Special Interest

Get to know other members in small group settings focused on various special interests!
At the Membership Celebration in September, you will have an opportunity to sign up for one or more of these groups. More info will be provided at the meeting, but know that all groups welcome new participants.

Reference the latest Newsletter for the current contact for each group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Special Interest: Book Clubs

Afternoon Book Group – meets the 2nd Monday of the month at 2pm. Remaining books through December, 2024:

  • July: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride
  • August: The Naked Don’t fear the Water, by Mathhieu Aikins
  • September: Armor of Light, by Ken Follett
  • October: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
  • November: After the Miracle by Ma Wallace
  • December: The Exceptions by Kate Zemike

Book Lovers and Page Turners – meets the 4th Monday of the month at 2pm. Remaining books through October, 2024:

  • July: Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
  • August: The Dictionary People by Sarah Ogilvie
  • September: Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See
  • October: The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Working Girls Book Group – meets at a different restaurant monthly at 5:30. Books are selected at the previous month’s meeting. Please see the Newsletter for the latest information.

Special Interest: Great Decisions 

Great Decisions – Discussion of world events. Meets eight times per year. This year the group meets on the 4th Monday of the month at 12pm. An evening meeting may be added this Fall (possibly the 4th Monday at 6pm).

Special Interest: Social Groups

Cork and Fork – Five groups of up to six members and their guest, meet bi-monthly on a Sunday evening to sample wine, hearty appetizers, and dessert. Most evenings contain a wine education component determined by the member hosting the evening. The sky is the limit on pairings to celebrate the wonderful world of wine and food.

Walking Group – this informal group meets during cooler weather months to explore county backroads in Sutter Creek, Jackson and Amador City. Walks are typically 60 to 90 minutes long and participants need to be comfortable with moderate activity levels, due to hills that cannot be avoided. Please see the Newsletter for the latest information.

Libations and Conversations – members meet monthly (almost) at local tasting rooms and restaurants to hear from interesting speakers on a variety of topics while enjoying a beverage.

Reference the latest Newsletter for the current contact of each group. Contact aauwamador@gmail.com if you wish to start a special interest group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Programs

Tech Trek

Tech Trek is an annual weeklong STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) summer camp for girls going into the 8th grade. It began as a project of California AAUW in 1998, and is now sponsored by AAUW National. Camps are held on college campuses, and Amador County girls attend camp at California State University, Fresno.

Tech Trek is designed to increase interest and excitement about STEM, and to increase self-confidence in the girls attending. Daily hands-on classes and field trips facilitate the exploration of a variety of STEM fields of study in a nurturing environment. The classes are taught by women who are professionally employed in these fields.

Seventh grade math and science teachers nominate seventh grade girls who have an interest in and do well in math and / or science. Students complete an on-line application and complete an essay related to STEM. The applications are screened by the AAUW Amador selection committee and all of the applicants are then interviewed.

AAUW Amador supports this program with scholarships valued at $950 per camper. Each year two to six girls from Amador attend Tech Trek. Money is raised for this program through donations and by a variety of fundraisers.

For additional information, or if you wish to donate to this program, please contact Amador Branch Tech Trek Coordinator Gretchen Carlson at glcarlson1953@gmail.com You may also find more information at https://www.aauw-ca.org/tech-trek/