Team Message
Your membership committee needs your help!
In these unprecedented times, we are socially distancing and not seeing our friends and family as much as we would like. We can still recruit new members. Many of us are socializing or having meetings on Zoom or taking long walks with friends. Talk to them about AAUW and the important work we are doing for women and equality.
Non-members would be welcome to join us on Zoom for one of our meetings. just let one of the membership committee members know, and we will send them an invitation. We look forward to the day when we can see each other in person. Meanwhile, we can do our best for recruitment.
AAUW Bethlehem Membership Committee – Ann Brown and Kathy Kahler
Location
From its humble beginnings in 1741 as a Moravian settlement to its modern status as the heart of the thriving Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem has carefully preserved its past. It is a city of about 75,000 that shines as brightly as its huge electrical star atop South Mountain. The Moravian influence remains strong, but traditions from many lands have joined in making the city a “melting pot” of cultures.
Bethlehem Branch History
| 1929 | Officially recognized by AAUW on April 4 with 55 members |
| 1931 | Study groups organized |
| 1934 | Co-founded Children’s Theatre; support continues through 2001 |
| 1940s | Provided child care nursery during World War II |
| 1946 | Sponsored city-wide art contest |
| 1954 | First scholarship of $300 given to female graduate of Bethlehem High School |
| 1962 | Began one-on-one tutoring program for elementary students |
| 1963 | First annual Book Fair held |
| 1966 | Published a college guide for high school students |
| 1987 | Presented “Women’s Work, Women’s Worth” lecture series |
| 1988 | Formed inter-branch committee on women’s economic issues |
| 1992 | Established program of community grants |
| 1992-99 | Supported Math Con, an annual math fair for middle school girls |
| 1995 | Introduced local educators to Educational Foundation’s Gender Equity Model |
| 2001 | Branch has 123 members and offers 8 study groups |
| 2002 | Fortieth annual Book Fair proceeds continued Branch’s support of education for women and girls by adding to the $270,000 in scholarship monie awarded since 1963 |
| 2004 | Bethlehem Branch celebrates 75th anniversary |
| 2007 | Bethlehem Branch and community volunteer workers at the 45th annual Book Fair celebrate surpassing the $500,000 mark in total money raised for scholarships to local women and girls |
| 2008 | Bethlehem and Allentown Branches join together to present Let’s Read Math program in Bethlehem Area School District, to be continued as service learning for the branches |