Wyandotte AAUW Marks 80 Years of Advocacy for Women

The American Association of University Women (AAUW), which has a large Downriver chapter based in Wyandotte, will celebrate its 80th birthday, along with the 130th birthday of the national AAUW organization.

To mark the occasion, the Wyandotte group will hold a dinner celebration on Oct. 19. 

The Wyandotte AAUW often hosts informative speakers at its monthly meetings, and for the birthday bash, three noted women will be featured: Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Channel 7 reporter Heather Catallo and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow via video.

The AAUW group, which is open to all graduates with an associate degree or higher, advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research. The women of the Wyandotte chapter are active in many areas. They participate in many interests, including gourmet cooking and fine dining, needle arts, books, bridge, theater, travel and gardening.

Nutrition Speaker Featured at October Meeting

At the Wyandotte chapter's October meeting, the group featured nutritional educator and dietitian Mayssoun Hamade from the Oakwood Healthcare System.

Hamade talked to the group, which gathers at the in Wyandotte once a month, about how to get good nutrition on a budget.

Average portion sizes over the last 20 years have gone up, up, up, Hamade said. A cheeseburger at a restaurant 20 years ago was 333 calories, for example. Today, the average cheeseburger comes in at 590 calories.

She urged her listeners to pay attention to portion sizes and to food labels.

“All food is good, but how much of it is the question,” Hamade said.

Hamade advised the group to pay particular attention to anything on a food label that is “partially hydrogenated.”

"That means it’s a trans fat,” Hamade said. Even if a label says an item contains zero trans fats doesn’t mean there aren’t any.

“If it has less than 0.5 grams of trans fats, they can put it on the label as zero,” she said.

Eating foods of many colors—fruits and vegetables that are blue, purple, green, red, orange or yellow—will give you the antioxidants your body needs to stay at maximum health, Hamade said.

“Select foods that are high in nutrients,” Hamade said. “Make them count.”

If you don’t buy expensive organic produce, you can scrub your veggies with a mixture of lemon juice, vinegar and salt, which breaks down pesticide residue, she said. And don’t  “cook your vegetables to mush.”

If you boil or steam fresh veggies in water, save that water and use it to cook rice or pasta or in a soup, Hamade advised, to get all of the nutrients that may have leached into the water.

Celebration Notes Wyandotte Chapter's Accomplishments

The Wyandotte chapter will hold its 80th birthday celebration dinner 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 19 at the Orlando Familia Banquet Center, 15001 Sibley Road, Riverview. The cost is $15 per person. For more information about the dinner or to attend, contact Martha Petroski at 734-320-0146.

In addition, the AAUW of Wayne County will be honored on Oct. 27 by the Wayne County Council for Arts, History and Humanities with its Volunteer Award during a recognition ceremony at the Arab American National Museum. Members of the Wyandotte Chapter, which is part of the Wayne County group, will also be honored.

To learn more about the Wyandotte AAUW chapter, visit aauwmi.org/wyandotte or email membership vice president Jackie Hector at jahector@wyan.org. To learn more about the national AAUW, visit aauw.org.