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Maryland Federation of Republican Women College Program
Kristin Freese, MFRW College
Coordinator Thank you for your
interest in the Maryland Federation of Republican Women (MFRW) College Program!
My name is Kristin Freese and I am the college coordinator for the MFRW. I am a 2007 graduate of the University of
Maryland, College Park, where I was a founding member and the second president
of Republican Women at Maryland (RWMD).
RWMD was the first ever collegiate chapter of the MFRW, and one of the
first collegiate chapters of our parent organization, the National Federation
of Republican Women (NFRW). I am excited to use the
experiences I have gained through my leadership in RWMD and my active
involvement in the MFRW to help conservative young women throughout the state
establish their own Republican women’s clubs at their colleges and
universities. Please read on below to
learn about the many helpful resources available through the MFRW and NFRW. If you have additional questions, please direct
them to college@mfrw.org.
Founding RWMD members with First
Lady Kendel Ehrlich at the First Lady’s Luncheon, June 2006 From Left: Brittany Tressler,
Tara Benedetti, Kendel Ehrlich, Kristin Freese, Kari Grow
How to Start a Republican Women’s
Club at your College or University
RWMD members with Maryland
Secretary of State Mary Kane and MFRW President Patt Parker, May 2006 Conservative student
leaders interested in founding a Republican women’s club must take the
appropriate steps for starting any new organization based on the rules of their
individual school. These requirements
will vary by school, but the college coordinator is available to assist you in
taking these steps to meet the necessary conditions and to successfully
register your new student group with your school’s student organization office. In addition to complying
with the procedures and guidelines of your college or university, all new clubs
must register with our state and national organizations, the Maryland
Federation of Republican Women (MFRW) and the National Federation of Republican
Women (NFRW). For information on the
criteria and requirements for founding a local chapter, please visit the NFRW
website
on starting a local club. This website
offers useful information and forms, such as a sample set of bylaws for your
club, the application to become a local club, and resources to assist new club
presidents. We can make additional
resources available to you that may be helpful to a college club. The college coordinator can provide you with
sample documents that you may use as a guideline in developing your own ideas
and creating a semester program of events, such as a draft constitution,
descriptions of officer positions and responsibilities, sample meeting agendas
and semester schedules, and sample flyers and listserv announcements. Contact Kristin at college@mfrw.org to access these
resources and to request an information packet.
Resources for Student Leaders In addition to the many
resources available to you through the Maryland Federation of Republican Women
(www.mfrw.org) and the National Federation
of Republican Women (www.nfrw.org) websites,
we recommend that you visit the following websites for creative ideas,
conservative literature, and other helpful information relevant to program
development for your campus Republican women’s club. Please contact Kristin at college@mfrw.org
for specific suggestions or assistance in ordering these materials, or to
recommend additional resources to be included on this site.
This organization offers
resources to assist you in hosting speakers on campus, attending conferences for
students, and creating interesting and thought-provoking conservative events at
your college or university. The website
provides details on job and internship opportunities, as well. You may also access links to other
conservative websites by visiting http://www.yaf.org/links/index.cfm.
Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) This organization offers
valuable educational resources that support conservative principles and
beliefs. Membership is free to
students. As a member, students may
have access to lectures, conferences, and ISI literature.
The Leadership Institute
sponsors an internship program aimed at training conservative leaders and
preparing conservative students to work in politics. In addition to the Intern Program, the Leadership Institute offers
other extensive training programs throughout the year in multiple areas related
to political campaigning. Its website
also provides resources on conservative thought, including speeches, writings,
and recommended reading.
Newt.org – Winning the Future Newt.org displays a
wealth of resources for conservative students, including information on
internship opportunities, books written by former Speaker Newt Gingrich,
recommended reading, articles, speeches, and weekly newsletters. Through the website you may also access an
action center that provides conservative activists with assistance in writing
speeches or op-ed columns, ways to contact other activists in your community,
and a forum for public discussion on a variety of issues relevant to the
conservative movement. Scholarships and Awards As members of the Maryland Federation of Republican Women (MFRW) and the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW), young women who found or join a college club or any other local chapter are eligible to apply for multiple scholarships and may be recognized for their outstanding work through various awards. The scholarships acknowledge a commitment to Republican ideals and leadership in the community. Prospective applicants should follow the links below to learn more about these opportunities for recognition. Please visit the NFRW
website for details on all NFRW scholarship programs.
Applications to individual scholarships and programs are found below. Ø National Pathfinder Scholarship: http://www.nfrw.org/documents/forms/pathfinder_scholarship.pdf Ø Betty Rendel Scholarship: http://www.nfrw.org/documents/forms/rendel_scholarship.pdf) Ø Dorothy Andrews Kabis Memorial Internship:
http://www.nfrw.org/documents/forms/kabis_internship.pdf
Kristin Freese was selected as a
recipient of the NFRW National Pathfinder Scholarship, July 2006
Tara Benedetti with MFRW
President Patt Parker after winning the William Paca Outstanding Maryland Republican Youth Award, June 2007 Additional scholarships
will soon be available through the MFRW.
Visit www.mfrw.org for updates. College Mentor Program The College Mentor
Program is an outstanding opportunity for Maryland Federation of Republican
Women (MFRW) members to reach out to young conservative women and invite them
to participate in our college program and in the exciting work the MFRW is
doing throughout the state of Maryland. Mentors may contribute to
our outreach efforts in a variety of ways.
As a mentor, you may offer to sponsor a young woman at an upcoming MFRW
or local MFRW chapter event, such as a fashion show or a fundraising dinner. You may also assume a more limited role by
simply providing the name of a young woman who may be interested in starting or
joining a college or local club and whom you wish to be contacted by the
college coordinator. We encourage all MFRW
members to seek out opportunities to meet and invite young people to join or
start a Republican women’s club, to encourage them to run for leadership
positions in our organization, and to assist them in their desire to attend
Republican events that they may not otherwise be able to attend without such
assistance. The College Mentor Program
is just one way we facilitate this outreach.
RWMD members meet with MFRW
President Patt Parker at the fall MFRW Convention, November 2006 To participate in the
college mentor program, please send an email with the following information to
Kristin at college@mfrw.org:
Republican Women at Maryland
RWMD Members with Rick Tyler at
the One-Year Anniversary Party, April 2007 Republican Women
at Maryland (RWMD), the first collegiate chapter of the Maryland Federation of
Republican Women (MFRW), was founded at the University of Maryland, College
Park, in the spring of 2006 with the objective of encouraging intelligent, informed
dialogue and debate among college students with conservative values. The mission of
RWMD is to increase the
effectiveness of women in the cause of good
government; to assist in the political education of our members; to broaden our
understanding of Republican positions and
goals; to foster
loyalty to the Republican Party at all
levels of government; to support the objectives and policies of the Republican National Committee; to work for Republican candidates in all
elections, including non-partisan elections; and
to increase
the number of registered Republican voters. In April of
2007, RWMD proudly celebrated its one year anniversary with a dinner for
supporters at the Stamp Student Union on the University of Maryland’s
campus. The anniversary celebration and
collegiate outreach kick-off featured guest speaker Rick Tyler, press secretary
and spokesman for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. The event also served as a fundraiser for
the Jessica Lunsford Foundation, to which the RWMD contributed a
portion of the proceeds in support of the passage of Jessica’s Law
throughout the country. Though RWMD has
only been in existence for a little over a year, the passionate members of this
young organization demonstrated to their guests that evening that they have
much to celebrate. As a college club,
RWMD seeks to hold lectures featuring politicians,
professors, and political experts; to mobilize voters for elections, to attend
political functions to support Republican candidates, and to debate current
political issues throughout the country and state to further our understanding of the
Republican perspective. RWMD
hosted several interesting guest speakers in 2006 and 2007, all of whom
encouraged critical thinking and spurred dialogue on key issues. In particular, they welcomed Patt Parker,
president of the MFRW, and Mary Kane, Maryland Secretary of State. During the November 2006 election season,
Anne McCarthy, the Republican candidate for Maryland comptroller, as well as
Neil Sood, a local candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates, visited the
members of RWMD. In addition, RWMD
hosted Dr. Howard Smead, a professor in the History Department at the
University of Maryland, who discussed with the women the midterm elections and
their implications for Republicans in
Maryland and across the country. RWMD members also
extended their participation beyond campus and into statewide activities. The club volunteered collectively for
Governor Ehrlich and Lieutenant Governor Steele’s campaigns in the fall of
2006, and the officers were fortunate to attend several political events in the
area, including the First Lady’s Fashion Show in Baltimore in October of 2006
and the MFRW Board of Directors Meeting and Annual Convention in November of
2006.
RWMD Members with Maryland
Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele at the fall MFRW convention, November 2006 From Left: Kari Grow, Tara
Benedetti, Michael Steele, Morgan Goodspeed, Brittany Tressler, Kristin Freese To learn more about RWMD
and its upcoming meetings and events for the fall 2007 semester, please contact
President Grace Thompson at gracejt12@gmail.com.
The Future of Our Party Tara Benedetti was the
first college coordinator and the first president of RWMD. Tara graduated from the University of
Maryland, College Park in the spring of 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
government and politics. She was
employed by the Federal Mine and Safety Review Commission prior to her
enrollment at Harvard Law School in the fall of 2007. Tara recently married Michael Benedetti, and the couple now
resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Tara has already become involved
with the Massachusetts Federation of Republican Women. The MFRW congratulates Tara on her
tremendous success as a conservative student leader and wishes her the best in
law school!
Former college coordinator Tara
Benedetti with current college coordinator Kristin Freese Maryland Federation of Republican
Women (MFRW) T-Shirts
In the spring of 2007,
Republican Women at Maryland (RWMD), our state’s first collegiate club, sold
t-shirts with the adorable design pictured above. The t-shirt sale was a huge success, and the MFRW has now decided
to make these t-shirts available to all members. The design will be changed slightly so that the shirt may be worn
proudly by members of all chapters.
T-shirts will be on sale individually beginning at the fall 2007
convention in early October. Please
contact Kristin at college@mfrw.org
for details on how to order t-shirts for your local club. Proceeds from the sale of
the t-shirts will benefit the MFRW College Program, as well as RWMD, the club
from which the t-shirt design originated.
RWMD members proudly wear their
new t-shirts at a college event T-shirts will now be available to
all members of the MFRW! | ||||||
Please email us at info@mfrw.org with any questions, comments or concerns. |
