Joy and Love In Action

This month has been most unusual. It started with a Convention. That might sound like fun. In some ways it was, because I met some amazing women. On the other hand, I was a delegate, so, as Calvin used to say, the days were packed. The theme was Love and Joy in Action and there was a lot of smiling going on.

Blogging is one of my enthusiasms. So is food, photography, and writing. Check out that dessert photo. It was from the first day's lunch. I want to try making that marbled chocolate base for the sorbet.

Another one of my enthusiasms is raising money for scholarships for women, especially women who are returning to school both to improve themselves and to help out their families. I indulge this enthusiasm through an organization that has been around since the 1860's. The fund raising and fun is done through local chapters composed of women from many walks in life. In California there are over 500 chapters. This year the Convention had a delegate from almost all of those chapters, plus some past presidents and other dignitaries. There were also another 500 or so non-delegate chapter members. Image a huge meeting room packed with over 1,000 women! Since I like small groups of people, being a delegate was a challenge. Here is a photo of me being a delegate. Sorry about the quality, but it was taken by a sweet volunteer who didn't understand my camera. I look more relaxed than I felt.

The organization is P.E.O., a philanthropic educational organization. One philanthropy, for example, the International Peace Scholarship Fund, has given $20,495,763 providing 5,522 scholarships to women from 167 countries from 1949 to 2006. There are other projects with similar funding, plus California state scholarships, and local scholarships. Our chapter provides over $4,500 in local scholarship money each year. Last year our six scholars also received two international and two state scholarships.

So now you know why I was away from the computer at the beginning of June. As a past school board member, I still have a passion for education and assisting those who are eager to learn. This is a great way to feed that enthusiasm (although I'm hoping that someone else will go to Convention next year...too many people!)