This holiday season, you can give the gift of empowerment and equity for women and girls in our community.
There’s no denying it: this pandemic has been difficult. But difficult times call for determination, perseverance and teamwork. As Edmonton’s largest and oldest women’s organization, we are no stranger to hard work. And so we continue to work harder than ever…
- For true and lasting gender equity
- To end to all forms of gender-based violence.
- To ensure our services are always available, when and where people need us the most.
Because when the world is difficult for women and families, we cannot remain silent or still.
YWCA Edmonton has been a powerful voice for equity and social change since 1907. Our North Star has always been gender equity, and we work hard every day to build a world that is safer, stronger and equitable for all. While progress has zigged and zagged, YWCA Edmonton was part of major developments and progress in 2021, including:
- The success of our Searching For Izena Project, a joint research project with Parity YEG that chronicled 100 years of female leadership at Edmonton City Hall. Our year-long campaign has been credited with helping our city elect a record number of women (eight) to Edmonton city council in October.
- Our behind-the-scenes advocacy work with the YWCAs of Alberta to help bring an historic $3.8-billion Alberta-Canada childcare deal to our province in the fall.
- Assisting with two new Indigenous-led healing retreats in Alberta for family members of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. Those retreats collectively honoured the memory of 43 women and girls.
- Hosting a national virtual conference for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Persons of Colour) youth called Imagine That!
Our long-standing YWCA Edmonton services and programs never stopped either. We offered more than 4,000 subsidized counselling sessions (a record number) in 2021. We also worked with more than 200 adults and children living with disabilities in our community. Lastly, Camp Yowochas safely hosted more than 1,000 children during our popular summer camping program.
How can you help continue this important work in 2022 and beyond?
Please consider a generous donation to YWCA Edmonton today in support of our innovative and effective programs that empower women and youth, promote equity and work to overcome gender-based violence.
From all of us at the YWCA, thank you for your financial support and generosity. May your holiday season be one of good health and abundant blessings.
