Ely Branch

Welcome! 

The Ely branch focuses on the AAUW mission of supporting equity for all girls and women in the areas of economic security, educational opportunities and leadership among many others.  Our branch is celebrating our 100th anniversary in 2026!

Want to join? Click below. 

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(Make sure you select Ely Branch member and not National member when prompted.) Or click on the following membership form, fill out, and mail with a check to our treasurer. AAUW Ely is a 501c4 organization. Dues and donations to the branch are not tax deductible.

Branch Meetings
Join us every second Tuesday at 5:30 (5:00 Social Time) from September to May at Grand Ely Lodge.

Board Meetings
The Monday following branch meetings September through May and the fourth Monday in August.

For more information on the Ely AAUW Branch, contact Linda Sutton at ldsutton2001@aol.com.

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What has our AAUW Ely Branch been doing? 

January 13, 2025 –  Held the Soup ‘n Pigs Popup Fundraiser to have lunch then decorate piggy banks to give to members. Attendees contributed funds for scholarships & programs.

December 10, 2024 – Held a successful Holiday Auction and Raffle to raise funds for scholarships & programs.

October 12, 2024 – Hosted the Annual Northland Get Together, a day-long event in which the six northern Minnesota AAUW branches gathered for a program on advocacy in our communities. The six branches take turns hosting this event.

September 24, 2024 – Held the Candidate Forum for Ely City Council at MN North College Auditorium which was also available for viewing on Ely TV Midco Channel 11 and on YouTube.

September 18, 2024 – Held a voter registration drive at Minnesota North College in collaboration with Ely EMPOWER where students used on-site computers to register to vote.

September 17, 2024 – Organized the Candidate Forum for MN House District 3a at the MN North College Auditorium which was also available on Ely TV and YouTube.

September 13, 2024 – Collected trash along our two-mile Adopt-a-Highway “AAUW Ely Branch” section of Highway 169.

July 20, 2024 – Held a successful Garden Party Auction and Raffle to raise funds for scholarships and programs.

June 12, 2024 – Sponsored a poetry reading and book release of the “Shame Wrangler” by Elizabeth Gade, a human trafficking survivor. Elizabeth shared her writing focusing on issues faced by victims of human trafficking as a way to connect with fellow survivors.

May-June 2024 – Distributed/placed human/sex trafficking posters in public restrooms of Ely area gas stations, bars, restaurants, and other businesses to provide information and offer access to help for those that seek it as part of our Human Trafficking Awareness initiative.

May 14, 2024 – Held a great Banquet Silent Auction and Bucket Raffle to raise money for scholarships & programs.

Spring 2024 – Granted almost $9,000 to women and girls for scholarships for: Two non-traditional students to attend MN North College, a MN North College student to attend AAUW NCCSWL (women’s leadership conference) in D.C, three Ely fifth-grade girls to attend STEM Camp in Duluth, and two Ely high school girls to attend Northwoods Young Writers Camp.

March-May 2024 – Calls and emails were sent by Ely Branch Members to legislators in St. Paul asking them to pass the Equal Rights Amendment bill.

February 12, 2024 – Eight branch members traveled to the State Capitol to rally for passage of the ERA amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution.

February 9, 2024 – Hosted lunch for approximately 80 kids, mostly of Native American heritage, attending Indigenous Students Day at the Ely Film Festival with the cost covered by Ely AAUW and Ely EMPOWER.  The kids watched impactful films about Indigenous culture and experiences.

January 13, 2024 – Held a fun Pie & Mimosa Pop-Up Fundraiser Breakfast.

December 12, 2023 – Organized another successful Holiday Auction and Raffle to raise funds for scholarships & programs.

October 31, 2023 – Sponsored a community presentation, Human Trafficking & Exploitation in Minnesota, by Tatiana Bergum & Mel Alvar at Tuesday Group, together with EMPOWER.

October 5, 2023 – Held a successful Unhappy Hour Pub Crawl with a great turnout of our community to bring attention to the pay inequities between women and men.

October 5, 2023 – Collected trash along the AAUW stretch of Hwy 169 as part of the Adopt-a-Highway program.

September 25, 2023 – Hosted a program with EMPOWER on sexual assault and trafficking by Jamie Koppes from N. St. Louis County at Hidden Valley.

August 31, 2023 – Held a cocktail party at Barb Soderberg’s home to raise funds for scholarships and programs.

August 9, 2023 – Co-sponsored with EMPOWER the one-woman performance of the life of Jeanette Rankin who in 1916 was the first woman elected to Congress and was a champion of women’s rights and civil rights throughout her life.

July 15, 2023 – Held a successful Garden Party Auction and Raffle to raise funds for scholarships and programs.

June 2023 – Sponsored a MN North College student to attend three days of leadership training at the annual National Conference for College Women Student Leadership (NCCWSL) in a Washington, DC suburb.

May 2023 – Granted a scholarship to a non-traditional female student at MN North College.

May 9, 2023 – Held a profitable Banquet Auction and Raffle to raise funds for scholarships and programs.

April 22, 2023 – Held a successful STEM Workshop for girls in grades 5-8 at MN North College.

March 28, 2023 – Sponsored a community presentation, Treaty Promises and Indigenous Health Care, by Dr. Linda Bergum, Ely AAUW Board Member, at Tuesday Group together with EMPOWER.

February, March, April 2023 – Calls, emails, and postcards were sent by Ely Branch Members to legislators in St. Paul asking them to pass the two Equal Rights Amendment bills (3 separate calls for action over 3 months).

February 10, 2023 – Hosted a pizza luncheon for about 125 students attending a day of Indigenous-focused films at the Ely Historic Theater as part of the four-day End-of-The-Road Film Festival.

February 9, 2023 – Awarded scholarships to two Ely high school students for the five-day Camp Atsokan Writing Camp this summer ($1,000).  Some students attending previous camps will soon be publishing their work.

December 13, 2022 – Held a successful Annual Holiday Auction and Raffle to raise funds for scholarships and programs.

November 22, 2022 – Organized a community presentation at Tuesday Group by a grassroots organizer from Bois Forte Band about local economy building and the food sovereignty movement.  Presentation collaboration with Ely EMPOWER.

October 11, 2022 – Co-sponsored the Ely School Board Candidate Forum with the Ely Rotary Club.

October 4, 2022 – Co-sponsored a presentation with EMPOWER by Mak Mars from the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Abuse in Duluth.  He spoke on issues related to justice for our Native American friends and neighbors at Tuesday Group.

September 20, 2022 – Hosted “Unhappy Hour” for the community at Northern Grounds to educate the public about the pay inequities of our BIPOC sisters.

September 2022 – Provided a scholarship to a female student at Vermilion Community College.

July 2022 – Sponsored three girls to attend Engineering Camp at Itasca Community College jointly with Ely EMPOWER.

July 2022 – Held another successful Garden Party Auction and Raffle to raise funds for scholarships and programs.

June 2022 – As part of the Adopt a Highway program, picked up trash along a stretch of Hwy 169.

June 2022 – Coordinated an inspirational Title IX community presentation with Ely EMPOWER at Hidden Valley ski chalet celebrating the positive impact Title IX has had on 15 Ely area women – young and old – sharing their stories.

June 2022 – Hosted a 50th anniversary celebration of Title IX with a community presentation at Tuesday Group from two impressive speakers: Deb Sunderman, an Olympic gold medal winner from the 1988 U.S. wheelchair basketball team, and Cindy Haugejorde who set college basketball records and was a starter on the US Junior Pan American Gold Medal team.

May 2022 – Sponsored two college women to virtually attend three days of leadership training at the NCCWSL Conference.

May 2022 – Held our popular auction and raffle during the Annual Banquet.

March 2022 – Sponsored the STEM Workshop at VCC attended by girls in Grades 5-8

November 23, 2021 – Hosted a Tuesday Group presentation by Linda LeGarde Grover, former UMD professor and Bois Forte member. The focus was her book, “In the Night of Memory,” exploring the plight of displaced Native American children and adults living on the fringes of society and the tragedy of the boarding school experience. Book discussion followed.

November 22, 2021 – Coordinated visits by Ms. Grover to Native American students at area schools followed by a writing workshop at the Ely Folk School in the evening.

November 21, 2021 – Organized a reading/book signing at Piragis by Linda LeGarde Grover.  The focus was “Gitchigami Hearts,” her latest book of Ojibway history and stories of Misaabekong (place of the giants) about Lake Superior.

October 2021 – Co-sponsored a presentation with Ely EMPOWER for Tuesday Group by State Senator Mary Kunesh, co-chair of the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Task Force, attended by an audience of nearly 100, and a presentation for Law Enforcement and other staff and students at VCC, both in person and broadcast via ZOOM, reaching an audience of approximately 1,000.

October 2021 – Under the Adopt a Highway program, AAUW members picked up trash along Hwy 169.

July 2021 – Held another Garden Party luncheon which included another very prosperous auction and raffle.

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