2022 Virtual Women of Achievement Event

On April 27^th, we virtually hosted our 37^th annual Women of Achievement Event where we honored six women as Women of Achievement and three as Women on the Rise.  The event raised over $600,000 to support YWCA Columbus programs. Thank you to the entire Advancement team for making the event successful! A special thank you to Lea Goldsmith, who was hired in the middle of planning for the event.  Thank you also to the staff who tuned in. In case you missed it, you can view the full event here.

Easter Weekend at the Family Center

All of the YWCA Family Center’s 127 children received Easter baskets, an amazing response from the community! We are so thankful to so many of our staff who stepped up and helped the children and parents enjoy the weekend activities.

Additional Updates

Two partners will be setting up tables outside the Family Center building, giving information about jobs. The Franklin County Clerk of Courts will be here on May 4 from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM and Amazon will be outside May 6 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.

We currently have been utilizing a mobile cart that goes around to the neighborhoods here at the Family Center. This cart is utilized to help sign up families and children for Charity Newsie clothes right now. The cart also holds information on services offered in the ERC and job opportunities.

Entrepreneurship Education in Action

Over the past 6 months, the YWCA Kids Place programs have been learning more about entrepreneurship education with the help of Wagi Labs curriculum and the assistance of the Ohio Afterschool Network. Kids created pitches in response to the prompt, “How can we build community and bring people together?” We had three rounds of voting, one at the program site, one virtually with our community partners, and one final round on our social media channels. Congratulations to our winner, the Colorful Creators. You can watch their winning pitch HERE, and watch them learn that they won “the whole thing” HERE.

You can watch all the youth pitches HERE!

Our staff also had a pitch contest to help others understand the opportunities and challenges of teaching entrepreneur education in afterschool. Congratulations to our three Entrepreneur Education Site Director pitch winners. First place, Loren Beckett (Chapelfield Site Director), Second place Anne Cronin (Robert Frost Site Director), Third Place, Rene Call (Mark Twain Site Director).

A New Bright Futures

The Leadership & Social Justice (LSJ) Department has been busy redeveloping the Bright Futures program into a series of four foundational social justice workshops for girls in middle school and high school! Throughout the month of April, the LSJ team facilitated the program with 14 amazing young women leaders ­­from The Black Girls’ and Young Women’s Collective. Each week the LSJ team led meaningful training workshops on how to understand and disrupt systemic oppression and take up roles of leadership needed to advocate for social change.

Throughout the program, we engaged the young women in topics such as:

1. Identity, privilege, and oppression
2. Systemic oppression with a focus on race and racism
3. Gender, sexism, and intersectionality; and
4. Leadership, power building, and change-making

To close the pilot program, the 5^th week was set aside to conduct a focus group. During this time, The Collective provided valuable feedback on how the Bright Future’s Program can be improved to make an even bigger impact. Overall, the pilot was a huge success and we can’t wait for the second pilot this fall!

YWCA Policy Team Updates

YWCA Columbus’s Policy Team has been meeting with legislators to advocate for funding to renovate the landscaping and exterior of the Family Center and to update our legislators on YW’s updated advocacy priorities, which now include education rights and teaching honest history, as well as LGBTQ+ rights, with a focus on transgender healthcare.

Teaming Up with Groundwork Ohio

On May 18th from 12:30-2:00 PM, we will be joining Groundwork Ohio for an advocacy day and family celebration at the Statehouse. Click here to learn more and RSVP!

Staff & Alumni Book Club

Thursday, May 26th at 5:00 PM: Get your copy now and join us for a discussion of “You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience” by Tarana Burke and Brene Brown. RSVP today! 

This anthology is a space to recognize and process the trauma of white supremacy, a space to be vulnerable and affirm the fullness of Black life and Black possibility, a space that gives Black humanity breathing room.

Listening Circles

Friday, May 27th at 12:00 PM (virtual) or 2:00 PM (in-person at the Family Center).

Please join our LSJ Team as we hold space to recognize the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and process our feelings on state-sanctioned and systemic violence. This event is open to staff of all ethnicities!