Currents Spring 2020 (Vol. 36, No. 1) | Page 4

We Can Be 20 Annual General 20 Meeting: Proud! The flurry of activity that proceeds our Annual Gen- eral Meeting (AGM) is always noteworthy. Whether it is preparing the agenda, getting the PowerPoint© presentation to work, finding photos of the activi- ties, checking who has paid their dues, balancing the budget, making sure there is coffee and sugar, or so- liciting items for the Silent Auction—there is always much to do. But then it happens. And it’s always im- pressive. On Janury 26th, our 2019 president, Carol S., opened the meeting by welcoming the 42 attending mem- bers. She reviewed the many administrative activi- ties that the 2019 board had carried out, including updating the AWCH archive, reviewing our insurance policies and activity guidelines, and initiating steps toward improving our internal and external com- munications—the final step of which will be a new website. After a short review of our different groups and our board-appointed positions, Carol S. warmly thanked our members for their unwavering commit- ment and support in keeping the club diverse and strong. The strengths of our club were reflected over and over again in the presentations given by the board members. One aspect we can certainly be proud of is the broad and extensive platform of activities we host, which allows our members to connect and get involved. Activity Chair Anne-Marie S. reported that, in addition to the over 100 regular meet-ups and ac- tivities organized by the individual special-interest groups, AWCH offered close to 50 events in 2019. This included our annual holiday events, (e.g., Fourth of July, Thanksgiving) but also a number of special walk- 4 AWCH News & Events ing tours (e.g., Little Jerusalem, Ohlsdorf Cemetery), art exhibitions (e.g., Generation Wealth, Street Art), and fund-raising events (e.g., Dumpling-making, Si- lent Auction). Another highlight was the panel dis- cussion “Visionary Women” hosted together with the Amerikazentrum for Women’s History Month. We also tried something new: our Club-O-Rama, or- ganized by Membership Chair Holly T., was a unique platform for new and potential members to explore the social, cultural, and educational opportunities that our various groups offer. In her 2019 budget report Treasurer Tracy M. emphasized that a large proportion of the membership dues goes toward supporting the annual events. This year we were also able to add three new groups (Women’s Circle, Theater Group, and Get Up & Move), revive an older group (German Conversation), and saw the tentative start-up of several others (Environmentally Mindful, Mahjong, and Choir). Our second strength is our philanthropic arm, en- abling our members to “make a difference.” The Philanthropic Collective was introduced in 2019 to coordinate and strengthen our fundraising events and activities. Treasurer Tracy M. reported that over €3,770 was raised last year for various philanthropic projects. At the AGM in 2018 we chose the Fifth Ham- burg Women’s Shelter to be our local charity. This has been quite rewarding, as our members donated clothes (from “Sip and Swap”), participated in the Laufen Gegen Gewalt run (and not just by running!), and bought raffle tickets to raise that “extra” money for the shelter, much appreciated during the holiday season. Our FAWCO Rep. Christine R. reported that