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Cass City/Thumb Area

Year Established 1964   

Our branch was formed in Cass City 40 years ago. (The actual birthday is December 9, 1964.) Until about a year ago our name was Cass City Branch. But the past few years more and more women from outlying towns in the thumb area have been joining. In fact, most of our officers are not from the Cass City. So last year we voted to change the name so all women from the Thumb Area would feel welcomed in our branch.

Number of Members 42

Current Officers 

• President Nancy Raythatha
• Program VP Judy Brown
• Membership VP Barbara Butucel
• Finance VP Lori Kemp
• EF and LAF Marlene Erla
• Public Policy Jane Hittler
• Communications Linda Derfiny
• Secretary Kelly Richmond
• Scholarship Connie Iwankovitsch

Meetings 

Programs 

Branch Projects 

• Halloween Carnival Held every year at our Middle School.  This is one activity that brings together the community.  There are numerous games and activities for the younger children.  They have opportunities to win prizes at each of the stations.  There is also food and a haunted house.  The women of our AAUW chapter rally around to support this event and call on our middle and high school students to do the same.

• Youth Programs These have been a very important part of our chapter.  Every year we have hosted an event that focuses providing career exploration for our teenage girls. This year we have decided to sponsor a program, Reality Store, which will allow all of our 8^th grade students a dose of reality.  They will be given a career and then sent on their way to purchase the necessities of life such as utilities, food, insurance, housing, and so on.  It will be held at a local college and should be a real learning experience for them.

• Another Youth Program - R.I.F.  Every year students involved in this program look forward to receiving their own book.  But they also enjoy the activities that are centered on the books.  One year pancakes were made and shared with all of the children.  They never know what to expect from one ear to the next.

• Wreath Sales A great activity around the Christmas season.  It is a way for us to raise funds but also provide products that will make the holidays more festive for our community.

• The Flamingo Fling An auction and dinner that has caught on and grown by leaps and bounds.  It began as a way to raise money for scholarships for women beginning or returning to college.  Our chapter saw a need in our community to provide women with skills that would allow them to take care of their families.  But there are times they are unable to pursue their goals because of financial constraints.   So it became our goal to establish a scholarship fund for such women. This event has now become our main source of revenue for scholarships.  Women in the area view it as a worth cause and as a great night out.  It is at this event that the recipients of the scholarships are announced

Study/Interest Groups 

Branch Contact 

Membership Form 

Newsletters 

Latest Branch News

This branch does three RIF (Reading is Fundamental) distributions yearly for first, second and third grades, where each child receives a book.  Branch members go into the classes and read to the students.  Other activities for the year include a Fourth of July face painting and children’s art show at the town festival, a Halloween Carnival for the elementary students and selling Christmas wreaths for a fund raiser.  They donate to the Literacy Council for books.  The biggest event is their Flamingo Fling silent auction which helps raise money to give scholarships to women returning to college.  This year they awarded three $1,000 scholarships.  They have approximately $60,000 in the United Way account to guarantee that these scholarships will continue.

Last update May 3, 2008

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Send mail to Vicki Granger.
Copyright © 2008 American Association of University Women - Michigan
Last modified: 05/02/08