YWCA Boulder County Weekly Update
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YWCA Boulder County has been closely monitoring and working with Colorado Public Health, Colorado Office of Early Childhood and other Early Childhood Collaboratives to determine when we can provide early child care. Governor Polis is not extending the Stay-at-Home order and is beginning to move into the next phase of responding to COVID-19 in our state.
We have determined a phased approach to reopening will ensure our alignment with Colorado Public Health guidelines.
On May 4, we will be reopening part our Infant Development Center (IDC). We will be contacting families directly who currently have contracts with the YWCA.
On May 11, we will be reopening part of our Pre-K program. We will be contacting families directly who currently have contracts with the YWCA.
This phased reopening is to ensure we are in compliance with Colorado Public Health and their recommendation and requirements for social distancing and consistency of children being served. During this time, we appreciate your understanding and patience as we work together to ensure a safe environment for the children, families and staff.
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Stand Against Racism Week
April 20-26, 2020
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Join us for YWCA’s fourteenth annual Stand Again Racism week of activism, when we will join others around the country to raise awareness around racial justice issues that pose barriers to civic engagement for communities of color.
Our collective efforts can root out injustice, transform institutions, and create a world that sees women, girls, and people of color the way we do:
Equal. Powerful. Unstoppable.
Stand Against Racism 2020 Activities
Thursday, 4/23/2020:
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Watch the YWCA USA National Tele-Town Hall, Thursday, April 23 at 1:00-2:45 p.m. MST (3:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. EST).
Voting rights, census participation, and civic engagement are, and have always been, essential to racial justice.
As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts all aspects of life, it is also exacerbating the impact of systemic and structural racism on communities of color across health, education, justice, and economic sectors.
In this moment, our collective efforts to secure full access at the ballot box, to ensure a fair and complete Census count, and to stand against racism-whenever and wherever it happens - are more important than ever.
Join us for a national tele-town hall where we will:
- Explore the issues with national leaders in the movement for racial justice and gender equity
- Learn best practices and build skills for effective civic engagement amidst social distancing
- Motivate and inspire our nationwide networks for the work of racial justice
Announcing special guest appearance by Janelle Monáe!
Thursday, April 23, 2020
1:00-2:45 p.m. MST (3:00 - 4:45 p.m. EST)
Speakers include:
Alejandra Y. Castillo, CEO, YWCA USA
Cecile Richards, Co-chair, Supermajority
Vanita Gupta, President & CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
Valerie Jarrett, Co-Chair, United State of Women & When We All Vote
Ai-Jen Poo, Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance
Virginia Kase, CEO, League of Women Voters
Melanie Campbell, President & CEO, National Council on Black Civic Participation
Friday, 4/24/2020:
- Stand Against Racism Pledge in PDF format. Check our social media pages for shareable image versions.
Saturday, 4/25/2020:
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Write a Letter to the Editor
for your local newspaper about VAWA, VRAA, NAVRA and/or the racial disparities in COVID-19 deaths.
Sunday, 4/26/2020:
- Check back in with your family and friends to make sure everyone has completed the Census.
- Share your favorite part of Stand Against Racism Week on social media.
Bonus Activities from YWCA USA
- YWCA Stand Against Racism Podcast Episodes - dropping this Friday, April 24th, featuring Dr. Ariana Curtis, Latinx Curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and Michelle Kim, CEO & Co-Founder of Awaken.
Help us track our impact!
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YWCA Boulder County volunteers fuel our mission to eliminate racism and empower women every day. This week is Volunteer Appreciation Week and we wanted to take a moment to express our profound gratitude for our many wonderful volunteers!
Our volunteers share their time, talents and passion across all of our programs, from reading to elementary school children in our Reading to End Racism (RER) program to helping 5th-8th grade girls learn how to code. Our Board of Directors provides leadership and guidance, and our advocacy, marketing and finance committees ensure we are successfully providing vital programming and positive change in our community. Volunteers also make it possible for us to raise critical funds through our Dash and Bash, Annual Gala and Dancing with Boulder Stars events.
We appreciate our volunteers today and every day. Thank you for all you do!
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Program Pivots during COVID-19
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Our staff and volunteers have been hard at work pivoting our programs to continue to serve our community during this challenging time.
Latina Achievement Support (LAS)
Our staff has been in close communication with the participants in our LAS program to learn how they are weathering the current crisis and provide support.
Their greatest needs during this time has been buying food and basic necessities. Thanks to a $5,000 grant, we were able to send each LAS participant a $75 gift card to cover some of those basic necessities for themselves and their families. Our staff is also continuing their regular meetings and guidance sessions for the LAS participants virtually, helping with advice and mental health support during this very uncertain time.
Children's Alley Families
Inspired by the impact of the gift cards for our LAS participants, a generous donor made a $5,000 gift to us to provide 12 of our families facing the greatest challenges with a gift of $250 per child. We are so grateful to be able to provide this support to these families who are facing an especially difficult time right now, and heard from many of them that the personal contact and financial support has been a bright spot of hope and a financial boon to help them get through the next weeks and months.
Our Children's Alley teaching staff have been making personal calls with a core group of families who frequent Children's Alley, providing personalized suggestions and lesson plans for their children. We are hearing some great feedback from our families and are so happy we can continue to be of service to them during this time.
STEM E3
This month we were slated to begin our first of the ongoing cohorts of after-school STEM E3 programs for the young girls of color who participated in our Jam Sessions at Google last year.
We have shifted this to a virtual program with help from YWCA Silicon Valley and their Curated Pathways STEM program. We will also be supplying our participants with any technology they might need to participate, including Chromebooks and internet hot spots, if they don't already have access to them at home. We are excited to continue our STEM E3 program and help young girls of color learn the building blocks of careers in STEM.
Reading to End Racism (RER)
With schools closed, we are working with teachers to provide our RER book readings and discussions to their students virtually.
We will soon be able to supply our partner teachers with video recordings of some of our best children's books about racism, bullying, discrimination and allyship.
We are also thrilled with the response to our new, virtual Literary RER Book Club. The group has met twice so far with 16 participants and have been discussing the book “The Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. If you are interested in joining, please email Debbie Pope at
debbie@ywcaboulder.org.
A huge THANK YOU to our staff and volunteers for all their hard work shifting our programs to online offerings, and our deepest gratitude to those wonderful donors who stepped up to make this work possible. We couldn't do it without you!
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May 5 is Giving Tuesday Now
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#GivingTuesdayNow is a global day of giving and unity, set to take place on May 5, 2020 as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19. The day is designed to drive an influx of generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropy activation, and support for communities and nonprofits around the world.
At a time when we are all experiencing the pandemic, generosity is what brings people of all races, faiths, and political views together across the globe. Generosity gives everyone power to make a positive change in the lives of others and is a fundamental value anyone can act on. It’s a day for everyone around the world to stand together and give back in all ways, no matter who or where we are. Whether it’s helping a neighbor, advocating for an issue, sharing a skill, or giving to causes, every act of generosity counts.
Here at YWCA Boulder County, we have worked to eliminate racism and empower women in our community for nearly 100 years. We have been proud to serve our community with quality, affordable childcare, and mentorship and anti-racism programs. As businesses begin to reopen and people start to go back to work, families are going to need quality, early learning childcare for their children. We will be there for them, and the construction of two additional classrooms with 24 new permanent childcare spots will be needed more than ever.
Stand with us on #GivingTuesdayNow by making a donation, if you are able, or by sharing on social media why our work to eliminate racism and empower women is important to you. Together, we can impact our community in lasting ways, now and after this crisis.
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YWCA Boulder County is dedicated to supporting parents and families during this crisis. As we all deal with the Coronavirus pandemic, the
YWCA is providing virtual activities and learning opportunities from our Children's Alley teachers
.
Sign up for our
Parent Resource emails that go out every other Monday with tips and activities for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, as well as general parenting, mental health and self-care tips. We are here to help all parents and families with activity and wellness resources as we weather this challenging time together.
Like our
Facebook page
and stay tuned for more resources and more videos from our Children's Alley teaching staff!
If you would like to receive the Parent Resource Weekly, please sign up
here
or by clicking the button below.
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