MISSION BASED PROGRAMS
Director: Cathy Mock
FUTURE PREP and HIGH SCHOOL CAREER EVENTS
Future Prep is AAUW’s volunteer program at Healdsburg High School to help students explore career choices and understand the pathway, education, and life skills necessary to attain that career. We anticipate one presentation per year at Healdsburg High. Dena Lash and Stephanie Alves are the Chairs of this Committee.
Aside from Future Prep, AAUW members are asked to participate in a number of classroom activities, ranging from offering feedback on student’s community service activities to acting as observers in the presentation of junior class internship projects. A call for volunteers if allowed, will go out through Constant Contact for these events.
READING ROCKS
Using teacher-provided material, Reading Rocks is a program that helps AAUW volunteers work with young students to improve their reading skills, build their confidence, and give the individual attention that is so hard for the classroom teacher to devote to them. A favorite activity of Reading Rocks is the holiday book giveaway, where each first grader at Healdsburg Elementary and West Side School receives a new book of their own. Pat Bertapelle is the coordinator at West Side School and Diane Burnley is the coordinator at Healdsburg Elementary. The chairs of this committee also coordinate Holiday Books for First Grade students, in which our branch “gifts” a book to every first grader at West Side School, Healdsburg Elementary and Geyserville Elementary, and volunteers are welcome.
HOLIDAY SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Every year our members give school supplies to the elementary teachers of Healdsburg, which is very much appreciated by the staff at the schools. This year a Constant Contact message will go out asking for donations for Amazon Gift Cards. This was very successful last year, thanks to the generosity of our members.
SCHOOL READINESS
School readiness is a committee established a few years ago. We are interested in helping to ensure that all children in our community have the tools, resources, and parent help that they will need to be ready for kindergarten. The focus will be on birth to age 5, a critical time for a child’s development. This committee helps with the preschool fair in Healdsburg as well as attending community meetings around this topic. We have members who currently volunteer at North Bay Children’s Center, located on the Fitch Mountain elementary school campus.