 | founding the Voluntary Action Corps, now known as the Community Help Centre; |
| founding of PhoneFriend (a Help-Line for "latchkey" children, discontinued in June 1998 when it was felt that its services were no longer needed by the community); |
| providing financial support to Family Health Services; |
| presenting scholarship awards to outstanding area high school students; |
| making financial contributions to local non-profit charitable organizations, which include women, serve women, and whose primary thrust is education; |
| encouraging further intellectual growth and study by annually awarding three grants of $3000 each to adult women in Centre County who are resuming their academic work. (one Simmons-Jansma Project Renew Grant and two AAUW State College Branch Grants); |
| staffing the main information booth at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in July; and |
| continuing to inform voters about issues critical to women and their families. Branch members help with voter registration and at Candidates' Night, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Centre County. |
Support of Libraries
Quoting from "The First Fifty Years" written by Louise Tukey
and Dr. Helen D. Hill in 1966 for the 50th Anniversary Yearbook of the State
College Pennsylvania Branch of the American Association of University Women,
Mrs. Tukey, historian, notes:
Continuing interest in local library problems has characterized branch
history. In 1927 a committee was appointed to investigate possibilities for a
local library. Members devoted much time and energy to propaganda and education
on the need for a County Library and/or a Community Library.
Mrs. Arthur W. Cowell, first president of AAUW 1916-1917, was tireless in her
efforts with the County Commissioners and other county and community leaders in
behalf of a library. Finally, the Centre County Library was located in
Bellefonte in 1939, and in 1942 Mrs. Cowell reported that the Bookmobile for the
County Library was "on the road."
Though the branch cannot claim credit for the establishment of the Bella S.
Schlow Memorial Library in 1956, it must be noted that many branch members have
devoted interest, effort and financial support to the maintenance of this
addition to the community.
The branch was one of the sponsoring groups to form an executive board for the
Friends of the Library; has contributed financially since 1956; worked to gain
tax support in a "Save the Library" campaign (1960); began the custom of
presenting books annually to the Past Presidents Shelf (1963); and was among the
many groups which requested that the vacated post office building be used to
relocate the Schlow Library facilities (1965).
Display cases for the childrens' room were presented to the library to honor the
50th anniversary of the State College Branch of AAUW in 1966. Numerous meetings
of AAUW were held in the Fireside Room and the Board of Directors were
privileged to meet often in the upstairs Assembly Room.
The State College Branch has pledged $25,000 toward
construction of the new Schlow Library. Our support for the library has
been consistent across the years, so it seemed right that we give a
substantial donation to this expansion.
The Schlow Library has been an ongoing priority of the Branch
to receive allocations from proceeds of the annual Used Book Sale, a community
event since 1962. In recent years AAUW has also financially contributed as a
friend to other libraries as well: the Centre Hall Library, the Holt Library in
Philipsburg, the Aaronsburg Area Public Library and the Centre County Library.
Louise Tukey and Evelyn Marboe, past presidents of the AAUW Branch, emphasize
that libraries are the backbone of the life of the community and are a
commitment to education through the printed word.
