Our League has had an energizing start to the year. Thank you to everyone who showed up last month for strong turnout, thoughtful discussion, and community-centered learning. We’re also excited to welcome new members who have joined us recently. If that’s you: we’re truly glad you’re here, and we can’t wait to work alongside you.

March is Women’s History Month, and we’re celebrating it with opportunities to gather, learn, and strengthen civic life together, including our Community Conversations event and our Women’s History Month roundtable.

Please also take a moment to review the action items below: RSVP (or grab tickets) for upcoming events, and consider stepping into a leadership or volunteer role—our annual meeting is coming up in May, and we need more members to help carry the League’s work forward.

 

Finally, it is vitally important that we share our work with the community. If you have friends, loved ones, or know anyone in the community that would like to be more involved, encourage them to become a member. Share an event with a neighbor. Ask someone whether they have registered to vote. Bring someone with you to volunteer. 

 

Thank you all for what you do.

In league,
Theodore G. Blackwell
President

A clear, beginner-friendly conversation on immigration enforcement, individual rights, and how our community can stay informed and prepared.

When: Monday, March 16, 2026 • 6:00 PM (arrive early for seating and a drink)
Where: Curitiba Art Cafe • 919 Caroline St.

Jorge Mendez of Virginia Organizing will guide an accessible overview, followed by guided discussion and time for questions. This is not a legal training or advocacy workshop, it is an educational space designed to increase understanding, reduce confusion, and strengthen community awareness. Free and open to the public.

Seats at the Table: Women Shaping Our Community is a Women’s History Month roundtable featuring local women leaders in public service, law, and higher education—designed to bring community members into direct conversation with leaders.

We’ll begin with brief introductions and a moderated discussion grounded in pre-submitted questions, then shift into a broader, participant-driven roundtable.

When: Saturday, March 28, 2026 • 12:30–3:00 PM
Where: Fredericksburg Branch Library Theater • 1201 Caroline St.

Light refreshments will be served (tea, coffee, and tea-time foods). Tickets are offered on a sliding scale starting at $20 (all attendees receive the same full experience).

Support the community in this month-long celebration of International Women’s Day. A family-friendly, participatory art exhibit celebrating women and girls from around the globe—featuring observation games, matching activities, and coloring pages for kids and adults (including pages to take home).

Where: Salem Church Branch Library • 2607 Salem Church Road • Fredericksburg, VA

When: All of March

There will also be a donation bin for non-perishable food items in the library lobby. All food donations will go to the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank to benefit our community. The exhibit also includes an option to purchase artworks at the end of the show, with proceeds directed to the Food Bank.

We need members who are interested to step into leadership roles ahead of our annual meeting in May. These roles are vital to our operations, and without enough leaders, we risk not being able to function as a League.

Roles we need to fill include: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Director of Voter Services, Director of Community Engagement, Director of Youth Engagement, Vote411 Coordinator, Membership Director, Communications Director, Website Manager, Social Media Coordinator, and more.

Time commitments vary widely, and no background knowledge is required—the only requirement is a passion for civic engagement and a desire to be more involved. If you’re new: we would genuinely love to see new members step up and help shape the League’s future.

We have several big events coming up over the next few months, plus a major push to register voters and help our community participate in this year’s referendum, primary, and general elections. To do that well, we need funding—and we need a member (or small team) to help lead the effort.

This support could include donor outreach, coordinating with donor organizations, grant research and writing, and general fundraising coordination. If you have experience, connections, or just the motivation to jump in and help right now, we would love to hear from you.

In the coming months, we’ll be hosting more voter registration events and drives, many focused on high school registration drives on weekday mornings, plus other community events throughout the region.

Dates and times will be shared soon, but we need to know now who may be available to help so we can plan effectively. We will train volunteers and provide everything you need to be successful. New members: this is a wonderful way to jump in, meet people, and make an immediate impact.

We are forming a Program Study Committee to develop new local position statements and advocacy priorities for the League of Women Voters of the Fredericksburg Area. If we want to organize and advocate effectively, we need clear, member-driven positions that define what we stand for, what we are trying to change, and how we plan to act.

Timeline: The committee will begin meeting officially in early April. Before then, members who join will work individually on research and preparation based on information that will be sent out soon to participants.

Process (at a glance): form committee and schedule • define purpose/scope/timeline • assign research • draft position statements and advocacy plans • committee approval • share proposals with membership at least two weeks before a general meeting • present and vote for adoption.

Initial focus areas:

• Virginia constitutional referendum on redistricting — developing a clear, consensus-based local approach centered on voter education and participation while remaining consistent with League principles.
• Immigration enforcement and potential local impacts — studying local conditions (including potential detention activity in Stafford County and current detention in Caroline County), identifying where education or action would be most impactful, and developing a realistic, scoped plan.

I will chair the committee to get it started, but if you are interested in serving as chair or co-chair, please say so when you respond. New members: this is a meaningful way to help shape our priorities and strategy for the coming year.

In our April Civic Conversations Book Club meeting, we’ll read The Secret History of Home Economics by Danielle Dreilinger to uncover how a field often dismissed as domestic or apolitical has played a powerful role in shaping public policy, education, gender norms, and economic life in the United States. Together, we’ll explore how home economics intersected with issues like labor, consumer protection, nutrition, and social reform—and how the women behind the movement influenced systems that still structure daily life today.

As the League of Women Voters of the Fredericksburg Area, we’ll connect these insights to our mission of empowering voters and strengthening democracy by examining how overlooked forms of expertise and leadership can shape policy, expand opportunity, and redefine what counts as political participation.

Meeting details:
Snow Library Branch • 8740 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania, VA 22553
Room 2
Saturday, April 4, 2026 • 1:00–3:00 PM

Book Club typically occurs every fourth Saturday, but we moved this meeting by one week due to other events and a longer read.

fredericksburglwv.org | president@fredericksburglwv.org