OCTOBER MEETING
Saturday, October 15 AT 9:30 a.m.
Tracy Gee Community Center
In August 2022, we marked the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Harvey which inundated our city with record rainfall. Many of us were forced to evacuate our homes, some of us had to walk through chest-high water to safety.
Why was our city so impacted by this rainfall? What caused the bayous and creeks to overflow their banks and our neighborhood streets to become rivers in themselves? Did you know we in Harris County live in a watershed
Here to educate us about our own backyard is Ayanna Mccloud, Director of Bayou City Waterkeeper, a local non-profit. Bayou City Waterkeeper works with communities affected by flooding and pollution in order to restore our natural systems, achieve equitable policy solutions and advance systematic change to benefit all who live within the Lower Galveston Bay watershed.
We will learn about our five most critical wetland areas along with a wetland mapping app which aims to create a sense of urgency and hope. We must be urgent in redefining our approach to flood protection and protect what we have left.
The Lower Galveston Bay Watershed is home to some of the most unique and diverse wetlands in the world. Our wetlands are not only home to millions of migratory birds that benefit from the rich coastal habitat, but they also maintain water quality, protect against erosion, and — especially important for our region — serve as nature’s best defense against flooding. To increase awareness and strengthen advocacy on the importance of protecting wetlands, Bayou City Waterkeeper works with community members who become our partners on the ground. Our community members are the experts who continue to protect our watershed, their surrounding wetlands and their community from future extreme weather-related flood events and rising climate risk.
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud, Executive Director of Bayou City Waterkeeper, will be our speaker in October. Ayanna supports community efforts in wetland protection, water quality, and watershed resiliency which center on equity and nature-based solutions. Prior to this, Ayanna was Director of Education and Public Programs at Houston Botanic Garden, launching the organization’s first-ever education offerings, framing biodiversity and ethnobotany. She has worked at environmental and cultural institutions for over twenty years. A native Houstonian and fourth-generation artist, she develops frameworks for new ways of imagining and advocating for water, ecology, justice, and people in greater Houston.
Lilian Care
Program Vice President
AAUW Texas State Outstanding Member Awarded to Carolyn Morris
Read about why she is so wonderful
– but you already may know!
Legacy Circle
Ever since working on 5 Star Recognition for our branch last year, I have been very curious as to what was involved regarding becoming a Legacy Circle contributor. Legacy Circle has come up again in the next generation of 5 Star. My quest was to find the easiest way to set up a Legacy Circle bequest and then encourage other branch members to look into doing the same thing. Legacy Circle funds promote equity and benefit women and girls in the future.
My first step was to check out AAUW National’s website and then contact a representative of Legacy Circle. I did not want to set up a trust, change my will, or affect any other retirement programs I already had in place. I found out all I had to do was set up a savings account at my bank naming AAUW as the Paid-on Death (POD) beneficiary. You don’t need to open the account with thousands of dollars, a few hundred will do! Most banks want a minimum of $200.00 to open an account. Then, over time, you can add funds as you wish. Even after setting up the account, if you need to withdraw any money in the future, you can do that! Not my intention, but good to know I have that flexibility. Once you have opened the account, you fill out a simple form called Legacy Circle Enrollment Form and forward it to AAUW National. That form can be found on the national website. AAUW Leave a Legacy
If anyone would like to know more, feel free to contact me. I want to encourage other WHC members to participate in Legacy Circle now and in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Rose Ennis
President, WHC
Member News Notification
Please send Becky French (bfrench1@flash.net), Corresponding Secretary, any news about our members they give you permission to share.
This year we are sending digital birthday cards to all members for whom we have dates, so if you’ve had a birthday since mid-July, please check your email inbox for a card. We hope you enjoy them.
Becky French
Corresponding Secretary
To ensure that you do not miss any communications from the Branch, please send updates or corrections to your contact information to Mary Andersen
@ AAUW.Mary.Andersen@gmail.com