Letters: Nonprofits face future with optimism; Noticing tragedy and taking action

Nonprofits face future with optimism

The year has been a tough one and our community nonprofits have found themselves stretched to the limit. Forced to do without traditional fundraising events, organizations like AAUW State College are finding new ways to communicate their online programming and volunteer opportunities to the Centre Region.

AAUW State College has held its Used Book Sale for close to 60 years. In recent years, the sale netted over $100,000 annually to support women and children locally. In 2020, the branch was forced to cancel the beloved used book sale due to COVID. However, while the sale and the resulting income all but disappeared, the scholarships and community grants AAUW awarded pre-COVID were even more important to those in need. The branch chose to honor its commitments, as did many other local nonprofits.

In the face of these financial challenges, it has become increasingly important for nonprofits, like their business counterparts, to communicate more effectively by increasing their accessibility. In late December, AAUW State College launched a redesigned website focused on providing more information about the branch and its opportunities to our Centre Region neighbors. As a local branch of AAUW National, State College is one of the largest branches nationally, with over 150 active members. We also are a five-star branch, a designation given to a handful of branches.

We are full of optimism for the future! Visit us on our new site at: https://aauwstatecollege.org.

Noticing tragedy and taking action

I notice.

I notice the increasing numbers of them. Every day it seems one or two more. Scientists. Veterans. Homemakers. Teachers. Doctors. Laborers. More. All leave behind loved ones who probably didn’t get to say goodbye. All who probably relied on a caregiver’s kind touch in their dying moment. Doctors. Nurses. Aides. Housekeepers.

I notice the skeptics. They think it’s not real. They think it’s real but a conspiracy. They think it’s real but won’t affect them. The vaccine must be dangerous. It must be a conspiracy. It must be someone making money.

It is a tragedy. I will roll up my sleeve. I wear my mask, it’s not hard. Many others do too ...

I notice.

Why aren’t Congressmen questioning their own election results?

Several recent letters to the editor have rightly criticized Representatives Glenn Thompson and Fred Keller for their shamefully signing on to a Republican letter claiming that the recent election was fraudulent.

If they really believe this, then their own reelections were fraudulent, and they should be calling for another election immediately. They should not be accepting the outcome and allowing themselves to be seated in the House in January.

If these gentlemen indeed were to face another election, the voters should take a look at their Congressional voting records on the planet’s environment. Their environmental voting scores, according to the League of Conservation Voters, are 5% for Thompson, and an abysmal 4% for Keller. These are among the very worst anti-environmental records in the entire Congress. Apparently neither one of them ever met a polluter they didn’t like.

So, yes, they were reelected fraudulently! Let’s have another election. And if you are for fair elections, and if you are for the Constitution, and if you are for planet Earth, vote out both Thompson and Keller this time!