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The MIT Women’s League has a long history
of volunteer service to the MIT community. Several projects
initiated and managed by the League for many years are
now part of Institute life. This tradition of volunteerism
continues today with the League’s involvement in the
following projects:
Daffodil Days at MIT
Since 1998, the Women's League has brought the sale
of daffodils for the American Cancer Society to MIT and each year sales have increased. During the
third week of March the bright display of over 4,000 daffodil bouquets
throughout the Institute signals the enormous success of this campus-wide
campaign to raise funds for cancer research, treatment, and education.
League volunteers organize the sign-up sheets and collect orders
from more than 95 participating departments, offices, and labs. They bundle
and deliver the bouquets when they arrive in Boston, and sell additional
flowers in Lobby 10 and the Medical area. This past year, the final
count showed that Daffodil Days at MIT raised more than $37,000
for cancer research and education.
Once again, we look forward to this contagious commitment
in the coming year and plan to expand the outreach of this
service project. Volunteers are needed to check on sign-up sheets
in early February, to pick up orders in early March, and to bundle
and deliver the bouquets later that month. Please call the League office
at 617.253.3656 or email wleague@mit.edu to join this wonderful
effort.
English Conversation Classes
More than 3,200 women from 71 countries have participated in these English conversation
classes and 75 volunteers have donated their time and energy to this project
since it began in 1963. After returning to their home countries, many students
continue friendships with classmates—communicating in English!
These popular classes, taught by Women's League volunteers,
offer foreign wives the chance to learn or improve their
English, make new friends, and grow more confident coping with life
in the U.S. Three levels of classes are offered during the fall and
spring terms for a cost of $80 per term. Books are provided. Babysitting
is available during class hours on a first-come, first-served basis
at a cost of $150 per child per terms. Classes meet Tuesdays and Thursdays
from 9:15 am to 11 am. A social hour follows the Thursday sessions,
encouraging students to meet and practice their English. Registration
for the spring semester takes place Tuesday, February 12, 2008, from
9 am to 11 am in the Stratton Student Center, Room 491 (W20-491). To learn more, call the League office at 617.253.3656 or email wleague@mit.edu.
MIT Student Furniture Exchange
Since 1958, the MIT Student Furniture Exchange (FX)
has been selling used furniture and housewares to
MIT students at bargain prices. Located at 350 Brookline Street (WW15) in
Cambridge, it is open to the MIT, Harvard University, Boston University,
and Suffolk University communities Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10
am to 4 pm. It is also open the first Saturday of each month from
10 am to 1 pm.
Since this past year at the FX was particularly busy, we
anticipate more of the
same this year and have a real need for volunteers. Please consider coming in on a Tuesday
and/or Thursday for a few hours. Volunteers unpack and price goods, help
with sales and have fun meeting interesting people.
The FX acquires most of its inventory through donations,
and our manager and staff of League volunteers are always looking
for good items to sell. This is an excellent way to give new life
to your used housewares. Donations are tax deductible. Please contact
us at 617.253.4293 or email fx@mit.edu
or visit our website for more information about the donation
process or to become a volunteer.
All FX profits benefit the MIT Women's League Scholarship
Fund, a growing endowment that provides financial support every
year to one or more undergraduate women at MIT.
Wanted: Bicycles
Mobility is important to MIT students, whether by
foot or by wheel. Because some of our international students
need to get around the campus, Cambridge, and the surrounding cities
to attend classes and visit with their friends and Host* families,
we try to lend assistance. If you have a bicycle (in reasonably
good condition) to donate to a worthy cause, please call Kate Baty,
Chair - Clothing and Bicycle Service Project, at 339.223.0395 (local
call). Your donation is tax deductible, and we supply you with a
receipt for income tax purposes.
*The MIT Hosts to International Students Program
(HISP) provides hosts with ongoing opportunities to participate
in rewarding cultural exchanges with our international students and
offers the students additional exposure to American life while here
at the Institute. To learn more about the Host Program, please
send an email message to Janka Moss at janka@mit.edu.
Wanted: Interview Clothing for Women and
Men
Generous clothing donations by members of the MIT
community these past eleven years have enabled our students to
confidently walk into job interviews.
Many of our scholarship students arrive at the Institute with
clothing for "student life" only. Interview clothes are not
part of their wardrobe. Making such clothing available to them helps
get them beyond the first impressions stage to that point where
their expertise speaks volumes to potential employers. Although we
have no statistics on job offers/job acceptances, we do know that happy,
stylish students leave the Emma Rogers Room on "Fashion Night." Searching
for the perfect "look" for those interviews is a non-technological
challenge—one enjoyed immensely by both the students and our volunteer
"fashion consultants" that night.
If you have clothing for women (dresses and suits)
or for men (suits, white or blue dress shirts, and neckties), as
well as warm winter coats, jackets, mittens, gloves, scarves and hats
that you wish to donate to a worthy cause, please consider this
service effort. Clean clothing may be left at the League office,
Room 10-342, during business hours or you may mail them to us.
Your donation is tax deductible and we supply a receipt for income
tax purposes. Please call the League office,
617.253.3656, or email wleague@mit.edu if you have questions about donations
or if you would like to help as a "fashion consultant" on "Fashion
Night."
Women's League Cookbook
Still a "bestseller," the League's cookbook What's Cooking
Under the Dome, continues to attract attention from enthusiastic cooks,
soon-to-be cooks, cookbook collectors, and MIT fans from around the
world. A year of testing yielded 250 recipes chosen from community
chefs and personalities. The combination of recipes with special graphics
and illustrations on the cookbook's pages captures the flavor of
MIT.
What's Cooking Under the Dome makes
the perfect gift for birthdays, holidays, graduations, and hostess
gifts. Copies may be purchased through the League office at 617.253.3656 or email wleague@mit.edu. The proceeds
benefit the MIT Women's League Scholarship Fund.
Wreath Making
A longstanding tradition is the making of the holiday wreaths for MIT's
77 Massachusetts Avenue entrance.
Wreath makers are needed on Wednesday, November 28, 2007, at 9 am in 20 Chimneys
at the Stratton Student Center to assemble the wreaths and
attach the ribbons and decorations.
Never done this before? Come and learn. If you have helped in the past, we welcome your expertise. The balsam fragrance in the air and the enthusiasm
of the wreath creators make this a delightful way to launch the holiday
season. If you have helped in the past, we welcome your expertise. Call the League office at 617.253.3656 or email wleague@mit.edu
to sign up.
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