| Summer 2000 A Letter from the President of MN NOW Wal-Mart rolling back women's rights Speaker: Japan must admit WWII crimes against humanity MN NOW 2000 Legislative Wrap-up HousingMinnesota launches outreach campaign MN NOW names Mary Ann Bailey Gaspar Feminist of the Year Chrysalis and Amazon Bookstore Cooperative move to South Mpls. MN NOW has open volunteer opportunities
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A letter from the president of MN NOW
By Lee Janisch Hi. For those of you who don't know me, I'll tell you a little about who I am and why I ran for MN NOW President. My name is Lee Janisch and I am a long-time feminist and activist. I have been involved on various levels with women's issues for all of my life. I helped to start the Women's Center at the University of Minnesota, Morris, while I was a student there. In 1989, after the Webster decision and the closing of the Women's Center at Normandale College, I, with Sheri McPherson-Higdon (current State Vice-president) and one other woman initiated the MN Valley chapter of NOW. I have also been an advocate for battered women. The list could go on, but I choose to not bore you and just give a sample. NOW is important to me, and a vital part of my life; in part because it covers the broad spectrum of women's issues. There are several other organizations, such as NARAL, which pertain to one aspect or another of women's issues, but only NOW covers most of them. One of the things that we are faced with both on a national and state level is a declining membership base. This means that not only is there less money, but we have less people to do the work. Our challenge is to turn that trend around. One of the things that I hear from the outside is that NOW is no longer relevant. Unfortunately, one of the things that would make us relevant would be for Bush to be elected, or for the Legislature or the Supreme Court to curtail reproductive choice. That would be a drastic method. Therefore, I ask all of us to think about why NOW is relevant to us and convey that to the people we meet. If someone says, "Oh, I used to be a NOW member, but I'm not anymore," ask why and encourage them to rejoin. It is the concern of all of us to do this. Another challenge is we are all busier. So we’re not only facing declining members, but the ones we do have have less time to volunteer. I would ask each of you to think about what you could do as a MN NOW volunteer. It can be a one-time commitment to help with labeling for the newsletter. Or you may consider a longer time commitment such as helping to plan an event like Love Your Body Day. Just truly see what it is that you can do. We have listed in the newsletter several positions that need to be filled in various committees. See if any of them would fit your interest and time. I hope that we can meet the challenges ahead so NOW can be around for our daughters and granddaughters as it has been for us. Thank you. |