"I CAN BE CHANGED BY WHAT HAPPENS TO ME.
BUT I REFUSE TO BE REDUCED BY IT . "
~ MAYA ANGELOU
MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY
Earlier this month, YWCA Toronto gathered to pay tribute to our dear colleague Sahar Haghjoo and her eight year old daughter, Elsa, whom we lost on UIA Flight 752. Sahar was the Manager of JUMP Scarborough, a YWCA Toronto settlement program for newcomer women and girls. 

We are shocked and devastated by the loss of Sahar and Elsa. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of all the victims, and the larger Iranian diaspora community in Canada. 


Sincerely, 
Firoozeh Radjai
Director of Philanthropy, YWCA Toronto
Photo | Jasmine Ramze Rezaee,
Manager of Advocacy, YWCA Toronto
ADVOCACY CORNER
On January 17, we presented our 2020 pre-budget recommendations – centred on lifting women out of poverty – to the Provincial Government’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. Click  here  to read a transcript of our presentation and  here  to access our full written submission. 

On January 20, we also  deputed  at the City of Toronto’s Budget Committee urging the municipal government to raise new revenues in support of substantive gender equality
in Toronto. 

PROGRAM UPDATE
Immerse yourself in the power of music and community with our  latest blog post that highlights the drumming program at 1st Stop Woodlawn shelter.  
 
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Become a member of YWCA Toronto in 2020. Membership is so much more than the $20 membership fee - it is about being part of a worldwide feminist movement, having a voice, and supporting women and girls. Membership is open to all women-identified people.

 
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Can you recognize the
signs of trauma?

YWCA Toronto's Trauma Informed Development Education (TIDE) initiative teaches that people are resilient and capable of healing from experience of trauma and violence.


Check out this handy guide on  “100 Ways to Make the World Better for Non-Binary People.” The list includes both interpersonal changes and useful resources to learn more.

Edgy
Photo | Courtesy of Social Planning Toronto
Social Planning Toronto Report

As we said goodbye to the last decade, Social Planning Toronto released their report,  “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Report Examines Which of Toronto’s Problems are Better, and Which are Bigger, after 10 Years of Austerity.” The report touches on both child care and housing, along with other important issues of public life in Toronto. Please read and spread the word.
Photo | Nick Morrison
Call for Blog Content 

Do you have a story to share?
Tell your Toronto tale on YWCA Toronto's blog! We are looking for submissions of 250-500 words on intersectional feminist issues impacting women, non-binary people, and children across the city.

Send your questions or pitch to jrezaee@ywcatoronto.org.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 YWCA Toronto operates in communities that stand on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. The territory was the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Ojibwe and allied nations to share peacefully and care for the resources around the Great Lakes.

Today, the meeting place of Toronto is still the home to many Indigenous people and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this territory as we strive to build a more eq uitable and just city for all residents.