January 2020

Goodbye and Good Luck to:

Rebecca Shaheen
Adria Hall
(Adria is still working with us as an event contractor)

Inclement Weather Policy reminder

It is the intent of the YWCA to promote safety for all employees during periods of inclement weather conditions. The CEO and Director of Human Resources will determine whether or not the YWCA will be closed for the day or operate on a delay. In the event of a weather emergency, please tune-in to WCMH Channel 4, WBNS Channel 10 or Radio Station 610 AM for closing information. These stations will be notified by 6:00 a.m. in the event the YWCA has to close for the day or is operating on a delay. Keep in mind, employees at the Family Center, Women’s Residence and Maintenance staff must check with their supervisors to determine what staffing procedures will be followed. In the event the YWCA needs to close early during the workday, employees will be notified by email or contacted by their supervisor. When the YWCA administration offices are closed on a workday due to inclement weather, regular full and part-time employees will be compensated for regular scheduled hours. If an employee is late due to inclement weather, missed work time may be made up, or vacation or personal time may be used, with approval of the immediate supervisor. (See page 5 of the Employee Manual for the complete policy).

YWCA NEWS

Our Staff Holiday Party Was a Huge Success

Thanks to all who celebrated another successful year at the holiday staff party! A special thank you to the Employee Recognition Committee, Deborah Locklear-Oglesby, Deborah Schipper, Amber Jacott, Kiva Spear, Lisa Skelly, Renee Call, Deborah Schipper and Tracy Tartt, for organizing such a fun party!

A Reimagined Bright Futures Program

On December 17th, the Leadership and Social Justice department celebrated the graduation of the relaunched Bright Futures program. For over 20 years, Bright Futures provided leadership and social justice programming to girls in their junior year of high school at YWCA’s downtown building. While that program model made a significant difference in the lives of past participants, we sought to make the program even more impactful and ensure it is accessible to all girls. By providing programming to girls in middle school in their own neighborhood community centers, we hoped to provide earlier interventions to disrupt declining confidence rates of young girls while removing barriers to participation for those living in under-resourced neighborhoods.

The reimagined Bright Futures is now a neighborhood-based leadership program for girls in middle school that provides confidence building and empowerment training focused on social justice concepts in local community centers in the Hilltop and South Side neighborhoods. Throughout the program, girls participated in activities and discussions about concepts like institutional racism and sexism and explored how those systems of oppression impact their self-image, worldview, and relationships with others. They built critical thinking skills and left with the confidence to advocate for themselves and create change in their communities. In the 2019 first pilots of the program, 18 girls graduated!

Congrats to our 4th Leadership for Social Change Cohort

On December 12th the Leadership & Social Justice department also graduated the 4th cohort of Leadership for Social Change program.  17 young professional women leaders graduated with a significant understanding of how systems of oppression produce inequity and armed with the skills and confidence to create change in our communities.

Congratulations Lauren!

We are excited to announce the promotion of Lauren James to Program Manager of Leadership & Social Justice Programs!  Lauren has been diligently working at YWCA Columbus for three years, most recently serving as Program Coordinator in the Leadership & Social Justice Department.  Lauren’s level of commitment, persistence, and dedication to YWCA Columbus’s mission continues to make a significant impact on the success of our programs and on the lives of those who are lucky enough to cross her path.  Congratulations, Lauren!