NORTHERN OCEAN COUNTY BRANCH Volume XXXXIII Number 3 January-February 2012

BREAKING THROUGH BARRIERS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS

AAUW Mission Statement AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE—Patricia Baroska

Happy New Year…. Hope everyone had a Memorable Holiday Season and Treasured the time with Family and Friends… Snow, Snow, Snow… Remember every time you see Snow it is Magical… And when it sticks together just look what you have…….. ENJOY….. Or Just Try…. The first half of our fiscal year went well... We had 19 new members join our AAUW-NOCB... Please try to continue to make that personal connection… Our 130 Year AAUW Celebration “Cocktails and Convos” was successful and commemorative. Dinner and a Movie was a lot of fun…. The Pasta and Wraps from our gracious host “The Chelsea” were good… Sorry dessert was inadvertently forgotten. December Holiday Dinner was Sumptuous… Thank You Vicki for hosting and to our members for sharing such delicious recipes… The Girl Scout Project went well and AAUW-NOCB sure did make a difference… Thank You to our members and our Chairs Marie Hagemann and Eve-Stafford Smith… Our Spring Project will be to collect personal care items at every activity or event for Redeem-Her and adhere to our mission… A Look Ahead…Special Focus January/February… No formal activity or Event in January… However, I will be reaching out to every new member and seasoned member… Let us make that personal connection. Kind of AAUW-NOCB 101… Participation is crucial in some small way…. Let us Talk… Please, consider a Chair Position or an Officer Position in your future with our Branch… Our Treasurer Marie Sweeney will complete her official two year term in June 2012… We have at least four current members that held our Treasurer Position and can help mentor… Trust me I am one of those members and it is not that difficult... I was an Education Major and we have Calculators to Add and Subtract… February 23, 2012 will be “Dinner and a Movie” sandwiches, beverages and dessert will be provided by our generous host “The Chelsea”. Once again this delicious social gathering will be followed by a movie “Miss Representation”… Sometimes a women’s portrayal in the media makes it difficult to achieve leadership positions. This documen-tary accumulates startling facts and statistics. It is an AAUW National Promotion….. This will be an opportunity to bring a prospective guest for NOCB Membership… No Meeting or Speaker on this night... just camaraderie. Advance Calendar: March 20, 2012 AAUW-NOCB will host our Inter-Branches’ of Freehold and Northern Monmouth with A Guild Theatre Works Play “Vanity”… March 23, 2012 will be an Inter-Branch Collaboration $tart $mart Workshop at GCU with the basics of Salary Negotiation… April 14, 2012 AAUW-NJ will have an Annual Meeting at Forsgate Country Club… April 19, 2012 will be our Election, Budget Meeting and Flower Power Fundraiser. The presentation will be Nostalgic Antique Evaluations… So look for your treasures and bring them to “The Chelsea”. Induce a wonderful sense of well-being Participation…. Soon my Friends….. Patricia

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OUR FEBRUARY PROGRAM—”A SOCIAL EVENING” Movie—”Miss Representation” An AAUW pick- A documentary exploring how the media’s misrepresentation of women has led to the underrepresent-ation of women in positions of power. Dinner: Provided by The Chelsea Sandwiches, Beverages, Dessert Invitees: Members and Prospective Members Date: Thursday, February 23 Time: 6:00 pm Place: The Chelsea 458 Jack Martin Blvd., Brick

WE WELCOME YOU!

Shinade Ramirez Lisa Beck Karen Keating Norine Murdock Ruth Connolly

ESSAY AWARD Ariadne Cortez, a 8th grade student wrote an essay on how she would empower herself to ensure success and raise awareness of issues affecting women and girls. She promoted her education and leadership responsibilities. Also, she called on groups to ban together to overcome obstacles so women and girls do not have to suffer through harassment, discrim-ination and unfairness. Congratulations Ariadne, the winner of a $200.00 Savings Bond sponsored by our NOCB-AAUW. Pat

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AAUW-NOCB Gives Back "Life is a Gift and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back".....

THANK YOU AAUW-NOCB Members who gave something back.... A huge collection of canned goods and a Turkey donated to us by Our Lady of Mount Carmel- Hoop Stuffer Basketball Tournament was delivered through Monmouth/Ocean Food Bank to Benefit a Women's Shelter for the Holidays.... Specifically to "Linkages" - A transitional housing program for women over the age of 18 that have children in custody and are facing homelessness... Also a $100.00 Holiday Donation collected from our members was given to The Alzheimer's Association through "The Chelsea" who has been an immense help in our AAUW-NOCB endeavors... Pat

IMPORTANT—PLEASE CONTRIBUTE We will collect personal items for “Redeem Her”. This group provides successful transitions for women recently incarcerated so they can become valued and contributing members of society….Please be supportive and bring such items as: shampoo, con-ditioner, lotions, toothpaste, brushes…to meetings or my house throughout the Spring. Also we will continue to collect items for the “Good Health/Physical Fitness Bas-ket” that we will raffle. Proceeds will fund sending out newest branch member, Shinade Ramirez from Georgian Court University, to NCCWSL (The National Conference for Col-

AAUW-NOCB DONATIONS—SPRING 2012

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AAUW-NOCB Donation of $100 Helped 3 Students in

Vocation Studies in New Delhi, India

Following Marlene Snedaker’s visit to IFUW in India last year, our branch donated $100 to them for scholarships. They selected 3 vocational students—Meena, Rinki Tiwari and Sunita Mehto. Here is a very interesting article about it from Sushil Bhardwaj, President UWA Delhi to Marlene. Meena is married, born in 1981, barely 20 years old and has two children, the youngest just a few months old. She comes from a very poor family herself and married into a family barely able to look after themselves. She has taken up 6 months diploma in cutting tailoring embroidery course so that she is able to earn by doing this work in her colony. One member of her family works as domestic help and they are lucky to have a reasonably healthy place to live in, however crowded. Her hus-band works in a shop as a delivery boy and gets Rs. 4000/- per month. This course makes her hopeful that she would be able to earn for herself and that too working from home. I had taken her photo when she came to my house for some work, but it is just not getting loaded on to my PC so no photographs can be sent. But she is a thin girl and perhaps anemic. I am hoping to get a few of them checked up by one of our members who is a physician and get some vitamins and protein for them. Rinki Tiwari – Rinki is June 1986 born has just passed 10th class. She needed to get a job due to financial situation at home so she has joined a certificate in Beauty Culture course and hopes to work in a beauty Clinic. She is healthy in looks and has a style in her behavior which shows that the family has reasonably good cultural background but has gone down financially. We have an ‘Earn while you learn scheme’, and she offered to work for me in case I need to have some help. Her Fa-ther works as a delivery person in a newspaper and gets 3000 rupees a month basic salary. She has 4 sisters and is the eldest. There is reasonably good demand for beauty culture baseline work but she would need to train some more if she is to earn better. Sunita Mehto is the daughter of a car driver working for a businessman on a rather irregular basis. They live in a shack and there are two sisters and a brother besides her in the family. She is the third child. She is 1989 born and her family could not afford her continuing in 11th and 12th class. She has been sewing clothes for her family and herself for some years and now has joined Diploma in cutting and sewing, which she hopes will add to the family income. If asked to speak what she would like to do further, her answer is that it would be good to be able to add to family income and only then she can think any further.

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January 2012 HAPPY NEW YEAR MEMBERS! 12th Books at Perks, 3:30 16th Martin Luther King Day 19th Cozy Quilters, Maria Sendzik’s home, 2pm

FEBRUARY 2012 2nd Ground Hogs Day 2nd Cozy Quilters, Marie Hagemann’s home, 2pm 9th Books at Perks, 3:30 14th Valentines Day 20th Presidents Day 23rd Dinner and a Movie—”Miss Representation” at the Chelsea 26th Movie Maniacs, movie TBA 29th Leap Year Day

IMPORTANT DATES

ADVANCE CALENDAR—2012 Mar. 20th We host the Inter-Branch meeting with a play, “Vanity” by the Guild Theatre Works Mar. 23rd Inter-Branch Collaboration = $tart $mart Workshop at GCU April14th AAUW-NJ Annual Meeting At Forsgate, 8:30-2:30 April 19th Annual Business Meeting— Elections, Budget, Flower Power and presentation on Nostalgic Antique Evaluations

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Cozy Quilters Cozy Quilters met Dec. 29th for a holiday luncheon at the home of Barbara Tuzio. Ruben sandwiches, and salads were followed by birthday cake for Marie Hagemann and Christmas cookies for dessert. Yes—this is a quilting group—but food is always an important part of our gatherings. Maria Sendzik related her experiences about learning to use a long arm quilting ma-chine. Judith Hromoko brought her completed purple pansy quilt to share with us. Below are Ju-dith’s “potato chip“style quilt and Maria Senzik’s “wonky” style quilt. Our next meetings will be Jan 19th at the home of Maria Sendzik at 2pm and Feb. 2nd at the home of Marie Hagemann at 2pm. The group is very small during the Winter months because Irene Ribaudo is in Florida and Judith is in St. Thomas. Please consider joining Cozy Quilters, even if you do not quilt. Knitters, crocheters, and even hemmers and menders are welcome. And remember the refreshments are always memorable! Pictures by Maria Sendzik Barbara Tuzio

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See you in the Spring!

Our AAUW-NOCB Book Discussion Group meets at "Atlanta Bread Company", Brick on one Thursday each month at 3:30 p.m. All members are welcome! Date and Selections for January and February - January 12—Read any book by Lisa Scottoline February 9 —“Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie” by Alan Bradley Contact: Lenora Donatiello 732-458-4317 or Pat Baroska at 732-267-3127, ShoreBeachGirl@hotmail.com

Literature: Books at Perks

Friday Night Gourmet Group & Jersey Shore Theater Group

LEGAL ADVOCACY FUND (LAF) Update

Sent in by Joanne Pisapia, LAF Chair

CASE UPDATE On November 19, oral arguments were held for the LAF-supported case Cioca v. Rumsfeld. The plaintiffs are 28 current or former members of the military who allege that they were raped by coworkers and that the defense secretary’s failure to act on the issue of sexual assault in the mili-tary amounts to a violation of their constitutional rights. On December 13, a U.S. district court judge granted the Department of Defense’s motion to dismiss the case, which argued that the Supreme Court has found that members of the armed forces cannot sue the military for injuries incurred while serving, including sexual assaults. In the next month, Susan Burke, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, will file an appeal and ask the appellate court to overturn the dismissal. Since filing the original lawsuit in early 2011, Burke has heard from 400 other survivors, many of whom could be part of future suits. Burke will meet with the LAF Com-mittee in early January to discuss the case and its importance.

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EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Eight women from New Jersey have received a Fellowship or Grant tor 2011-2012 through AAUW’s Educational Opportunities Fund. Here is a brief description of the awards. American Fellowship Awardees 1. Janet Lorenzen, PhD Sociology, Rutgers, whose project was “Going Green: Changing Habits and Restricting Consumption in Contemporary America” 2. Elizabeth MacPherson, Publication Grant—Dance, Montclair State U., whose project was

“Voices from the Bennington School of the Dance” 3. Anna Mitchell Mahoney, PhD Political Science, Rutgers U, whose project was “Politics of

Presence: A Study of Women’s Legislative Caucuses in the 50 States” 4. Renee Troiano, PhD French, Rutgers U., whose project was “Diderot and the Theatre:

Resolving Enthusiasm and Materialism” Career Development Grants 5. Lauren Kareha, MA Counseling in educational settings, Rowan U. International Fellowships 6. Adelaide Mazwarira, Zimbabwe, MSW Social Work, Rutgers U. 7. Kaiwana Williams, Dominica, Counseling Psychology, Centenary College Selected Professions Fellowships 8. Kristen Buxton, D.O. Osteopathic Medicine, UMDNJ These grants are the result of funding from sources such as the $35,000 Research and Project Grant that our branch completed last year. Our contribution will begin to be awarded this year. Learn more about the recipients at https://svc.aauw.org/fga/fellows_directory/index.cfm?AwdYear=2011-12&Awd=&Citiz=&lastname=&Firstname=&Institution=&City=&State=New+Jersey&Field=&DegField=&Projectname= Barbara Tuzio, EOF

Join us in February for the next Movie Maniacs showing! The date is Sunday afternoon, February 26. I will be sending out an email in February to let everyone know the movie pick. Pammi

MOVIE MANIACS

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Happy Birthday to Marie Hagemann on her 70th! We wish her many more. Condolences to our friend and Treasurer, Marie Sweeney on the loss of Dennis, her wonderful husband. Get well wishes to Laura Tuzio Ross following surgery for breast cancer on January 9 and chemotherapy treatments, which will follow. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Our thoughts are with Maureen Mitchell as her son Michael is recover-ing from spinal surgery. We wish a speedy recovery and successful treatment to Maria Sendzik's daughter Kate Haines.

PERSONAL NOTES

A big thank you to all our members who helped with the “Stand Up! Speak Out! Feel Good! Tools for Living” workshop. Sixty-five girl scouts attended and actively participated in all aspects of the program. The day started with a Girl Scout exercise on friendship during which the scouts decorated ceramic tiles with symbols of friendship. The creativity and talent exhibited was amazing. The scouts then split into breakout discussion groups led by Point Pleasant Borough High School girls where, by all reports, lively discussions on bullying took place after the role-playing exercises. Lastly, they heard Gail Poverman-Kave talk about “How to Disagree without Being Disagreeable”. Gail’s humorous talk on this serious subject elicited enthusiastic audience participation from the scouts. Again, thank you for your help in making the workshop a success. Eve Stafford-Smith & Marie Hagemann, Co-Chairs

STAND UP! SPEAK OUT! FEEL GOOD! WORKSHOP ON BULLYING

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PICTURE FROM THE AAUW-NOCB HOLIDAY PARTY Thanks to hostess Vicki Hall (on right) a merry time was had! Also pictured from the left: Barbara Tuzio, Lynn Curry, Joanne Pisapia, and Marlene Pigut.

THE BEST PLACES TO BE A WOMAN 1. Iceland (100); 2. Sweden (99.2); 3. Canada (96.6) 4. Denmark (95.3) 5. Finland (92.8) 6. Switzerland (91.9) 7. Norway (91.3) 8. United States (89.8) 9. Australia (88.2) 10. Netherlands (87.8) THE WORST PLACES TO BE A WOMAN 1. Chad (0) 2. Afganistan (2.0) 3. Yemen (12.1) 4. Democratic Republic of Congo (13.6) 5. Mali (17.6) 6. Solomon Islands (20.8) 7. Niger (21.2) 8. Pakistan (21.4) 9. Ethiopia (23.7) 10. Sudan (26.1)* Figures are for Sudan before the country split. From the September 26, 2011 issue of NEWSWEEK. Each country was graded on 5 factors using a scale of 0 to 100: Justice, Health, Education, Economics, Politics.

Sent in by Joanne Pisapia, LAF

BEING A WOMAN

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On November 8, 2011 Election Day our Inter-Branches Celebrated "Cocktails and Convos".

... It was a very nice evening organized by AAUW Northern Ocean County Branch... A good time was had by all and we certainly honored this auspicious occasion.... We had seventeen ladies through-out the evening... Apropos, since the original AAUW gathering consisted of seventeen ladies.... Also, since Moore's Tavern was in existence in the 1800's, it was the perfect place for our Inter-Branch Gath-ering... Lots of Camaraderie.... We gave out Voter Registration forms to representatives from each of our three Branches to take back and distribute to area Colleges and Universities... In accordance with the National AAUW "My Vote Campaign", the emphasis was to prompt young women to register to vote.... Duly noted.... It was nice that some of our ladies were at the Polls assisting in the Voting Process.... Northern Ocean County, Freehold Area and Northern Monmouth County have a good collaborative relationship... We are all looking forward to $tart $mart at Georgian Court University on March 23, 2012.... Remember... Helen Keller once said "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much." Pat

OUR AAUW 130TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Whom do you know? People pictured came from AAUW-NOCB, the Northern Monmouth County Branch, and the Freehold Branch.

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Advertise in Pleasant Tidings! To have your business card appear in Pleasant Tid-ings, please forward your check for $15.00 to Marie Sweeney, 204 Riverside Drive N, Brick, 08724. Your business card should be sent to Alice Tarlach at 33 Patmore Rd, Brick, 08724, or sent via email to

Certified Public Accountant

MARLENE P. SNEDAKER

1808 Riviera Parkway Fax (732) 892-2759 Pt. Pleasant, NJ 08742-5243 E-mail:dsneda6911@aol.com

Telephone: (732) 899-8357

Certified Public Accountant

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AAUW Membership Drive Assotin of i Serving the Jersey Shore area

~Meetings held in Brick, NJ~ ~Projects and Interest Groups held in various locations~

AAUW’s Mission Promotes

* Advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research

* Membership includes National, State, and Local levels for individuals with associate degrees and higher, as well as college students….. * AAUW NOCB is a non-profit 501(c) – Proceeds to benefit community projects * Would you like to network with women of like minds while helping women and girls in their educational pursuits?

Scholarship Awards Essay Awards * Consider involvement and socialization with like-minded women?

* Join our various fun interest groups and participate in

rewarding projects and functions?

Community Service Projects Book Group Fundraisers: Psychic Night and Flower Power Movie Group Gourmet Group Quilting Group Theater Group If you’re interested in joining our dynamic group of professional women, who are dedicated to a mission of serving women and girls, please contact one of the following members of our branch:.

Patricia Baroska (732) 458-5906 ShoreBeachGirl@hotmail.com

Marie Hagemann (732) 295-1439 mhageman@verizon.net

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Patricia Baroska—President 458-5096 Marlene Pigut 255-5678 Lenora Donatiello 458-4317 Joanne Pisapia 840-0492 Judith Hromoko—Secretary 477-5519 Maria Sendzik 458-5567 Maureen Mitchell 295-3926 Marie Sweeney—Treasurer 206-9818 Cathy Paredes 899-1931 Barbara Tuzio 899-3267 AAUW NOCB Official Board of Directors: Agree to be responsible for branch organization and activity and will meet three times during the fiscal year: Summer, Fall and Spring. AAUW Chairs: Agree to attend at least one of the Official Board Meetings during the fiscal year. TBA Fall and Spring. AAUW members are welcome to attend Board Meetings. TBA for Fall and Spring.

Barbara Tuzio 1821 Boat Point Drive Point Pleasant, NJ 08742

Save our branch some money by receiving your newsletter via email. Please notify Alice at alicetarlach@comcast.net.

ABOUT AAUW American Association of University Women (AAUW) is a nationwide network of more than 100,000 members and donors, 1000 branches, and 500 college/ Institution partners. For 130 years, AAUW members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day— educational, social, economical, and political. Our commitment to our mission is reflected in all aspects of our work. DIVERSITY STATEMENT In principle and practice AAUW values and seeks a diverse membership. There shall be no barriers to full participation in the organization on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin, or disability. AAUW FUNDS Legal Advocacy, Educational Opportunities, Public Policy, Eleanor Roosevelt Research, and Leadership.

AAUW NOCB Official Board of Directors 2011-2012