65 S. 4TH STREET COLUMBUS, OH YWCACOLUMBUS.ORG

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1 65 S. 4TH STREET COLUMBUS, OH YWCACOLUMBUS.ORG eliminating racism empowering women ywca columbus ohio Y PEOPLE Y is more than a letter. It s a dedicated group of people with a passion for eliminating racism and empowering women. Today we d like to introduce you to five of those people each an important part of what makes our work possible and our organization effective. LINDA SMITH Women's Residency From the minute Linda moved into YWCA, she s been cooking WENDY FORAKER Gen Y Participant My boss says she sees more pizzazz in me since I joined the Gen Y Leadership Program... CHRISTIE ANGEL Chair-Elect YWCA Board of Trustees Christie s mom signed her up for swimming lessons at the local YWCA when she was five years old BARBIE LUNA Family Center Volunteer I was drawn to the Y because of the opportunity to improve the quality of life for others LINDA TOMPSON KOHLI Racial Justice Dialogues Participant THE FAMILY CENTER NEEDS CASH DONATIONS This holiday season the children and families at the YWCA Family Center are relying, more than ever, on the kindness of our community for food and shelter. Please consider a cash donation to the YWCA Family Center when making out your holiday gift list. Or, ask your friends and loved-ones to make a monetary gift to the YWCA Family Center in your honor this holiday. Donating to the YWCA Family Center is also a wonderful opportunity to teach children about the importance of making sure that all families have food to eat and a warm place to sleep. You might offer to make a matching grant for every dollar a child donates from their piggy banks. Or, decide as a family on an amount of money to donate and then talk about the ways the money will be spent, and the cost of food and warm shelter. Whether its $1 or $1,000, your cash donation will make a significantly better holiday for a homeless family. For information on how to make cash donations, contact Jessica Wichtman, Volunteer & Community Relations Manager, YWCA Family Center at jwichtman@ywcacolumbus.org or THE YWCA GETS A BRAND-NEW LOOK

2 I ve learned to think about situations with a different filter and to hear with a different ear Linda Smith From the minute Linda moved into the YWCA, she s been cooking in her room and for small events. Drawn to the good smells and great flavors, our staff asked her to cook last year s Thanksgiving dinner, then the Christmas dinner. And because those meals were so delicious, they hired her to cater a luncheon. Her specialty is pies: fruit, cream, and especially sweet potato (with a secret ingredient of pecans picked fresh off the trees in Arkansas). A few months ago, when Linda was purchasing supplies at Kroger, the store manager asked her to bring in a sample and her catering menu. We re all hoping this is the beginning of a fulfilling and steady career for her. Linda just celebrated her one-year anniversary as a resident in the WINGS program, a special curriculum of YWCA Women s Residency, designed to support low-income women in gaining greater independence and selfsufficiency. She calls Women s Residency one of the better experiences of my life because it s like living in a home atmosphere. Linda says that living at the YWCA has helped her get her life back as a responsible woman. Download a pdf of the Women's Residence Newsletter. Wendy Foraker My boss says she sees more pizzazz in me since I joined the Gen Y Leadership Program, says Wendy. She didn t know what to expect when she joined the YWCA s new leadership program for 20 to 26 year-old women just beginning their careers, but admits she was concerned it might be competitive. But the 17 women from diverse backgrounds have become a sisterhood. Through their monthly seminars and service projects, the Gen Y women have grown close. They ve thrown showers for participants who are getting married, helped each other get jobs, and text message each other constantly. It's bigger, it s bolder, and it comes with a lot of excitement. It s a brand new look for the YWCA. With the help of Ologie, a Columbus-based branding agency, our new look comes with a fresh understanding of our purpose and place in the community. Board members, staff, and program participants had been asking, What does the YWCA mean to this community? And from those questions and the conversations that followed, we ve reaffirmed our mission and designed a bold new look to accompany our commitment to breaking down barriers and fostering opportunities for women in Central Ohio. AN INCREDIBLE GATHERING OF 1,000 On October 29, 1,000 women gathered for the 11th annual Woman to Woman luncheon in support of the YWCA and each other. In honor of this year s theme, Letters to Our Younger Selves, guests shared letters that took us back 3, 9, even 15 years celebrating how we ve grown, inspiring both tears and laughter, and giving us a deeper appreciation for the ups and downs of our lives. Thanks to the special guests who shared their stories, lives, and beautiful voices. And of course, many thanks to our major sponsors, Hexion and OhioHealth. Save the date for next year s event: October 28, Wendy is a social worker at Heritage Day Health Center, working with people over 60. Her family knew this was her calling when, at a young age, she asked if she could bring the cute old lady in the store home with her. She hopes to go back to school in a few years to get a master s degree. In the meantime, Wendy says she s overcoming her shyness and talking in groups at work with more confidence, thanks to the support and training from Gen Y.

3 Christie Angel When she was 5, Christie's mom signed her up for swimming lessons at her local YWCA and part of the fun was going there with her mom. Eight years ago, Yvette McGee Brown brought Christie to the Y to help with the Women of Achievement Sponsorship Committee and Christie cherished the opportunity to work with and support women. In January 2009, Christie, Vice President of Shawn P. Dunn and Associates LLP, becomes the next Chair of the YWCA Board of Trustees and looks forward to bringing more women to the Y to participate in the programs and to volunteer. Having been on the YWCA board for six years, Christie was the Y's treasurer and headed up the initiative to re-tool the finance committee. She has raised money for Women of Achievement and served on the committee that introduced the Family Center to their neighborhood. As Board Chair, Christie wants to continue the branding work and help the Y build an even stronger identity. She wants people to see the orange Y and recognize what the Y offers our community. Christie says, "We touch all points of women's lives. And there are women involved from the very young to the more seasoned. We have a lot to offer and I want make sure that women's voices don't get left behind." Barbie Luna I was drawn to the Y because of the opportunity to improve the quality of life for others, says Barbie. For the past two years, she has been an AmeriCorps sponsored staff member at the YWCA Family Center. Barbie s initial assignment was to help run the Kids Club and other after school programs, which led her to start a community gardening project. Barbie says, When kids garden, they have to work together and build relationships. They learn to nurture things and watch them change. I find this fosters resiliency in the kids as they go through a challenging time. She also says that the kids are always amazed and excited when they get to pick fresh food and eat it. It teaches them about healthy eating and consuming habits. Barbie loved her AmeriCorps experience, especially being part of a creative team that designed after school activities for kids. Now that her two years are finished, she continues to work with the Family Center community gardens as a volunteer. She has written curriculum that connects gardening with science, social studies, and art. She has even extended the Family Center s gardening activities to include canning and other methods of food preservation. It is Barbie s hope that every kid can leave the center with a packet of seeds, a spade, and the basic knowledge for how to grow food. She would love to see these families connect with the many community gardens in Columbus as a way to eat healthy and find community. Download a pdf of the Family Center's Newsletter.

4 Linda Thompson Kohli I learned to think about situations with a different filter and to hear with a different ear when people describe their experiences, says Linda about being a participant in the YWCA s Racial Justice Dialogues. Linda has found the 12-hour curriculum to be extremely useful and credits the YWCA s program with helping her work with the Somali population in Columbus. I m more attuned to the fact that I need to constantly ask for clarification in conversations with people from significantly different backgrounds. Linda works for the Ohio State Bar Foundation (OSBF), a non-profit organization with the goal of helping the public better understand the law. OSBF partnered with the YWCA to develop a curriculum that educates lawyers and judges about racial fairness. This innovative, interactive legaleducation course is offered at no charge and fulfills continued legal education (CLE) requirements. OSBF is excited about developing the program further for judges, and sees eliminating racism in the legal profession as an imperative. YWCA Columbus, a United Way Agency, receives support from the Community Shelter Board and its funders, which include the City of Columbus, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners and the United Way of Central Ohio.

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6 Breaking down barriers and fostering opportunities for women in Central Ohio YWCA, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved.