AAUW Citrus Heights American River (CHAR) member Karen Wilkes has received the Freedoms Foundation George Washington Honor Medal for her work with Days for Girls International. The award will be presented February 28, 2020 at the Roseville Timber Creek Ballroom by the Freedoms Foundation.
The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge is a national, non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian, educational organization, founded in 1949. The Freedoms Foundation bestows the Honor Medal on people they believe are exemplar of responsible citizenship through selfless community service..
Days for Girls International was founded in 2008 by Celeste Mergens. It is a 
global movement that prepares and distributes sustainable menstrual health solutions to girls who would otherwise miss school during their monthly periods in some countries, such as India and Nepal. Karen Wilkes brought the idea of Days for Girls International to AAUW CHAR in September 2018. Under Karen’s leadership, CHAR members helped prepare 2,500 kits for distribution in Uganda and Ethiopia.
Cathy Foxhoven, Co-President of AAUW California acknowledged the accomplishment of Karen Wilkes and the CHAR branch with this statement:
“…This program is an excellent example of engaging with our local communities in support of our mission to enhance opportunities for women and girls.”
KAREN. WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU.
THANKS FOR LEADING US IN DAYS FOR GIRLS.
Karen will be leading AAUW volunteers in assembling Days for Girls hygiene kits at the AAUW California convention April 17-19, 2020 in Millbrae, California.