Newsletter for January 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  •  Please let Jennifer Kern, the coordinator of our Silent Angels Program know if you are willing to continue your support or become a new “angel” by contributing to the Scholarship Fund and indicating what amount you will donate yearly. Most previous contributors have pledged to donate $100.00 per year, but any amount is welcome. Whether or not you have contributed in the past or are willing to be a new contributor, please let Jennifer know so that she can create a new list of Angels who are interested in supporting our mission of helping non-traditional women students in their quest for higher education. The Scholarship Committee needs to have an idea of what funds will be available when they meet to offer scholarships.Send an email to Jennifer at jkerncwc@gmail.com (her current email address) to let her know your intent. If you prefer, you can contact her by phone at 802-442-2015 (landline) or 802-380-8087 (cell). Call or email right away so you don’t forget!  She’ll provide you with more information about when and where to send your check.
    For more information about the Silent Angels, please see the December newsletter.
  • We are saddened to announce the passing of longtime member and friend, Lea Newman.  She served as president of the Bennington Branch from 1994-1998 and continued as a member until her death. A memorial mass will be held at Sacred Heart Saint Frances de Sales Catholic Church on March 29, 2025.  We we’ll update you in a later newsletter about any plans for an AAUW remembrance. Here is a link to her obituary.

CALENDAR

January 8 at 1 pm. Scribble Sisters.

January 15 at 1 pm. Book Group. Location: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Meetinghouse. In the book , This month’s selection is Willa Cather’s 1931 novel  Shadows on the Rock. The novel “provides an insight into what life was like for the first settlers in the New World and showcases the varying responses to physical and spiritual hardship.” —Willa Cather Home Page https://www.willacather.org/shadows-rock)

 January 22 at 1 pm. Scribble Sisters. Location TBD.

Sunday, January 26 at 1:30 pm. This Month’s Program: “Welcoming Refugees to Bennington.” Bennington Free Library, 101 Silver St., Bennington. Open to the public.  See story below.

CONTENTS

“Welcoming Refugees to Bennington” by Julie Mackaman

lOur new year kicks off with a public program on “Welcoming Refugees to Bennington,” which we’re co-presenting with the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), Bennington’s refugee resettlement agency, at the Bennington Free Library on January 26 at 1:30. 

Bennington was designated as an official refugee resettlement site in October 2022, and the following year, the Bennington County Multicultural Community Center was opened in the heart of downtown. More than 100 refugees have come to Bennington, where they have found employment at more than two dozen local businesses, as well as at several non-profit organizations.

The presentation will offer updates on local resettlement efforts, provide information about how interested community members can get involved, and discuss projects and programs the Multicultural Community Center has launched in the last year. We will have a chance to hear from refugees who have arrived in Bennington, staff of ECDC, and volunteers. Light refreshments will be prepared by members of Bennington’s refugee community who are starting food businesses.

The Bennington  Branch of AAUW is pleased to be joining with our friends at ECDC to hold this public gathering, as our respective missions overlap. ECDC staff and volunteers provide direct support to families and individuals from around the world as they start their new lives in Southern Vermont, while AAUW offers year-round programs that promote equity, education, and economic independence for women and girls in our community.