CHECK IT OUT The murals in front of the Ohio Theatre, downtown Columbus #ArtUnitesCbus
This one is by Lisa McLymont, Adam Brouillette, Jen Wrubleski, and Andy Graham
JUNE 2020
This Month’s Birthday Spotlight: Everette Talley
03 Rebecca A Hartle
04 Anne Cronin
08 Mackenzee Burton
10 Brian McLean
10 Phillip Grissett
11 Nancy E Conkel
12 Christine E Hickernell
15 Jacqueline Cherry
16 Paula Eskridge
19 Everette Talley
20 Stacey Hough
20 Christine J Loveless
21 Marjorie Buie-Collard
22 Betty Brown
23 Khristopher James Ross-Wilcox
24 Marilyn Muniz
26 Rolana Kinzer
27 Marylin Holmes
1 YEAR:
Juanita Wright
Ryan Kennedy
Kiva Spear
2 YEARS:
Betwan Goff
Cynthia Galloway
Amber Jacott
Jacqueline Cherry
Allyson Pitts
3 YEARS:
Mackenzee Burton
10 YEARS:
Jerry Cobbs
18 YEARS:
Stacy M McLain
This month’s anniversary spotlight: JERRY COBBS
Please welcome Belen as our new part time Program Coordinator for Leadership and Social Justice.
Please Welcome Belen de Leon
Belen brings to the table her experience working to empower under-served and marginalized communities. With an educational background focused on International Studies and Human Rights, she is guided by a fierce passion for social, racial, and immigration justice that is reflected in her work. She has extensive experience in youth mentorship and advancement, and is dedicated to promoting long-term equity and inclusion. On a personal note, Belen enjoys spending time outside, painting and writing and hanging out with her cat, Pazuzu.
HR Announcements
Our HR team shared their return to work plan on Friday, June 5 with all staff, including a COVID-19 Return to Work Protocol. You can access their plan here.
Judy Peterson shared YWCA Columbus’ Anti-Phishing Solution on Monday, June 15. Please take a moment to read it here if you haven’t already.
2020 open enrollment for YWCA Columbus benefits is going virtual. Please read Debbie’s update here.
The Big Give was BIGGER Than Ever
In just two days, YWCA Columbus raised $531,392.30, in addition to bonus funds from The Columbus Foundation! This is more than we have ever raised during the Big Give, and we couldn’t be prouder. Thank you to all YWCA Columbus employees who donated to YWCA Columbus during The Big Give.
Plus, Tierra Lee, our beloved Front Desk Associate, was a Big Give Hero, and she generously donated her $1,000 to YWCA Columbus. Read her submission below:
Although it’s been a trying time for our community, we want to take a moment and celebrate one of our #BIGHeroes Tierra Lee, our Front Desk Associate. Over these past couple of months, Tierra has gone above and beyond to serve the women living in our downtown Center for Women especially during a time that our residents are feeling frightened and concerned. She’s helped keep residents calm while they’ve needed to adjust to taking their temperatures, wearing face masks, and having to self-quarantine. Tierra is a true team player that has taken on extra hours to cover for staff members who are vulnerable to COVID-19. She has also helped problem solve with her peers to ensure 24-hour staff can get to work safely during a city-wide curfew all while keeping a smile on her face. We recognize this is no small task! It’s great to have Tierra as a part of our YWCA Columbus team!
COVID-19 Testing
Columbus Public Health is now offering free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing in partnership with Mount Carmel, Ohio Health and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Anyone in the community with symptoms can now get a free test, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Columbus Public Health (240 Parsons Ave.). You can learn more at www.columbus.gov/coronavirus.
Take Action for Social Justice:
A note from our Leadership & Social Justice Director, Caroline Woliver:
“When we all come together, we can do amazing things to better our community and uplift one another. Our community of Black and Brown Ohioans and anti-racist allies courageously continue to stand up to injustice and demand change; and as an agency dedicated to promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity, we stand committed to dismantling systemic racism in Columbus, in our state, and across the nation.
We want to amplify the good. We want to leverage our YWCA community of alumni to advance this call to action and make Columbus an equitable place for all its residents. This is where we need our allies and advocates to dig into the work with us. To come together, and build a community of allies to fight against systemic racism. So we’ve put together a list of ways to get involved and create a sustained momentum for change. We are also regularly sharing resources on our social media pages, so be sure to follow us for more information.” #ywcacolumbus #ywcacbus #onamission
If you haven’t had the opportunity, we encourage you to read YWCA Columbus’ statement regarding recent protests, following the murder of George Floyd, and the work we are doing with The Coalition of African American Leaders. Please support our statement and help us declare racism a public health crisis in Ohio.
The Importance of Voting
Recent protests have helped to raise public awareness, highlight injustice, and to disrupt the status quo. Civil disobedience combined with specific demands for criminal justice and policing reform and a sustained momentum of the people, can be turned into laws and institutional change but that can only happen when we have elected officials throughout all levels of government who are responsive to our demands. This is where voting comes into play! We need to be participating in elections at all levels to ensure we elect officials who denounce structural racism and works to change oppressive institutions – this includes elections at the state and local levels because they have the biggest influence in reforming police departments.
Register to vote, encourage your network to register, and vote in every election for candidates who will act on reform. Your vote and voice count. Thank you to Lauren James for creating this amazing “Pass the Voter Registration Video.”
– YWCA Columbus in the News –
NEW! Columbus Business First featured YWCA Columbus within an article about Homage. Read it here. (June 16, 2020)
NEW! Forbes.com covered that Franklin County declared racism to be a public health crisis, and featured YWCA Columbus and Christie Angel, alongside other community leaders, throughout the article. You can read the full piece here. (June 12, 2020)
NEW! FOX28 Good Day Marketplace featured Christie Angel as part of The Big Give. Watch the segment here. (June 8, 2020)
NEW! The Columbus Dispatch covered how YWCA Columbus is working on action steps toward racial equity change alongside other organizations in Columbus. Read the full article here. (June 7, 2020)
NEW! Columbus Business First covered the Coalition of African American Leaders’ press conference that unveiled a plan to combat racism in Central Ohio. Watch as nonprofit and religious leaders announce their initial agenda to reform practices that create and protect a culture of systemic racism in Central Ohio, and read the Columbus Business First coverage here. (June 2, 2020)
NEW! FOX28 covered the Coalition of African American Leaders’ press conference that unveiled a plan to combat racism in Central Ohio. View their online piece here. (June 2, 2020)
NEW! ABC6 covered the Coalition of African American Leaders’ press conference that unveiled a plan to combat racism in Central Ohio. Read their news release here. (June 2, 2020)
NEW! The Columbus covered the Coalition of African American Leaders’ press conference that unveiled a plan to combat racism in Central Ohio. Read the article here. (June 2, 2020)
NEW! Caroline Woliver, our Director of Leadership and Social Justice participated in an interactive conversation on race and solidarity featuring several local community leaders. You can watch it here. (June 2, 2020)
NEW! 10TV covered the press conference hosted by Columbus City Council to bring together community leaders to share their thoughts on the protests in downtown Columbus. Caroline Woliver, our Director of Leadership and Social Justice participated in the presser. Watch the presser here, and the news coverage here. (May 29, 2020).
NEW! Spectrum News1 Interviewed YWCA Columbus, Chief Mission Officer, Jillian Olinger about declaring racism a public health crisis. Watch the segment here. (May 17, 2020).
NEW! Grange Insurance Announces Additional $1 Million Donation to Nonprofits for COVID-19 Pandemic Support. Read the announcement here. (May 19, 2020)
NBC4 Anchor, Colleen Marshall interviewed Paula Johnson Neal, our Safe & Sound Childcare Program Administrator at our Family Center about the struggles homeless children are facing during this pandemic. Watch the segment here. (April 23, 2020)
Christie was featured as a guest on Columbus Business First’s Crisis Management Podcast. She discusses racial disparities in public health among the pandemic. Read and watch the interview here. (April 23, 2020)
Columbus Business First also covered our Women of Achievement Online Celebration. Read the article here. (April 22, 2020)
Columbus CEO published Jillian Olinger’s op-ed titled: “COVID-19: ‘The equalizer’ highlights our inequities and racism should be declared a public health crisis.” The piece highlights how coronavirus is hitting black communities harder, and it includes action items to address the specific needs of communities of color as we fight to reduce the spread of COVID-19. You can read it by clicking here. (April 14, 2020)
The Columbus Dispatch included YWCA Columbus in a roundup story for supporting a bond issue that will raise $300 million for capital improvements to Columbus State Community College’s campus. You can read the full article here.