History of the LWV Eden Area
For more than seventy years, LWVEA diligently carried out its mission through voter education and services. LWVEA has conducted studies and/or educational forums on mental health, health care, energy, the education system, juvenile justice, transparency in government, voting systems, state and local finance, land use, parks and open space, and boards and commissions, water, transportation, and housing issues in CA. Members of the Eden Area League have given thousands of hours to their communities with these forums, voter drives, and other services.
The League has conducted hundreds of candidates’ forums, distributed more than 100,000 of the highly respected Pros and Cons on ballot measures in several languages, registered thousands of voters, maintained over 80 voter affidavit distribution sites, and provided speakers at various forums and debates. The Eden Area League has also participated in national, state, and county studies on important issues such as reapportionment, state constitution amendments, employment and education issues, foreign policy, civil rights, and land use in the Bay Area.
Currently, there are about 80 active members in our chapter and nineteen board members. LWVEA is proud to be part of our community and is committed to serving the people of the Eden Area.
Eden Area Highlights
Accomplishments of the League for the past fiscal year.
The 2023-24 term was the time for the League to explore and develop the new normal. We had all been functioning on Zoom for so long, we needed to feel our way back out into the public arena with our Annual Meeting on June 8th. A combination of seasoned and new board members set some pretty lofty goals for the year!
We agreed to expand our brand by being visible in our communities and building partnerships. The League looked for underserved areas and reached out to provide services. Two representatives now attend the Sheriff's Advisory Committee. The LWVEA has a seat on the Chabot/Las Positas Citizen's Bond Oversight Committee. We teamed up with the Chamber of Commerce and the San Lorenzo Village Homeowners Association for candidate forums and the Town Hall on homelessness with the Castro Valley Women's Club. We tabled at CV PRIDE, the Fall Festival, the All-American Festival, Juneteenth, and many other events. We held events on Cybercrime in Cherryland, Castro Valley and Hayward. The Cybercrime events were funded by a grant from the National Asian American United organization. We even dressed up to participate in San Lorenzo Village's Trunk & Treat. ( I was the fairy queen.)
Another goal was to educate our community and we offered dozens of community candidate forums and voter registration opportunities. In conjunction with the Castro Valley Reads program, the First Amendment presentation was a remarkable success. Our Vote 411 response from candidates was exceptional, as it has been for several years. We worked on a welcoming new citizen's event and while it did not happen, the groundwork was laid for the future.
On a countywide basis, we participated in the Healthy Living Festival, assisted other Leagues by providing personnel for their candidate forums, and publicized other Leagues' activities. Our League was responsible for the creation of a countywide handbook for organizing and holding candidate forums. This year, LWVEA really widened the scope of our impact with coordination within Alameda County.
Our goal to increase membership was a little bit more difficult to wrestle with, but the Membership Team hosted several well attended Meet & Greet events and we continued to look for opportunities to invite people to join the League. It seems that people appreciate the League's focus and activities, but joining organizations just doesn't seem to be a thing.
Our last two goals ended up combining in an unusual way. We were looking for ways to reach out to underserved communities, places and people that have not traditionally been part of the League. We also wanted to leverage our new nonprofit status to raise funds. Serendipity occurred as we won two grants from the Castro Valley Rotary and the Hayward Rotary to purchase translation equipment. Now the goal will be to see how often we can utilize it in the right places.
We took several steps to change and secure our financial practices and position in 2024. We are hopeful that future boards will be able to continue with the successful investments and grant applications to guide the LWVEA to a strong financial spot.
A review of our 2023-24 goals and objectives results in a positive picture. We were able to accomplish some big steps forward this year.
This concludes my four services of service as LWVEA president. I am proud of the events we have sponsored. We offered insight into local government with interviews with local electeds that concluded with a program on how to run for local office. The History of Women in the Eden Area was popular, and members enjoyed our video presentations of suffrage movies. The LWVEA spearheaded an excellent forum after the Supreme Court's decision on Roe vs. Wade. I am particularly proud of our Valiant Women of the Vote Power Point presentation that Janice Friesen and I did for more than a dozen organizations.
Thank you to the board members that I have served with and to the members that have contributed to the League over the years. I wish the incoming board the best for 2024-25.
Jo A.S. Loss, LWVEA President 2020-2024
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