Learning Programs
Lake/Sumter AAUW offers members an array of learning opportunities, including General Meetings, Diversity Discussions, Book Club, Great Decisions, and Day Trips.
General Meetings
The branch holds General Meetings on the fourth Saturday of the month from September through May at the Allamanda Recreation Center (1515 St. Charles Place) in The Villages. Doors open at 9:15 a.m., social time starts at 9:30 a.m., and the meeting starts at 10:00 a.m. Each meeting includes a short business meeting as well as an educational program. General Meetings are open to the public. When local conditions dictate, the meetings are held via Zoom.
​
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs
​
Lake/Sumter AAUW's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee supports our branch commitment to DEI and enhances members' awareness of diversity issues by providing programs focused on those issues.
​
Book recommendations, movie viewings, discussion groups, and more are aimed at understanding the history and experiences of marginalized groups.
Visit our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page for details about this year’s programs.
​
Book Club
​
The Lake/Sumter AAUW Book Club meets on the third Wednesday of every month, year 'round. At its August meeting, members recommend and select books for the coming year; the December meeting is devoted to a holiday lunch. The group discusses recommended books in the other months of the year.
​
Beginning this year, the Book Club will meet live at the Sheriff's Annex on CR 466 in The Villages from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Interested members then go to lunch. During the pandemic, the Club met via Zoom; that option continues to be available as conditions dictate.
​
Here are the book selections for 2023 - 2024 and the dates on which we will read them. All Lake/Sumter AAUW members are welcome to join the discussion.
​
-
October 18: Horse, Geraldine Brooks
-
November 15: The Book of Lost Names, Kristin Harmel
-
January 17: The Magnolia Palace, Fiona Davis
-
February 21: The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson
-
March 20: Pandora's Clock, John J. Nance
-
April 17: Babylon's Ark, Lawrence Anthony
-
May 15: Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus
-
June 19: The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Richardson
-
July 17: Ordinary Grace, William Krueger
-
August 21: The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, Kelli Estes
Click HERE for a downloadable PDF of descriptions of each book.
Great Decisions
​
​
Our branch participates in the Foreign Policy Association's Great Decisions discussion group. The discussion is based on the Foreign Policy Association's briefing booklet, which contains eight articles relevant to our times. Topics for 2023-2024 include: Mideast Realignment, Climate Technology and Competition, Science Across Borders, U.S. China Trade Rivalry, NATO's Future, Understanding Indonesia, High Seas Treaty, and Pandemic Preparedness.
Great Decisions meets in person beginning in late January and running through March. We meet once a week for about 90 minutes and discuss one chapter each week for eight weeks. During the meetings we discuss the chapter and watch a 20-minute video segment prepared by the Foreign Policy Association which extends our understanding of the chapter.
​
The Great Decisions discussion group is open to all members as well as non-members. Both pay for their briefing booklet; non-members also pay a nominal fee.
​
"Women are leaders everywhere you look...we will continue to break down walls and defy stereotypes."
Nancy Pelosi
Day Trips
​
Each year, Lake/Sumter AAUW's Day Trips Committee organizes two to three outings for members, who may invite friends if they wish. Destinations for Day Trips are within a 1 to 1 1/2 hour drive from The Villages. Past trips have been to Cross Creek, the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and lunch at The Yearling restaurant; lunch at the Mission Inn, a tour of the Howie Mansion, and a stop at Yalaha Bakery; and a luncheon cruise on the St. Johns River out of Sanford. Although the committee selects the venues and makes the arrangements such as reservations and transportation, each participant pays her own way. The first trip this year will be to explore the history of Clermont on November 11.
Stimulating programming for college-educated women