gender based bullying.

July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016

  • Voter Registration events leading up to the November 4, 2015 Pennsylvania municipal election, April 26, 2016 Pennsylvania primary, and November 8, 2016 national election
    • Harvest of the Arts on September 26, 2015
    • Carlisle Black History Festival on February 27, 2016
    • YWCA Social Justice Night on March 15, 2016
    • Dickinson College AAUW Collegiate Affiliate event on March 22, 2016
  • Voter Education
    • Co-sponsor of Cumberland County Commissioner’s Forums on May 12, 2015 and October 15, 2015.
  • Equal Pay Day April 12, 2016
    • Public Policy Co-Chairs visited the office of Representatives Bloom and Rothman to discuss HB1160
    • Wrote OpEd in The Sentinel to highlight Equal Pay Day
    • Several members participated in the Equal Pay Day Rally at the Capitol Rotunda
  • Title IX
    • Distributing new U.S. Department of Education resources to Title IX Coordinators in Big Spring, Carlisle, Cumberland Valley, Mechanicsburg, and North York County school districts
  • Income Inequality
    • September 22, 2015 meeting “Income Inequality”
  • STEM
    • October 26, 2015 meeting “Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math”

Community Outreach

The AAUW Carlisle Branch was a major supporter of Building a Better Bosler campaign to renovate and enlarge the Carlisle public library.