YWCA BROOKLYN
 College Access and Leadership for Girls
Fall 2019 Newsletter
100% of YW Brooklyn LEADers attend 
4-year  competitive  colleges!

Passing the Torch Ceremony
Over the summer we celebrated the achievements of our 15 graduating seniors, all now attending competitive 4-year colleges. Our graduates received over one million dollars in  scholarships and financial aid, with 10 full-tuition scholarships, including New York University and Dartmouth!

 YW LEAD Spotlight: Chara and Sabrina
            
Chara Lyons  (pictured left) graduated from Clara Barton High School as Valedictorian of her class. She is attending Dartmouth College on a full scholarship, where she plans to study biomedical engineering. Over the summer Chara completed a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) program at Dartmouth and was a mentor at the Young Leaders Summit hosted by the Hispanic Scholars Fund at the University of Chicago.

Sabrina Moore  (pictured right) graduated with honors from Clara Barton High School. She is attending Springfield College and plans to major in Museum Studies. Sabrina is interested in archival preservation specifically and she recently visited the YWCA Brooklyn archives at Brooklyn College where she hopes to intern next summer. As a YWCA Brooklyn LEADer, Sabrina led community service projects and advocated for legislation supporting educational equity for students of color.

YW Brooklyn LEADers Chara Lyons and Isabella Pavon featured with Borough President Eric Adams and BW4BG representatives
 
YWCA Brooklyn partner ed  with Black Women for Black Girls Giving Circle (BW4BG) to host a college shower  and announce the winners of the BW4BG $1000  scholarship  awarded to  five  college-bound  black girls . Two YW Brooklyn LEADers, Chara Lyons and Isabella Pavon won scholarships this year.

 YWCA Brooklyn LEAD  Alumni Council
Sydni Snaggs, President, Zenzele Franklin, Vice President, Susan Obatola, Treasurer, Terry-Ann Lawrence, Secretary, Breanna Toney, Events Chair and  Kaylyn Alston, Public Relations Chair. The mission of the YW Brooklyn LEAD Alumni Council is to provide peer support and to mentor younger LEADers who are preparing for the college experience. The Council serves as a sisterhood and professional network during college and after graduation as alumni begin their careers.

Alumni Spotlight: Sidni & Terry Ann 
     
Sydni Snaggs, Alumni President                                       Terry-Ann Lawrence, Alumni Secretary

Sydni Snaggs  started with the  first   YWCA Brooklyn LEAD  class in 2014. She received a full scholarship to New York University where she is currently a Junior  studying Global Public Health As part of her program,  Syndi has  traveled to  Haiti, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic . She  will spend next year studying in Ghana, Togo, and the Ivory Coast.  Sydni interned at the YWCA Brooklyn this year and  was instrumental in developing the Alumni Council as well as programming for younger YW Brooklyn LEADers as they 
prepared for college.
 
Terry-Ann Lawrence  who   also  joined the YWCA Brooklyn LEAD Program in 2014, graduated salutatorian of her high school class and received a full scholarship to the Sop hie Davis Biomedical Education Program at CUNY School of Medicine  where she just began her 4th year.  Terry Ann is interested in specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology or Emergency Medicine.   When she isn't in school, Terry-Ann is an active member of the YW Brooklyn LEAD Alumni Council and an intern at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Clin ic.
Advocacy and Leadership

 Advocacy in Albany
    
YW Brooklyn LEADers attended a special panel at the NY State Capitol hosted by Elizabeth de León Bhargava, Deputy Secretary for Labor & Workforce for the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. The panel included 6 women of color who all hold positions in the Governor's executive team. YW Brooklyn LEADers later met with local elected officials to advocate for educational reform and ended the day with a visit to the NYS Senate where they were officially recognized during the session by Senator Velmanette Montgomery Welcomes YWCA Brooklyn  

Young Women's " Justice  League" Step Team
 
The Justice League   promotes  the YWCA Brooklyn mission to  eliminate racism and empower women and girls. They perform ed  for the first time at the Atlantic Antic on  September 29th  and stole the show!

 Partnership with New York Liberty (WNBA)
New York Liberty team players invited  YW  Brooklyn LEAD ers over  for a private lunch and intimate  interviews to discuss their professional goals and college plans, which were later featured on the YES Network. The players also launched a virtual college shower to lend support for graduating seniors.    Click here for more information on the WNBA partnership.
 

Teresa Weatherspoon  WNBA Hall of Fame, with YWCA Brooklyn staff and LEADers
Civic Engagement

   
3rd Annual Back to School Giveaway-YWCA Brooklyn partnered with St Joseph's College, Sigma Gamma Rho, and the Seven Roses Legacy Foundation for a night of food, games, and performances to  support  homeless and low-income students.  Participants received brand new backpacks  with school supplies.    Many thanks to all our partners, State Assembly-member Jo Anne Simon and YWCA Brooklyn residents for their generosity.    St Joseph's College Partners with YWCA Brooklyn on Annual School Supply Drive

A Special Thanks to our Supporters


Pictured (left) YWCA B rooklyn  LEADers attend ed an   a nnual BBQ  at  Board Chair Sondra Ford 's   home.   
Pictured (right): Stuart Post , Executive Director,  Merringoff Foundation,  whose generous support funds SAT prep/tutoring and college persistence programming,  poses with members of the YW LEAD Alumni Council.

Pictured (above): Alumni  l unch with Lee Perlman , third from left whose generous support launched the YWCA Brooklyn  College Access  and  Leadership Program  in 2014. He remains  a generous donor, advisor and champion for the program. 
Congratulations to our 2019 Graduates!

             
  
With gratitude to our generous supporters:

Lee Perlman and Linda Riefberg Giving Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund

Meringoff Family Foundation 

New York Community Trust

Centene Foundation

Pinkerton Foundation

Ford Reynolds Fund of the Southwest Community Foundation

Morris and Alma Foundation

Charles Hayden Foundation

Google.org

Hyde and Watson Foundation

Investors Foundation

New York City Council Young Women's Initiative

Want to help improve the lives of women and girls in Brooklyn?
 
Consider making a tax deductible contribution to support YWCA Brooklyn, the oldest and largest organization serving underrepresented women and girls in the borough 
 

YWCA Brooklyn Events








 
YWCA Brooklyn in Collaboration with MIPO 
Monday, November 11
8:30am-4:00PM
YWCA Brooklyn in partnership with Making the Impossible Possible, Inc. presents our first Annual Youth Summit. Join us as we bring resources to our young scholars to support our youth in their social and academic journey. Workshops, one-on-one meetings with college counselors, social mixer, and more! High school seniors will have an opportunity to win scholarships on the spot!  Click here to register.
Follow the YWCA Brooklyn Online
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
View on Instagram