: ''For other uses, including specific buildings and chapters, see
Young Women's Christian Association (disambiguation)
The YWCA is an association supporting women and girls.
YWCA or Y.W.C.A. may also refer to:
* Y.W.C.A. Hioe Tjo Yoeng College, a government-aided, English medium instruction (EMI), grammar school in Ho Man Tin, Hong Kong.
*YWCA Site, an archaeolo ...
.''
![YWCA In Service for the Girls of the World - Poster, 1919 s58d](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/YWCA_In_Service_for_the_Girls_of_the_World_-_Poster%2C_1919_s58d.5_-_2.jpg)
YWCA USA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. It is one of the "oldest and largest multicultural organizations promoting solutions to enhance the lives of women, girls and families."
History
YWCA USA was founded as the Young Women's Christian Association in New York City in 1858.
In 1905, the Harlem YWCA hired the first
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
woman general secretary of a local YWCA branch,
Eva del Vakia Bowles
Eva del Vakia Bowles (1875 – 1943) was an American teacher and a Young Women's Christian Association organizer in New York City. When she began working at the New York City segregated YWCA in Harlem, she became the first black woman to be a gen ...
. Bowles joined the national association as the head of "colored programs" in 1913 and remained in that capacity until 1932.
Prior to the
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
, some YWCA facilities were
segregated or operated as separate organizations. Advocates like
Helen L. Seaborg in
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, worked successfully to mediate mergers between the segregated groups.
Mary Ingraham was president of the National Board of the YWCA from 1940 to 1946 and involved with the YWCA's war work and interracial efforts.
YWCA USA changed its corporate name from "Young Women's Christian Association of the United States of America, Inc." to "YWCA USA, Inc." in December 2015.
Structure
YWCA is a national organization with 215 local associations across the United States. At YWCA's annual meeting in May 2012, a transition from the prior regional structure to a national federated structure was approved, followed by the adoption of new bylaws in November 2012.
Alejandra Y. Castillo, Esq., is the CEO of YWCA USA.
Services
YWCA serves more than 2 million women, girls, and their families in the United States. It is also part of an international movement serving 25 million worldwide in 120 countries.
Each year, YWCAs help more than 535,000 women with safety services, which include sexual assault programs, domestic violence services such as emergency shelter, crisis hotlines, counseling and court assistance, and other community safety programs. We also help more than 122,000 women with economic empowerment programs, and more than 160,000 individuals participate each year in racial justice education and training programs.
YWCA of The City of New York
The YWCA of The City of New York, the oldest of all of the YWCAs in the United States, was founded in 1858. It is unique in that the organization is guided purely by human service-oriented programs rather than physical services. Such programs include their Early Learning Centers, Family Resource Center, Out-of-School Programs, Professional Development Programming, and Women's Employment Programming to name a few, and are still guided by the YW mission of eliminating racism and empowering women. YWCA of The City of New York services are a major component of the non-profit community in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
The YWCA of The City of New York produces several fundraising events annually including the Salute to Women Leaders Luncheon, the YWCA-NYC Theatre Benefit (featuring the Broadway hit ''
The Color Purple
''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. '' in 2005 and the revival of
Michael Bennett's ''
A Chorus Line
''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante.
Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...
'' in 2006).
During their annual Summer Soirée (held at the
W Hotel
W Hotels is an American upscale lifestyle hotel chain owned by Marriott International that is marketed towards a younger age group.
History
W Hotels was launched in 1998 with W New York, a conversion of the former Doral Inn hotel on Lexington ...
in 2005 and
Cipriani
Cipriani S.A. is an Italian hotel and leisure company domiciled in Luxembourg that owns and operates luxury restaurants and clubs around the world including Harry's Bar in Venice and formerly the Rainbow Room in New York City. It specialises i ...
23rd Street in 2006) they present their ''"W"'' award. This award is presented to a woman who is a visionary, an innovator, trend-setter, a woman who gives back to her community and helps those the YW serves daily: the women, girls and families of New York City. In 2005, this award was given to Marian McEvoy, and in 2006 to
Star Jones-Reynolds.
YWCA Metropolitan Chicago
![YWCA Club](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/YWCA_Club.jpg)
YWCA Metropolitan Chicago is the oldest and largest women's organization in the region, with a mission to eliminate racism and empower women. For more than 140 years, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago has been committed to serving the evolving needs of women and families.
The Monroe Gallery at the YWCA started in 1961. Originally located at the YWCA Loop Center at 59 E. Monroe St. until 1969. It then moved to the new YWCA location 37 S. Wabash Ave. Members include
Diana Solis
Diana most commonly refers to:
* Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon
* Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) ...
,
Diana Avila
Diana most commonly refers to:
* Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon
* Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) ...
,
Malu Ortega y Alberro
is a word in the Samoan language for a female-specific tattoo of cultural significance. The covers the legs from just below the knee to the upper thighs just below the buttocks, and is typically finer and delicate in design compared to the , t ...
,
Salima Rivera Salima may refer to:
People
* Salima Aga Khan (born 1940), ex-wife of Prince Karim Aga Khan
* Salima Ghezali (born 1958), an Algerian journalist and writer
* Salima Hamouche (born 1984), an Algerian volleyball player
* Salima Hashmi, a Pakista ...
,
Eleanor Boyer
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The name was introd ...
,
Karen Peugh
Karen may refer to:
* Karen (name), a given name and surname
* Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors
People
* Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand
** Karen languages or Karenic l ...
, and
Judith Arcana
Judith Arcana is an American writer of poems, stories, essays and books. She was a teacher for forty years and her writing has appeared in journals and anthologies since the early 1980s. She has been an activist for reproductive justice since s ...
.
The Women's Video Project
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
at the YWCA was initially created to complete video projects related to the Loop YWCA's Lay Advocacy program, provide support to other YWCA groups and individuals to use, and teach video equipment usage and guiding video projects.
Judy Hoffman made equipment recommendations early on, and by 1974 the first grant assistance had come in. At that time seven women led by video maker
Eleanor Boyer
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The name was introd ...
went to work setting the equipment up, creating tapes, and providing support to other YWCA members. Countless tapes were made documenting workshops and lectures; workshops were given to provide hands-on experience in making small-format video, including planning, shooting, and editing; and YWCA members created their own tapes. Boyer herself created more than a dozen tapes with the program, including Street Interviews on Rape (1974) documenting attitudes and beliefs about rape held by men and women, Getting Strong: Self Defense for Women (1976) discussing the dimensions and politics of self-defense for women, Breast Cancer Tapes (1977) opening up the subject of breast cancer from the point of view of women who had undergone treatment, and Bonne Bell: 10,000 Meter Race for Women (1978) documenting Chicago's first 6.2-mile race for women which was organized and hosted by the YWCA.
As technology shifted, the Women's Video Project at the YWCA started to seek out newer equipment that was lighter, was easier to use, and recorded in color. The members of the Video Project wrote letters of support for the newly founded and artist-run Chicago Editing Center, which later became known as the Center for New Television, and moved much of their work there.
See also
*
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...
*
Jewish Community Center
A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social clubs, social, and Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish ...
*
The Y (disambiguation) The Y may refer to:
Enterprises
* YMCA, a worldwide youth organization
* YWCA, a worldwide youth organization
* YM-YWHA, a youth organization operated by the Jewish Community Center in the US
* Brigham Young University, a university in the US st ...
*
Y
*
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
References
Sources
*
External links
*
World Young Women's Christian AssociationYWCA CanadaYoung Women's Christian Association of Cambridge (Mass.) Records, 1881-1981Schlesinger Library − Radcliffe Institute, Harvard UniversityYWCA of the U.S.A. Records, 1860-2002 (Bulk: 1906-2000) Sophia Smith Collection
The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history.
General
One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, ar ...
, Smith College Special Collections
{{Authority control
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
YWCA 01
YWCA 01
YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Organizations established in 1858
1858 establishments in New York (state)
1858 establishments in the United States
cs:YWCA
de:Young Women's Christian Association
ja:キリスト教女子青年会
no:Norges KFUK-KFUM
pl:YWCA