2020 100 High School Girls Scholarships Awarded

Annually since 1931, AAUW-KC has awarded outstanding female high school seniors college scholarships. In 2020, we awarded three 100 High School Girls scholarships to: Vy Duong, a senior at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy; Jadyn Brooks, senior at Grandview High School; and Michyla Westbrook, senior at East High School. Each received a $1,000 education scholarship. We were pleased to receive excellent applications from students at these schools along with Central Academy of Excellence and Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts.

Many thanks to Kim Flynn, Stefanie Hatfield and Patty Cahill who served on the reading/selection committee. This project would not happen without the support of these dedicated AAUW volunteers!

2020 Reentry Woman of the Year Scholarships Awarded

The Reentry Woman of the Year committee is pleased to announce the 2020 scholarship recipients. Under the capable leadership of Cela Sullivan, IBC chair from the North Kansas City Branch, the committee came together in cyberspace (isn’t technology wonderful?) and voted for the following five winners:

Erica Haygood, Respiratory Therapy, Kansas City Kansas Community College

Joanna Marin, Business Administration, Kansas State University

Nadia Vallecido, Marketing< Kansas City Kansas Community College

Catherine Bailey, BA degree-English with an emphasis in Creative Writing, UMKC

Elana Cannon, Pre-Nursing, Kansas City Kansas Community College

All five Reentry awardees received $750 each. Pell grant winners, Haygood, Marin and Vallecido received cash. Bailey and Cannon both received Toni Thornton scholarships, payable to their respective colleges. (They do not have Pell grants.)

2019 Wagy Awards Recap:

Each year the Kansas City Branch, through its Nettie Irene Van Der Veer Wagy Fund, awards grants to local social service and cultural organizations for projects that support AAUW’s mission. In 2019, 20 organizations submitted letters of interest. All were worthy of support. The following received grants at the annual awards and holiday luncheon on December 6:

Angel Eyes Career Development Program helps single mothers attain higher education. The Wagy grant will be used for the purchase of an Employment Readiness Online Assessment Tool.

Girl Scouts – Camp Fury, a high-adventure career exploration camp with local Fire and Police Departments with the aim of giving girls an immersing experience in public service careers where women are under-represented. Wagy funds will cover two scholarships and supplies for the program.

KC Care Clinic – The grant supports supplies for colonoscopies and endometrial biopsies for 60 low-income and uninsured women with abnormal Pap tests.

MADI – Provides job-training skills and employment assistance in the commercial garment market while producing over 1,000 pairs of undergarments each year that are donated to area shelters. The Wagy grant will purchase commercial sewing machines and a cutting table.

UMKC Foundation – The grant pays for four girls to attend the 2020 Madam President Camp. The Camp teaches girls ages 10–13 leadership, public speaking, negotiation, campaigning, and other skills for effective civic political participation.

All who attended enjoyed a delicious lunch at Café Trio and hearing the stories of the amazing work done by these grant recipients. If you would like to make a donation for next year’s Wagy grants, please make your check payable to AAUW Wagy Fund/Amer01, and mail to: GKCCF (Greater Kansas City Community Foundation), Attn: Kelli Doyle, 1055 Broadway Blvd., Suite 130, Kansas City, MO 64105.

Empowering Working Women in Kansas and Missouri

Learn to negotiate your financial future through an AAUW Work Smart Salary Negotiation Workshop!

Whether you are negotiating for a new job or an earned raise or promotion, in every workshop you will gain confidence to:

  • Identify and articulate your personal value
  • Develop an arsenal of persuasive responses and other negotiation strategies
  • Conduct objective market research to benchmark a target salary and benefits

Why is negotiation so important? AAUW’s research on the gender pay gap shows that, one year out of college, women are already paid significantly less than men. Women who work full time take home 80 cents for every dollar a full-time male worker is paid. And over a lifetime, those lost potential earnings add up.

Women who negotiate increase their potential to earn higher salaries and better benefits packages. By negotiating fair and equitable salaries, you’ll be better able to pay off loans, buy the things you want and need, and even save for retirement.

A Collaborative Initiative

AAUW, the Women’s Foundation, and Kansas City’s Mayor Sly James launched the first phase of an initiative to empower 1 million women to successfully negotiate salary and benefits and close the gender pay gap in both Kansas and Missouri. The initiative will begin in Kansas City, where the overall gender pay ratio for the Kansas City metro area is 79 percent (a 21 percent gap).

In 2017, median annual earnings for men in Kansas were $49,267 compared to $37,931 for women — an earnings ratio of 77 percent, or 42nd out of all states and the District of Columbia, according to the most recent census data. In Missouri, median annual earnings for men were $47,436 compared to $37,339 for women — an earnings ratio of 79 percent, or 34th out of all states and the District of Columbia. And for many women, the pay gap is wider. This initiative will build momentum to close these gaps.