Dear Friends,

They say time flies when you’re having fun. After a whirlwind month as the CEO of the YWCA of the City of New York, I can honestly attest to that statement’s veracity. From meeting with longtime funders to attending my first YW-NYC event, the depth of warmth and camaraderie I have felt is enormous. I am excited to share with you some of the highlights during my time here that has truly made it an absolute joy.

The 49th annual Salute event on October 20th was a huge success! It has been wonderful learning about the YW-NYC’s rich history, including the significance of honoring incredible women who are making real contributions as leaders in their workplaces and communities each year. This year, we had close to 150 YW-NYC supporters celebrating Salute with us at City Winery and 80 people screening from home. Not only were we able to reach our fundraising goal, but we were privileged to shine a light on four incredible leaders:

Changemaker Champion
Jolen Andersen, Global Head of Human Resources, BNY Melon
Distinguished Service Award
Mary Crawford, Former YWCA NYC Board Chair and Philanthropist
Emerging Leader Award
Audrey Elliott-Barnes, Department Manager in Shared Financial Services
Planning, ConEdison
Grace Hoadley Dodge Honoree
Elsie McCabe Thompson, President of the Mission Society of NYC

I also spent time visiting our incredible programs in Brooklyn and Manhattan. From Coney Island to Harlem, our after school and girls programs serve 1500 young people annually. It is truly a gift to work directly with staff who are committed to working every day to ensure that YW-NYC children and youth are developing their academic, social-emotional, and leadership skills. Their dedication and passion to the mission of the YW-NYC is unmatched.

There is so much more to look forward to as I continue our collective work at the YW-NYC in service to New York City communities. Thank you for your continued investment and belief in this city’s youth.

With gratitude,

KHATUNA KORIDZE

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Statement on Coronavirus COVID-19
March 16, 2020

Last week, the Crisis Response Team of the YWCA of the City of New York (YWCA NYC) met to discuss COVID-19 and the likely effects on the YWCA NYC community—the young people in our programs and their families, and our staff and their loved ones. Our response team immediately began implementing new procedures to allow operations continuity, including expediting the transition to tech vendor PC Power Center, Inc. and implementing remote access to our data and systems. The novel coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented in our city, our nation and the world, and we continue to monitor news as it unfolds.  The safety and wellbeing of our community is our top priority. 

Our YWCA NYC headquarters and Family Resource Center staff have recently begun working from home to adhere to recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for social distancing and unnecessary travel.  With the closing of NYC Schools beginning today, March 16th, our Out-of-School-Time program employees have also begun working from home.  We are planning to continue to offer our leadership and STEAAM programming remotely to the high school girls involved in our Girls Initiatives and coordinate with our public-school partners to explore if any after school programming is an option. The YWCA NYC remains flexible in its approach.    

We don’t yet know how this all will play out in the coming weeks or months. Please take precautions with your own families by following protocols to stem the spread of the virus: 

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. 
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.  
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick and stay home if you are sick, except to get medical care. 
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow.  
• Clean AND disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily.  

Thank you to the entire YW community—our staff, students, families, partners and donors.  We will continue to communicate our response to the situation as it unfolds. We remain, as ever, committed to our mission of eradicating racism and empowering women, and to serving New York City kids and their families to the best of our abilities. 

Respectfully,

Maureen Friar 
CEO of YWCA of the City of New York

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YWCA of the City of New York celebrated the 46th Annual Academy of Women Leaders Salute Luncheon on November 19th!

Salute is New York City’s premier tribute to change-leading women and the companies and communities that believe in them. This year, we honored our Woman of the Year, Thasunda Brown Duckett, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, S&P Global’s #ChangePays initiative received our new Trailblazer Award, and we inducted 14 new members into our network of 3,000+ AWL’s.  300 New York women and men joined us in our mission to raise funds at Salute 46 in support of our racial and gender justice, empowerment, and leadership initiatives for the young women and children we serve.  Together we raised $430,000 in support of our young people!

see photos of this event→
read the event recap→

Event details:
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
11:30am-2:00pm
Cipriani 42nd Street

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YWCA NYC and supporters will gather in New York City for a week of events on October 15-19, 2019 in recognition of YWCA’s efforts in the fight to end gender-based violence. YW’s Week Without Violence is a national effort spearheaded by YWCA USA with support and participation from associations across the country. In New York City, YWCA NYC is hosting four workshops and events in support of our mission to end gender and racial violence.  Participation is open to the public, RSVP required.  Please follow the link for more information.  #WWV19  RSVP here. 

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[Message from YWCA USA]
Welcome to Organize Your Butterflies, an original podcast of YWCA.
Each episode, we discuss the ways women, including many of the amazing leaders at YWCA, are working to help women, girls and families. Topics include organizing, strategizing, and mobilizing around issues like equal pay, domestic violence, women’s entrepreneurship, and more – including how YOU can get involved. We organize our butterflies to create change and build a better future for women, families, and our communities.

Episode #1 – June 29, 2019 – “Organize Your Butterflies”

Subscribe to the Organize Your Butterflies Podcast: APPLE PODCASTS | GOOGLE PLAY | STITCHER | SPOTIFY | TUNEIN | RSS

Video and Featured Image by YWCA USA.

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Students, staff and guest speakers gathered on April 24th in recognition of our efforts in the fight against racism. Student performers expressed their understanding of the topic through art, dance and song, while Guest Speakers—Natalie Borneo & Melvin Poindexter-Miller— shared stories about their personal encounters with racism and their successes despite those experiences. #YWStandAgainstRacism19

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The YWCA of the City of New York is energized and excited to celebrate 160 years of service and action. YWCA has been at the forefront of the most critical social movements from women’s empowerment and civil rights, to affordable housing and pay equity, to violence prevention and health care.

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