As we celebrate Earth Day 2025~APR 22, it’s a great time to reflect on how our daily choices impact the planet. Here in Central Florida, we have plenty of ways to reduce our environmental footprint. Some solutions are simple, others require a shift in mindset, but all contribute to a healthier earth. Continue reading article from Co-President Jane Hursh HERE.
- Support local farmers' markets for healthier food choices
- Commit to meatless Mondays and help limit greenhouse gases and reduce deforestation
- Consider native landscape for pollinators and a healthy ecosystem
- Avoid plastics for sustainable alternatives
- Dress to impress with eco-shopping--thrifting, swaps--buy natural fabrics such as organic cotton, linen, etc.
|  | Check the calendar for all upcoming Committee meetings (most on Zoom) and become an active Leaguer!
APR 24, 5:30pm, Thurs
Natural Resources Comm. Mtg.
APR 26, 6pm, Sat
Water Quality presentation
Barry Law School, details below
MAY 1, 5pm, Thurs
NPV, What exactly is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact?
MAY 3 & 10, 3-5pm, Sat
Young Professional Member Gathering
Details below
MAY 14, Hot Topics
Unkindest Cuts: The Co$t of Government Downsizing
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*We table and sometimes provide power points to provide voter registration and civic information at the following opportunities. You must have taken and passed the League voter registration test HERE
NATURAL RESOURCES events will include petition gathering, VBM encouragement, and civic education.
APR 19, 8am, 11am, 1:30pm
Central FL Earth Day, Lake Eola
APR 25, 10:30am
Earth Day Work Day, Orlando City Hall
APR 26, 9am
Heart 'o West Lakes Wellness Center
| | |  | | Register NOW for Hot Topics
Unkindest Cuts:
The Cost of Government Downsizing
MAY 14, Doors open 10:30am
Have you read this morning's story about the impact of federal cuts on local food banks? (Sentinel story HERE) It's only ONE example of how these cuts are going to affect our community.
How will central Floridians be affected by the ongoing staffing and funding cuts taking place in government agencies?
The impact of cuts via our state Legislature, Congress, and the executive branch are expected to overwhelm many of the non-profit support groups that support our most vulnerable communities. | | | | Just in time for Earth Day! League member and MKR Trustee and former Executive Director Leslie Kemp Poole has been selected as the Bronze medal winner in the 2024 Florida Book Awards Florida Nonfiction category for Tracing Florida’s Journey’s: Explorer’s, Travelers, and Landscapes Then and Now. | | MEMBERS ONLY
We're seeking INPUT from young professional Leaguers (under age 43, no longer a college student, who may be busy during the week with their careers and families) by holding casual coffee/tea conversations on upcoming Saturday afternoons, MAY 3 & 10, 3-5pm.
We invite you to meet and share ideas for how our League can best respond to the interest and concerns of your community. Log into your League account and register for the first one HERE May 3rd
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Lea Anne Groover
Jeanette Bosela
Laurie Brodd
Not a member yet? Visit JOIN HERE and learn about becoming a Leaguer! |  |
Harold Rhoads, Giving Society
Melinda A. Wright, Giving Society
REMEMBER, if you're joining or renewing on the national site, COME BACK and
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| Co-President Rev. Kathy Schmitz staffed a booth April 12 at a 50501 Democracy Rally, sharing voter registration and other voter information, with help from Leaguers Joy Dickinson, Joan Erwin, and Ann Patton. | | LWVOC Action Figure for sale?!
Not so fast. But we are "keeping up with the trends" on our social media, including this cool AI generated image that depicts a Leaguer (can you guess who?) and we want you to follow along.
DIDJA KNOW?
We have more people who read this newsletter on their phones than they do on their computers?
HOW TO FIND US?
Right now, look up at the top right corner of this email and you will see icons of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. CLICK on any one of them and it will automatically reroute you to our social media feed. FOLLOW us on each one. SUBSCRIBE for updates. SHARE with your friends. | | | If you only do ONE thing for Earth Day, do this! Sign the petition! Share the info! |  | | Statewide call to action: The League of Women Voters supports the Florida Right to Clean Water campaign, a citizens' initiative to amend the Florida Constitution with the right to clean and healthy waters. If our current laws were working, then we wouldn’t have manatees dying in record numbers, 80% of our 1000 springs impaired, and harmful blue-green algae and red tide in greater frequency and duration. A constitutional right takes precedence over legislation that permits pollution, restricts fertilizer bans, and allows radioactive materials to be used in our roads. Create a legacy for the future of our waters!
The Right to Clean Water! In support of establishing our basic right to clean and healthy water, LWVOC has committed to helping get this citizen initiative on the 2026 ballot. Please sign your own petition. Those who signed prior to 2024 will need to sign the new petition.
Learn how YOU can become an active volunteer here: https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org/resources |  | SPECIAL "Take Action" Alerts Now Available from Pres. Kathy Schmitz
“Alert lists” are open to both LWVOC members and non-members. They are a way to share timely opportunities, for example, upcoming rallies, volunteer needs, or urgent legislative actions. To keep email volume down, only I, or someone I specify, will be posting to this list.
“Sharing lists” are an additional option for LWVOC members. Within guidelines that will be posted, anyone who joins one of these lists will be able to post. Guidelines will focus on posting actionable information, avoiding debate, and maintaining a respectful tone.
Current topics are Immigration, Housing & Poverty, Women’s Issues & Health Care, and Defending Democracy
To sign up for any of the lists, fill out this simple form HERE.
|  | Sponsors are vital to our work to empower voters by providing timely information for the benefit of non-partisan civic engagement in our community.
To further explore how becoming a Hot Topics Sponsor can align with your business goals, please contact LWVOC Vice President, Lee Rambeau Kemp HERE
A range of sponsorship levels are available. | |