February 2023 Highlights

Committee activity reports are attached to the monthly Board minutes, available at this link. Monthly Board meetings are open to all members. Details are posted under “Events” on the League website.

Are you missing out on our emails? If you use Gmail, mail from our MailChimp account may end up tucked away as a “Promotion” – or worse, as spam! To make sure you are in the loop, see the instructions at the end of this newsletter.

Happy Birthday, League of Women Voters! February 14 marked the 103rd anniversary of the League. Since its founding, LWV has fought to empower voters and defend democracy through advocacy, education, and litigation, and LWVSCDE is proud to be part of that ongoing work. We have accomplished a lot since our founding, but we know the fight to protect democracy continues.

 Black History Month — It’s not too late to participate! Each week during the month of February, LWV of Delaware presents a set of "Learning Opportunities" (resources and questions) for your review and reflection. The event culminates in a virtual discussion on February 28, 2023 via Zoom. Find out more at this link. And don’t forget to support the local efforts of the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ). 

Get a piece of the action! We know many of you are looking to get more involved in our work. We will be sending out surveys to learn more about your skills, know-how, and experience, and how you want to help out with our programs and activities. The first survey is aimed at those of you who indicated an interest in Voter Services, and it should be hitting your mailbox before the end of the month. If you’re interested in an active volunteer role, don’t wait! contact Pat Newcomb or Jan Willis on our Membership team: lwvscde.membership [at] gmail.com.

Observer Corps Field Trip: Tuesday, March 7: Many of our members are new to the area and don’t yet know how the County Council influences decision-making about land usage, government services, and housing. For more than 10 years, LWVSC members have served as impartial observers to monitor and report on government meetings. On March 7, more than a dozen members will sit together at a Council meeting (wearing our LWV buttons!). Board member Janet Ambrose will make a Public Comment at the beginning of the meeting to let the Council members know who we are and why we are there. This will be a great opportunity to increase our collective understanding of how things work. The group will meet for lunch afterwards to discuss the experience. For more information, click here.

Youth Voter Registration Project 2023: Our pilot project to build a social media campaign in support of our youth voter education and registration is progressing nicely. Our DelTech student team will be helping us develop short style videos to posting to social media. The videos will feature a diverse group of students talking about why registering is important and issuing the call to action: go to Vote411. We’ll be “boosting” these messages to reach 18- to 25-year-olds in Sussex zip codes. Contact judyparkins [at] gmail.com (subject: Vouth%20Voter%20Registration%20Project) (Judy Parkins) for more information or if you’d like to help out.

Social Policy Committee: At the January 30 committee meeting, long-time members Janet Ambrose, Zita Dresner, Lynda Dunham, Carol Somers, and Penny Deiner welcomed new members Dianna Benaknin, Vicky Sessoms, and Chris Sturm. Dianna, Vicky, and Chris brought insight into the health care system and business models. The committee will continue to research the issue of availability and access to health care services, with a focus on the role of profitability. Zita discussed social justice issues that ACLU and SDARJ are focusing on, which include probation reform and tenants’ Right to Representation – something Governor Carney is interested in. On housing matters, Lynda told us that the Springboard Collaborative in Georgetown was close to being available, with minor points yet to be resolved. The Governor’s budget includes funds to address affordable housing. Janet reported on the AAUW-sponsored presentation on early childhood education in Delaware, made by Madeleine Bayard of Rodel. Penny shared her testimony to the Delaware Legislature on HB 33, which would increase funding for preschool children with disabilities who are not currently covered by special education units. The bill reflects research that COVID19 may have affected the development of infants born between March and December 2020.

Membership: We are looking for new venues for our Fun Lunches and Happy Hours. Requirements include a private room and the ability to handle separate checks for a large group. Please send your suggestions to the committee at lwvscde.membership [at] gmail.com ().

March Happy Hour: Watch for details coming soon!

How to make sure Gmail doesn’t hide your League mailings:

Open your Gmail account and look for mail from LWVSCDE, LWVSC, or sussexlwv [at] gmail.com under the Promotions tab (Figure 1). If our emails have landed in Promotions, click the star next to the email. This will tell Gmail that you wish to receive these emails in your Primary inbox.	Figure 1
Next, check the Spam folder (Figure 2), and if you find LWVSC mail, check the box to the left of the item and the star, and then click on “Not spam.”	Figure 2