LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear OC NOW Members,

Our new board met in July and worked on a chapter plan for 2007/08. We are excited about the upcoming elections and the opportunity to work to elect pro-choice candidates. Our theme for this year is “ACTIVE at EVERY Meeting”. We plan on providing an opportunity to take action at every general meeting.

Many thanks need to go out to last year’s board, especially Maurine Rakhshani and Colline Mathews, Co-coordinators who worked so hard to once again hold our Roe v. Wade Rally at the Circle of Orange. Their hard work and our Chapter’s continuing tradition have earned us an ACT NOW Chapter Recognition Award from CA NOW. Colline has agreed to Chair the rally again in 2008! I would also like to thank Gwen Blakkan and JoAnn Perlman for once again volunteering to be Newsletter Chair and Treasurer. They have worked many years in these positions and we are incredibly grateful. Dominique Lourgouilloux will once again be our International Chair. We are excited that Kim Salter, former CA NOW President, will be joining us as our Speaker Chair. Heather Keebler-Karberg has agreed to be the VP for Membership, a huge job as this year our Board’s focus will be on chapter building. Maurine will take over as Secretary this year as I work as your President.

I would like to introduce myself, my name is Linda Long. I have lived in Orange County for 35 years, raising two daughters, one foster daughter, and one foster son. My ex-husband and I owned several Orange County businesses over the years and I am now retired. I have served on several boards for various philanthropic groups as well as the PTO for many years. And, I was a Girl Scout leader for six years, which means I can do anything! Last year I served as OC NOW’s Secretary. I am pleased to bring my business skills and organizational skills to help OC NOW continue with its’ work to take actions to bring equality to all women.

In Sisterhood, Linda Long

ACTION NEWS

The General Meeting in September will focus on lobbying for Reproductive Rights. Here are a few ways to get ACTIVE for August and September.

1. Call your local School District Office and ask to speak with the secondary education Director. Request him/her to send you a copy of the Sex Education curriculum. Every member of the community is entitled to ask and receive a copy of any part of the school curriculum. It does not matter whether or not you have a child in the school district. You are entitled to request the curriculum of the school district in which you reside. When you have received the information, send a copy of the curriculum to:

Claudio Gallegos
Government Affairs Coordinator at: Planned Parenthood
P. O. Box 6145
Orange, CA 92863

He will add it to his data for the Sexuality Education Research Project (SERP).
Then bring a copy to the September General Meeting. If the school district is not teaching comprehensive sex education, we will work together to go to your School Board and request them to change their curriculum. (Linda Long has already started with the Tustin Unified School District and will attend their meeting on August 27. If there are any Tustin parents who would like to join her, email her at mslindalong@hotmail.com).

2. Go to: http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/california.html to research the latest legislation regarding California’s reproductive rights.
Go to: http://www. canow.org and take ACTION in their Action Alerts.

OC NOW Board Members for 2007/08

President: Linda Long
VP Membership: Heather Keebler-Karberg
Secretary: Maurine Rakhshani
Treasurer: JoAnn Perlman
Newsletter: Gwen Blakkan
Roe v. Wade Event Chair: Colline Mathews
International Chair: Dominique Lourgouilloux
Speaker Chair: Kim Salter
Legislative Chair: Vacant
Domestic Violence Chair: Vacant
Publicity: Vacant
Social/Fund Raising: Vacant

There are several open positions on the OC NOW Board. Bring your ideas and energy and join the Board. If you need a little direction, we can assist you. Contact us at
http://www.nowoc.org/ContactUs.html or email to orangecountynow@yahoo.com

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS: If you would like to submit an article for consideration for publication in the Agenda, please submit it to Gwen Blakkan at nancydolls@sbcglobal.net.

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A woman’s place is in the House, Senate, and soon, in the President’s chair. Support Hillary Clinton!!
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Domestic Violence Hotline Numbers

Battered Women’s Hotline 1-800-978-3600
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-7233
Statewide CA coalition for Battered Women
1-888-722-2952
Alternative to Domestic Violence
1-800-339-7233

These hotline numbers will allow an abused woman to speak with an advocate, who will assess the situation and use her resources to best direct the woman to safety, counseling and eventually to recovery.

DO YOU HAVE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS??

We want to get NOW news to you in a timely manner. And what better way than
email. Please send your email address to
orangecountynow@yahoo.com.
We guarantee that we will not share your
email address with any other organization or business.

National NOW’s official priorities are pressing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will guarantee equal rights for women; achieving economic equality for women; hampioning abortion rights, reproductive freedom and other women’s health issues; supporting civil rights for all and opposing racism; opposing bigotry against lesbians and gays; and ending violence against women.

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Women offer new leadership in an inspired time, a new supply of energy in a void of scarcity, and the power of our collective spirit in a time of apathy.
Yvonne Burke