LWV-Wake Update 7/26/2021
| Dear ~~first_name~~,
Greetings and welcome to our second bi-weekly LWV-Wake newsletter powered by Club Express. You may notice some differences in email and newsletter formats as we continue our conversion to this new platform. Please add president@lwvwake.org to your contacts to avoid these newsletters going to your spam folder. Also, if you haven't already, please renew now. We rely on membership dues and support to keep our organization running.
As our League continues to grow and change to adapt to new platforms and technologies, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge all of our longstanding Leaguers who have helped shaped our League over the past decades. These members may not attend all the various committee meetings, however, they continue to support LWV-Wake through sponsorship participation in our upcoming Women's Equality Day and other larger events during the year. We sincerely appreciate your continued membership and support of the League!
To all new LWV-Wake members, WELCOME! I'm so excited you have joined us and hope each of you will look for ways to engage as we work to defend democracy and empower voters. If you have an area of interest, I would encourage you to reach out to the various committee Co-Chairs or send an email to info@lwvwake.org to let us know what you're interested in and we will direct you to the person(s) who can assist in making sure you are included in any committee emails, events, etc. As we look forward to in-person events, our Membership Co-Chairs will be providing information about upcoming League 101 events that will help new members navigate the League as well as provide ways to get involved.
We have added several new events to our League calendar. Please scroll down to Upcoming Events for details. In addition, there are also two events on LWVNC's website that may be of interest. LWVNC, along with Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ), is co-hosting a Redistricting Advocacy workshop. Tomorrow, a discussion about Critical Race Theory with Kimberly J. Cook, PhD, is being sponsored by LWV Lower Cape Fear. Info and registration links are below. Don't forget about our own DEI Roundtable Are We a Democracy? coming up this Tuesday.
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- WED Committee - Is busy planning our Women's Equality Day event on August 26th. This year's event will be held at the newly remodeled All Faith's Chapel at Dix Park and feature performing artist and cultural arts leader Carly Jones. Carly has worked to make the arts more inclusive and accessible across socio-economic boundaries in NC. In addition, she has been cast as "Camila Rosario" in NC Theater's upcoming musical In the Heights. During this event, we will also recognize the incredible work of all women elected officials in Wake County. This event is our major fundraising event of the year and we hope all members will support us by attending and/or purchasing a sponsorship. We rely on these funds to offset the increasing costs of our programs and for operational support. Please note: WED sponsorships can be purchased online or you can click a link to download a sponsorship form and mail a check. Register/support us here:
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- Redistricting committee- Has created a Fair Maps Art Contest for LWV-Wake in an effort to increase public awareness of the power of redistricting and the need for fair maps. From July 15th-August 15th, artists are invited to submit 2D work related to the themes of fair voting maps in North Carolina. We will be holding an online exhibition and offering a cash prize to contest winners. We hope this contest will engage citizens to advocate for more public input opportunities and more transparency by the NCGA during the upcoming redistricting round. Learn more here:
|  | | Call for Volunteers
There are several volunteer opportunities for our members who would like to get move involved with the League.
- Website Event Planner - We are looking for someone who is interested in learning how to create events and images for our new website. This would involve learning about an event (books, discussions, etc.) and creating images using Canva or similar as well as creating event descriptions. Please email LWV-Wake President Cheryl Tung.
- Grant Writer - Have experience in writing grant applications? Our Development Committee is looking for volunteers to assist in completing grant applications. This would involve the ability to effectively communicate the League's mission and vision for new educational programs in order to secure grant funding. Please email LWV-Wake President Cheryl Tung
- Timely Topics - Our Timely Topics committee is looking for volunteers to assist in planning and checking in members and guests during our in-person events. Please email Co-Chairs Cheryl Keeton or Katherine Wilkinson.
|  | Please Renew Your Membership & Create Your Member Profile
Memberships, unless renewed, will expire at the end of July. In an effort to decrease the amount of volunteer work, we have transitioned to an easy online renewal process. Once you log in with the credentials that were emailed to you last month, you will be prompted to update your password and renew your membership. Please note: You CAN pay your membership dues by credit card and you DO NOT need to have a PayPal account to do so. PayPal is the processing company we use to process credit cards and debits. Once you click PayPal, you can enter your credit card information or your bank account info. You can also choose to download the renewal form and mail it with a check. We hope you will continue to support us with your membership in order to receive information about important issues and our educational programs!
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- July 27th DEI Roundtable (Members Only) - Are We a Democracy? We will discuss American exceptionalism and whether students should be taught a more enriched version of elements of our history, such as the electoral college, by explaining the origins and who they were actually intended to serve. 5pm- 6pm. Register here.
- August 17th 3pm League Lit Western Wake (Members Only) - Will discuss The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein. For more about the book and to register, click here.
- August 24th 4:45pm DEI Series (Members Only) - Join our August DEI discussion to review the past, reflect on the present, and determine personal actions that address a renewed voter suppression movement. To register, click here.
- August 26th Women's Equality Day (Public Event) - Please support the League and celebrate Women's Equality during our major fundraising event of the year! Join us in the newly remodeled Dix Chapel with guest speaker Carly Jones. Learn more about Carly here. We will also recognize all women elected officials of Wake County. Register here.
- September 16th 2pm League Lit (Members Only) - Will discuss The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. More details can be found here.
- September 30th Timely Topics (Public Event) - Save the date for our first Timely Topics of our new series. Guest speaker will be Carolyn Jefferson Jenkins, PhD. The event will be held at the NCSU University Club at 5:00pm. Registration link will be provided soon.
| LWVNC & other NC Local League events
| Crowd Academy Redistricting Advocacy Workshop
The Southern Coalition for Social Justice and LWVNC are sponsoring a two-day workshop to teach individuals how to effectively advocate for redistricting reform. During the workshop you will learn:
- About the basic legal framework – enough for you to describe the process to others
- How to educate others about Fair Maps
- How to advocate for Fair Maps and mobilize others
- How to identify a “community of interest”
- How to draw maps that reflect cohesive communities which should not be divided by politicians
The workshop is open to both members and non-members and is free of charge. This is a wonderful opportunity to hone advocacy skills and understand the map drawing process. Details and registration info can be found here.
|  | LWV Lower Cape Discussion on Critical Race Theory
Join LWV Lower Cape Fear in a discussion with Kimberly J. Cook, PhD as we learn the truth about Critical Race Theory: What it is, what it is not, and where it is applied in education. This event is being promoted to all LWVNC members and registration link can be found on LWVNC's website here. | Rally for Equality on Women's (In)Equality Day
On Women's (In)Equality Day, join Leaguers from all over NC for a Rally for Equality August 26th from 10 a.m. to noon. Meet at the NC General Assembly Building (16 W. Jones St.). Come by the carload. Wear your pin. Bring your signs. Look for fans, banners, and beach balls. Details here.
| LWV-Wake in the News!
On July 14th, an excerpt of WUNC host Rusty Jacob's interview with Cheryl Tung, President of the League of Women Voters of Wake County, about the group's Fair Maps Art Contest was aired during WUNC Morning Edition. This presentation included UNC School of Government Prof. Robert Joyce, who spoke about redistricting and the past decade's legal battles over North Carolina's voting maps. Parts of the interview were also featured on the longer podcast Tested. | LWVNC League License Plates
LWVNC is working to create a new specialty license plate (pictured above) for North Carolina drivers. The League needs to collect 500 prepaid license plate applications in order to request NC DMV to authorize the plate. To date, they have received only 22 applications. Let's help make this happen! For details and how to pre-purchase a plate, click here.
| Thank you for continuing to support the League of Women Voters of Wake County. I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Tung
President | |