Branch History
May 18, 2000 Celebration
Southern New York Branch AAUW
The First 100 Years
1900-1909 19 charter members in 1900; 31 members in 1900
 oan Fund established. Branch activities center on raising funds. $200 is awarded in first year. By 1909 $1,665 in total loans have been awarded.
-The Branch is the 5th branch established in New York State and one of first 25 in United States.
-1907 Education, Program and Scholarship Committees established.
-By 1908, even without the right to vote, political education becomes an important Branch emphasis.
-Members collect over $1,000 to hire a crew to fix-up the teachers' room at Binghamton H.S.
1910-1919 71 members
und raising for growing Loan Fund is major activity. Annual calendar sale becomes a cooperative project with Monday Afternoon Club and is major source of revenue until 1917.
-Members lobby for a State College of Home Economics to be established at Cornell and new Vocational Opportunities Committee works to find job opportunities for women.
1920-1929 137 members
ational organization changes from Assoc. of Collegiate Alumnae to AAUW 1921.
-Over $7,000 has been loaned to 40 students since 1900.
-Study groups grow. Contemporary European Fiction and Psychology of Pre-School Child are popular.
-Musical teas are lucrative fund-raising events. A Little Theater Group is organized in 1929.
1930-1939 290 members
AUW begins Million Dollar Fellowship Fund and Branch assists New York State in meeting its $40,000 quota.
-Despite Depression, members' fund-raising is prodigious and by 1937 $20,300 has been loaned to 74 girls, $350 raised for Fellowships Fund anc the annual dues: $5!
-Cooperative Play School is created by Branch in 1937. This nursery school for community children meets two mornings a week. Popular study groups include Antiques, Interior Decoration, Modern Literature and Sketching.
1940-1949 353 members
conomic & Legal Status of Women study group lobbies to ensure women's rights legislation and works to solve problems encountered by women entering defense related jobs.
-Equal Pay for Equal Work Law passed in NYS in 1944.
-$32,000 has been loaned to 107 girls since 1900. Branch raises $35,192 for Savings Bonds and Stamps.
-Important study groups include International Relations, Status of Women and Choral Music.
1950-1959 372 members
ranch lobbies for Regents proposal to establish 12 educational TV channels in NYS.
-List of community women eligible to hold positions of responsibility and authority started as project.
-In 1958-59 alone, $1,800 loaned to 9 girls.
-International Relations study group breaks into both daytime and evening groups with Middle East as focus.
-Recent Graduates group begins.
-What's New for Holidays becomes major fund-raising event netting over $2,000.
1960-1969 650 members
any and diverse study groups serve large membership from Conversational French and Great Religions of the World to Fraud and the Consumer.
-Community Service Bureau established. By 1965 over 400 hours of volunteer services are given
-The Association for Retarded Children Adult Day Training Center is major volunteer focus. AAUW members help run the lunch program at the Center.
-In 1965, 13 girls are using Loan Funds in college.
1970-1979 324 members
ranch helps establish WSKG Auction to raise funds for Public Television.
-A Department of Consumer Affairs is established in 1979 in Broome County as a result of extensive study and lobbying by Branch members.
-Members study local compliance with Title IX of Civil Rights Act and findings raise community awareness of inequities in funding between boys and girls sports programs in STAC.
-In 1979 Loan Fund gives $4,400 to 22 girls.
1980-1989 150 members
ranch loans $5,700 to 23 girls in 1989.
-Publicity of Cornell Eleven in NYS branches inspires AAUW to establish Legal Advocacy Fund.
-Branch receives Liberty Bell Award from Broome County Bar Association in recognition of its community work and bringing positive societal change within the law.
-Peace Award established and presented in 1985.
-Study groups include Daytime Books, Gourmet Cooking and Antiques.
-Volunteer efforts include Rape & Abuse Crises Center, SOS Shelter and Literacy Volunteers.
1990-1999 93 members
oan Fund becomes Scholarship Fund providing annual awards to selected High School Seniors
-In 1997 the branch combines its two named units into the Dorothy Federick Southern NY Research & Projects Grant.
-Study groups feature the revitalized Fine Arts and both Current Books and Daytime Books.
-A library is established for Cadet Girl Scouts with titles from AAUW Honors List of books.
-Members celebrate 150th Anniversary of Women's Rights Convention with tour of Seneca Falls Hall of Fame and National Historic Park.
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For information about joining our Branch, contact Mildred at
tdfmpd@aol.com
For information about this Web site, contact Susan at
smclain@phloxp.com
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