—

Our Morgan Hill Branch is growing, adapting, and thriving. Our mission of equity and education leads our small sphere of influence to an understanding of other points of view, broadening diversity, and expanding influence in the local community, even during a challenging world situation.

The recent Candidates Forum for county supervisor, co-sponsored by Leadership Morgan Hill for the first time, was an excellent example of AAUW as a valuable community force. The Community Earth Day Festival also demonstrated the power of our branch to bring together a variety of vendors and participants who all share a concern for the future of our planet.

Tech Trek has had to adapt to uncertainty once again, as we send 18 girls to virtual camps. Although the traditional in-person week will be missed by these middle school girls, this is still an incredible opportunity for campers from five MHUSD schools, including Voices Academy charter school, to participate in Tech Trek. Our members carefully focused on choosing a diverse group of students, as they do each year with the selection of Scholarship recipients.

The AAUW CA event, “Adventures in AAUWLand,” held via Zoom on April 30, was another example of adapting to changing circumstances. It is disappointing that we may never have the opportunity of celebrating in person with other branches, but as we move forward, our focus must be on our mission and unique ways to accomplish our branch goals.

As I write this looking at large trees trying to adapt to drought and climate change in North Lake Tahoe, it is obvious that our branch must also focus on future generations. Our action and education teams of DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) and Climate Change are working hard, so let’s help them be successful! Look for the announcement about the May 24 DEI program in this newsletter.

By Marian Sacco, President, AAUW Morgan Hill