A MESSAGE FROM YWCA CEO, TARA PETERSON

February is both Black History Month and Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, two campaigns near to our hearts as an organization dedicated to eliminating racism and empowering women. As we make our way through this month, we are focused, as we have always been, on raising awareness around teen dating violence and providing teens with safe spaces, and on amplifying Black voices, the Black community, and the Black experience.
 
Black history is our history. For Black History Month, we encourage you to learn about and lift up Black experiences in our country and our community. But at the same time, let us recognize that Black history is more than just a month on the calendar, and racial injustice is just as much our present as it is our past. We must all become partners and allies in ending racism and the oppressive behavior that threatens Black lives. In that spirit, I would encourage all of you to register for our annual Stand Against Racism Challenge. Starting April 4th, participants will be given daily activities, such as reading an article or listening to a podcast, meant to challenge, educate, and inspire. Together, we can move our community forward.
 
February is also Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. The theme of this year’s campaign is “Talk About It,” and we couldn’t agree more. At YWCA Glendale and Pasadena, we teach Safe Dates, an evidence-based, violence-prevention curriculum that educates our girls on forms of interpersonal violence and societal misconceptions that contribute to harmful beliefs. Safe Dates helps teens and pre-teens recognize the difference between healthy relationships and abusive ones.
 
We invite you to talk about this issue at home and with the youth in your life. A national study found that positive parenting contributed to significantly less tolerance of abuse by teen participants, and they were also less likely to be a perpetrator or victim of teen dating violence. If you’re unsure of where to start, Love Is Respect has excellent resources for talking to the teens and pre-teens in your life.
SPOTLIGHT ON TEEN DATING VIOLENCE PREVENTION

Teen dating violence affects more than just teens: it affects their families, friends, and community. As part of that community, we play a pivotal role in teaching and modeling healthy relationship behavior, and when 1 in 3 U.S. teens experience physical, sexual, or emotional abuse by someone they are in a relationship with, it is more important than ever to take action. Learn more from Hasmik Burushyan, our Outreach and Education Coordinator, as she talks about our work in implementing Safe Dates, a teen dating violence prevention curriculum.
STAND AGAINST RACISM CHALLENGE LAUNCHES APRIL 4TH

The Stand Against Racism Challenge is now a national initiative of YWCA USA. Previously known as the 21-Day Racial Equity and Social Justice Challenge, the Stand Against Racism Challenge is designed to establish dedicated time and space to building more effective social justice habits, particularly those dealing with issues of race, power, privilege, and leadership. Participants log on either through the app or by website and are presented with challenges and activities like reading an article, listening to a podcast, reflecting on personal experiences, and more. Participation in the Challenge gives us insight into how racial and social injustice impact our community, while also allowing us to connect and identify ways to dismantle racism and other forms of discrimination.
WELCOMING UMAA REBBAPRAGADA, OUR 2022 STEAM PROGRAM ADVISOR

We are honored to announce our 2022 STEAM Program Advisor, Umaa Rebbapragada! Upon completing her Ph.D. from Tufts University, Rebbapragada was hired as a staff data scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory where she worked on infusing artificial intelligence techniques into science data systems and other large-scale projects. Currently she is focused on building classification and anomaly detection systems for astronomical imaging systems. She previously joined us as a Camp Rosie volunteer guest instructor, where she taught a class on why we study astronomy and what life might look like on other planets. We are honored to have Umaa as an advisor to our TechGYRLS program, which introduces girls to the wonders of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math through hands-on workshops and 1:1 mentorship programs.
UPCOMING EVENTS

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