Volume 77, Number 3 | June 2025 |  | JUNE MEETING
Saturday, June 7th, 2025 | 9:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.
Refreshments at 9:00 a.m.
Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church
9400 Pflumm Rd, Lenexa, KS 66215
Our June program will address the topic of Public Education in Kansas. We will welcome Melanie Haas, member of the Kansas Board of Education, representing District 2, which includes school districts in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.
As the school year ends, it is a good time to receive updates on what is happening in Kansas public education, including legislation that has recently passed. Ms. Haas has been a member of the Kansas State Board since January 2021. Bring your questions and learn what's happening!
At the June meeting, we will collect new or gently used children's books for the FUUD Pantry at SMUUch this month. When clients visit the food pantry, they have the opportunity to select some children's books to take home. SMUUch reports that 61% of families in under-resourced neighborhoods have no books for the children in their homes. The FUUD Pantry at SMUUch collects gently used books of all kinds to ensure every family that visits can take books home.
The SMUUCh FUUD Pantry always appreciates our donations of non-perishable food.
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| EMPOWERING ALL VOTERS
LWV US Released the 2024 Election Impact Report
The 2024 federal election was one of the most critical in our nation’s history. Knowing this, our 700+ Leagues and 1 million+ supporters worked nonstop to empower voters with the tools they needed to make their voices heard at the ballot box. Leagues worked to expand outreach into oft-underrepresented communities, such as young, Black, brown, formerly or currently incarcerated, disabled, and female voters.
From January 2024 through the November election, Leagues made 30 million voter contacts through email, direct mail, social media, textbanks, phonebanks, in-person canvassing, relational organizing, radio, and billboards.
LWV US Launches Voter Mobilization Campaign
Starting May 1, the League launched the Unite and Rise 8.5 initiative, which aims to mobilize 8.5 million voters using the power of voter engagement as a cornerstone of our democracy. Unite and Rise 8.5 will showcase the many ways voters can drive change, including through advocacy, mobilization, civic education, and engagement. The initiative is part of LWV’s Women Defend Democracy campaign. | _________________________________
| New Member Orientation
Whether you are a newly registered member of our league or just curious to learn more, please join us for this informative event.
📅 Date: Sunday, June 8th
⏰ Time: 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
📍 Location: Central Resource Library | 9875 W. 87th St. | Overland Park, KS
All members and non-members, click to RSVP HERE
| | Join Us for a Fun Summer Picnic!
Mark your calendars for a fun summer evening full of good food and good company! We will gather at the Patio Shelter at Antioch Park to celebrate the sunny season together.
📅 Date: Thursday, June 5th
⏰ Time: 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
📍 Location: Antioch Park, Patio Shelter | 6501 Antioch Rd. | Merriam, KS
Check out this map of the park to find the Patio Shelter, located off the Administration Offices.
Please register, so we know how much food is needed: RSVP HERE
|  | Volunteer with Voter Registration
This team has so many great events coming up in June. Please check your calendars and sign up to help at one of these:
- Saturday, June 14th - Juneteenth AAGJC at Thompson Park (Downtown OP)
- Monday, June 23rd - KU Med Center, Resource Fair/Welcome Orientation
Voter Registration Orientation/Training:
For those currently helping with Voter Registration (VR) and for those interested in learning more, please join us and take a "deep-dive" into the VR Process. Please RSVP at voterregistration@lwvjoco.org.
- Friday, May 30th from 2-3:30 - Central Resource Library
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| | Observer Corps Report
The Observer Corps has open spots for the Board of County Commissioners, JCCC Board of Trustees, Olathe School Board, JOCO Parks & Rec Board, Olathe City Council, and Lenexa City Council. Email observercorps@lwvjoco.org if you can help!
| | | PRESIDENTIAL UPDATE
Our May 3rd meeting on Affordable Housing was excellent. I hope each of you were able to attend it in-person or view it afterwards on YouTube. To view this meeting (or prior monthly programs), log into our website (lwvjoco.org) with your username and password, put your cursor over “News” (located in the middle of a line of items, Home, Voting & Elections, etc.) and a drop-down list of options will appear, click on LWVJoCo YouTube, enjoy the photo of our members in action at the top of the YouTube window, then scroll down to MONTHLY MEETING to find all the recorded meetings for you to watch and increase your learning.
Our League members continue to organize and participate in protecting our democracy. Members gathered at the corners of Metcalf Avenue and 95th Street in Overland Park on May 8 to successfully protest the tearing down of our freedoms and to show that LWVJoCo supports public education, public health, and many other critical issues important to people who are not millionaires or billionaires. Similar protests on May 19, June 10, June 25 are scheduled so contact ACT@lwvjoco.org to get involved.
Continue to contact your U.S. House Representative and your U.S. Senators to express your views and concerns. They hear from people and corporations who are pushing for things which you may oppose, so they need to hear from you as well.
Consider talking with your friends and relatives once again who may not have supported your views last year. A lot has changed since the November Elections, and it is possible that people have begun to change their minds about what has been happening since the start of this year, but especially within the last couple months. Remember to speak politely and with interest in what they are feeling, how they are doing, what they might be worried about.
June is an important month for LWVJoCo members. Many of our members renew their memberships in June. Be sure to create your account in the National membership system (LWVUS Portal) as soon as possible, if you have not already done so. That will ensure that you can renew your membership easily using the National system. If you have any questions, contact the help team at Membership@lwvjoco.org or contact them if you encounter any issues. There is “strength in numbers” so we hope you will continue to participate in LWVJoCo.
Hope to see you at our June 5th League Picnic. If you need transportation, please contact Membership@lwvjoco.org and they can assist you. Not only a good time to have fun and enjoy some free food/drink, but a nice way to meet fellow league members. Be sure to register (sign in to our website and click on LWVJoCo Picnic in Upcoming Events) so we can order a proper amount of food/drink.
Harry Bognich
President@lwvjoco.org
| Reminder about New LWVUS Dues Payment
Here's a friendly reminder that your membership dues are now being managed by the LWVUS. Please note that dues have increased to $75 per year. You will receive a reminder from LWVUS 60 and 30 days prior to your expiration date, which has not changed. Please pay attention to your spam folder for this communication.
At any time, you can check the portal https://portal.lwv.org to access your account or to create one if you are not yet a member.
Please contact Membership@lwvjoco.org with questions about the new portal or your dues.
| Help Us Honor Kansas Suffragist Lizzie Sheldon
We are taking up a collection at our LWVJoCo Picnic (June 5) and Monthly Meeting (June 7) to help the Lawrence League with providing a grave marker for Lizzie Sheldon (Suffragist), since currently there is no marker. Lizzie S. Sheldon is depicted among the 13 “Rebel Women” in the suffragist mural that now hangs in the Kansas State Capitol. A banner above the mural quotes her resolution along with her name.
She lies at rest at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence, KS next to her daughter Junia Sheldon Pierce (1872-1957) with no markers. Jeanne Klein, Lawrence League president, has ordered and prepaid for a 24” x 12” x 4” flat gray granite marker from the Douglas County Monument Company (shown below).
If you wish to donate, then write a donation check to League of Women Voters of Johnson County and be sure to put "Lizzie Memorial" in the "Memo" (or "For") line to indicate your donation is for the marker. Give the check (or cash) to Mary Lou Jaramillo (Treasurer) or to one of the Vice Presidents (Connie Hernandez, Linda Trout) or any Board member whom you know.
After Lizzie's grave marker has been installed, a Dedication will be held to honor and celebrate her at Oak Hill Cemetery in Section 12, Row H, grave 9. More information will follow when that is known. |  |
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