advocacy

The YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts announces its
Stand Against Racism!

April 30, 2010
Join Us.  Take a Stand!

What's a Participating Site?
Watch a Short Video to learn more.


Sign Up to Take a Stand as a Participating Site.



advocacy/public policy activities
Advocacy and public policy are cornerstones of the YWCA. The YWCA remains at the forefront of addressing issues of racial and gender inequities. We are a member of a regional and national movement working together to strengthen our voice in the local, state and national governments. The YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts strives daily to continue to provide opportunities to help women and their families reach their fullest potential. We will continue to take social action towards racial justice, women’s economic advancement and the empowerment of women and girls.

The YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts currently offers opportunities for advocacy and public policy to members, volunteers, board and staff with a major focus on targeting young women and girls. We have provided transportation to advocate for pay equity at the state and national level. We have sent women to Capitol Hill to advocate for issues of violence against women. We have spoken out on issues of racial injustice with regards to the Jena 6. The YWCA is prepared to take a stand at the local, state and national governments, as issues arise in our country that affect the well-being of women, girls and people of color.

the clothesline project
The Clothesline Project is a visual display that bears witness to the violence against women. During the public display, a clothesline is hung with shirts. Each shirt is created to tell the story of a woman’s or child’s experience, by the survivor herself or by the loved ones of those who died.

Courageously stepping forward, each woman and child has used her own painful experience to break the silence around the issue of violence against women.

The project started with thirty-one shirts hung in Hyannis, MA in the Fall of 1990. Since that time, projects have begun in communities all across the country and in other countries as well. The purpose of the project is four-fold:
1. To bear witness to the survivors as well as the victims of the war against women.
2. To help with the healing process for people who have lost a loved one or are survivors of this violence.
3. To educate, document and raise society’s awareness of the extent of the problem of violence against women.
4. To provide a nationwide network of support, encouragement and information for other communities starting their own Clothesline Projects.

What goes on the Clothesline?
• White shirts for women who have died of violence.
• Yellow or Beige for women who have been battered or assaulted.
• Red, Pink, or Orange shirts for women who have been raped or sexually assaulted.
• Blue or Green for women survivors of incest or child sexual abuse;
• Purple or Lavender for women attacked because of their sexual orientation.
• Silver or Grey for women who have been emotionally, economically or verbally abused.

Contact the YWCA to organize a display of the Clothesline Project. Advance notice and ample publicity is required to ensure that the women whose shirts are displayed will not come upon the Clothesline unprepared.

equal pay day
Did you know that women have to work into April of the following year to earn the same salaries as their male counterparts did the previous year?

Help women get the pay they deserve and build support for pay equity legislation. Every year the YWCA transports women and girls to the State House in Boston to advocate for pay equity.

(Equal Pay Day generally falls between the third week of April.)

sizzlin' salsa dance party
This YWCA hosts its Sizzlin' Salsa Dance Party annually in September during Hispanic Heritage Awareness month. The event unites the community in a safe, fun and engaging environment. Our guests enjoy Latin dance instruction with Salsa y Control, a Salsa dance contest, live entertainment and Spanish food. This fundraising event benefits leadership development programs for young women.

save the date
The 4th Annual "Sizzlin' Salsa Dance Party" (formerly “Hispanic Heritage Night”) will be held Friday, September 25, 2009 from 8 PM – 1 AM. The evening will be hosted at The Sky Room at the Howland Place in New Bedford.

investment club
Information coming soon.

leadership development programs for young women
Are you a passionate and committed young woman eager to take on leadership roles, engaged in a cause?

The YWCA recognizes the importance of bringing new energy and fresh perspectives into the YWCA, attracting new resources, meeting the YWCA mission of eliminating racism and empowering women, and shaping the organizational vision for the future. We want you to be heard when it comes to issues that affect your life and community. Young women are the present and future leaders of social change in our communities.

You could be one of these women!!

The YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts currently offers opportunities for young women to seek engagement in:
• Workshops (Racial Justice, Economic Advancement…)
• Research/Education (Wage Inequity, Women’s Health…)
• Program Development (Curriculum/Activities for Yw kids, Teen Talk, Young Women and Girls…)
• Public Speaking/Networking (Programs, Events, Campus Presentations, Advocacy…)
• National & International Travel (Regional Meetings, National Conferences, World Council…)
• Leadership Development (Internships, Event Committees, Board of Directors, NER 30 Under 30…)
• Advocacy (Equal Pay Day, Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill, Info/Outreach Sessions…)

the mayor’s youth council
The City of New Bedford—Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC) was created to be the eyes and ears of city youth in an advisory capacity to the mayor and city government.  The council assists city officials in the development of community projects from a youth’s perspective.  The Mayor’s Youth council is a program of the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts in partnership with the City of New Bedford Office of Human Services.

The MYC is made up of 25 youth entering 9th through 12th grade.  Youth self-nominate through an application process and are then invited to interview for open positions.  For more information, please contact Pam Pollock, program advisor, at (508)-965-6927 or email to mayorsyouthcouncil@ywcasema.org.

national day of commitment to eliminate racism
Think racism is over. Think again.
Not a day goes by when the media doesn’t report stories concerning racism, religious intolerance, or hate related crimes. The YWCA works ambitiously to affect change and to educate individuals on the importance of racial justice in the Unites States. We offer a clear, supportive voice to the inequities women and people of color face in our society. The YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts is dedicated to giving a local, national and global voice to fighting racial injustice.

(National Day of Commitment to Eliminate Racism generally falls in between the fourth week of April.)

racial justice community sessions

racial justice 101 - Back To Top
This 6 hour training helps people identify what racism is and how to work to change it. Group and individual exercise focus on open dialogue that identifies racist attitudes and how to change them. Participants explore personal perceptions and issues concerning racism, white privilege and racial justice.
Cost: $30.00 per person

cultural competency training
This 6 hour training is geared towards staff of health/human services agencies. This training will help staff provide better service to their clients by raising awareness of cultural differences, traditions and barriers that clients may have in accessing services.
Cost: $30.00 per person

brown eye / blue eye workshop
This 3 hour interactive workshop focuses on the meaning of prejudice and racism using Jane Elliot’s now famous exercise where she divides her class based upon the color of their eyes.
Cost: $15.00 per person

unlearning racism
Using the powerful acclaimed documentary “The Color of Fear”, this 3 hour workshop allows individuals to explore their personal biases and prejudices through discussion and self-reflection. Participants discover conscious and unconscious ways that racism has affected their lives. The program is designed to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of differences.
Cost: $15.00 per person

understanding white privilege
Using Dr. Shatki Butler’s film, “Mirrors of Privilege, Making Whiteness Visible,” this 3 hour interactive workshop challenges people to engage in an honest discussion that explores race and what it means to have white privilege. Participants discover racism and white supremacy in the United States and are challenged to rise to a level of consciousness, in order to have a deeper understanding of how to create racial justice in our communities.
Cost: $15.00 per person

tween/teen sessions

my identity - Back To Top
Using the film, “A Place at the Table” from Teaching Tolerance, students will hear stories from high school students who have explored their families’ experience of struggle, slavery, cultural genocide and survival in a pluralistic society. Participants will be able to start a conversation that respects the diverse stories of how many people came to America to make a place for them at the “table.” This 3-hour interactive session allows students to form their own stories of family ancestry and racial and cultural identity, in order to form a deeper understanding and respect of the stories of others.
Cost: $10 per person

prejudice and bullying
Using the film, “Let’s Get Real” from Women’s Educational Media, students will hear the stories of middle-school/high-school students who have acknowledged the issues of bullying, name-calling, and prejudice in their school. Participants will dig deep into a respectful conversation of harassment and bullying due to prejudices such as race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, body size, or immigration status. This 3-hour session will challenge students to acknowledge the issues in their own schools and motivate them to make a personal commitment to becoming an ally and instituting change.
Cost: $10 per person

her-story is my-story
There is great power in the conversations between mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters, aunts and nieces, big sisters and little sisters… Young women grow to admire and respect the stories of the women before them as the little pieces that comprise who they are and will become. This 4-hour interactive session will engage a dialogue between two female family members (mothers/daughters, aunts/nieces etc.) to bridge the generations between them and to develop an understanding of their family’s identity, traditions and values. This session will also allow break-out sessions for the “daughters” and the “mothers” to foster an understanding of how cultural or racial identity plays a role in different parenting styles, values and traditions in the home.
Cost: $15 per person

wage (women are getting even) clubs
Women in Massachusetts and throughout the country will lose between $700,000 and $2 million over the course of a lifetime because of the wage gap. According to the 2005 Census Bureau, women working fulltime, year-round still have median earnings of only 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. This is unfair. The difference in what women earn is not going away unless we do something about it. The personal cost of the wage gap means real losses for you and your family every day—it may mean that you cannot set aside tuition for your children to go to college, afford health insurance for your family, or you have to turn the thermostat down to save on heating bills.

The YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts is on the cutting edge of a new grassroots movement to help women get paid fairly. In partnership with the WAGE Project, founded by Dr. Evelyn Murphy, economist and former Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, we are starting an innovative initiative to help close the wage gap in 10 years.

We urge women to launch WAGE Clubs – places where you can explore what being paid and treated unfairly at work can cost you and your family. It’s a place to talk about your experiences with unfair treatment at work and hear the stories of other women. It’s a place to get information about what you should be earning and ways to mobilize others where you work so that, together, you all get paid fairly.

See how being involved in a WAGE Club might help you get paid what you deserve. Launching a WAGE Club is easy. Simply set a date, invite women, and your WAGE Club is off and running. Using Dr. Evelyn Murphy’s book, Getting Even: Why Women Don’t Get Paid Like Men And What To Do About It, and a group discussion guide developed by the WAGE Project, WAGE Club members gather regularly to participate in a series of discussions and strategy sessions to help each other take action to help close the wage gap in their workplaces. This is an important opportunity for your financial empowerment.

For more information, check out the WAGE Project website: www.wageproject.org.

week without violence
Imagine…
7 Days, 168 Hours, 10,080 Minutes, 604,080 Seconds….
1 Week Without Violence.

The YWCA Week Without Violence brings attention to the countless cases of relationship abuse that many women and families suffer from.

The program sheds light on the victims of violence who suffer everyday. Violence is not discriminating. It can happen to anyone. In addition to a focus on domestic violence, we are bringing awareness to child safety, racism, hate crimes, and other forms of brutality that lead to the loss of lives and the destruction of families.

Each day of the YWCA Week Without Violence is devoted to a specific issue: Sunday, “A Day of Remembrance;” Monday, “Protecting Our Children;” Tuesday, “Making Our Schools Safer;” Wednesday, “Confronting Violence Against Women;” Thursday, “Facing Violence Among Men;” Friday, “Eliminating Racism and Hate Crime;” Saturday, “Replacing Violence with Sports, Recreation and Fun.”

YWCA’s across the country will launch the week highlighting practical, sustainable alternatives to violence in our homes, schools, places of work and communities.

save the date
The 14th Annual YWCA Week Without Violence will be held during the week of October 18-24, 2009.

women’s economic advancement community sessions 

financial planning 101 - Back To Top
Let’s get back to basics!
Losing track of your finances is easy to do. Learn how to most effectively maintain your checking and savings account, pay loans, use credit cards responsibly, set a budget, track your money, make financial goals and look toward investing.

financial break-up
Breaking up is painful enough, empower yourself by making the financial break-up less painful. Get legal advice on how to deal with dividing assets, become more aware of state laws and state child support laws and gain the confidence you need in managing your finances on your own after the break-up.

saving for your family
“First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…”
If you’re thinking about starting a family, then it’s time to think about saving for one. Get advice on how to get your dream home on a budget, assess your spending and saving habits, set the household budget, plan vacations and holidays without debt, and deal with living needs such as gas expenses and grocery shopping. Learn how to invest in your children’s future; the education, the car…the wedding. Money can be an emotional issue that affects the whole family. Don’t allow it to affect yours.

financial partnering
Going from “my money” to “our money” is one of the top reasons for arguments/divorce and can be avoided if the couple is completely honest with each other. Learn ways to crunch numbers and develop a plan to start thinking in terms of being one in your relationship as opposed to two, as well as how to budget together and discuss money, debt, credit, spending habits, short and long term goals.

* Workshops are facilitated by certified public accountants and attorneys-at-law.

tween/teen sessions

financial literacy for girls - Back To Top
Financial Literacy activities for girls are offered in after-school programming. These activities include Budgeting Basics: girls will become familiar with the concept of budgeting and its importance, Needs vs. Wants: the girls will identify, differentiate between and rank their needs and wants, and Budget Bingo: the girls will practice making choices about resources and where to allocate them based on priorities.

bank it!
Girls understand how to open a bank account, manage a checking account, and maintain a savings account. Session includes a visit to a local bank.

charge it!
Girls understand the various features of credit cards, evaluate credit card choices, and learn about responsible credit card use. The girls are provided information about the advantages and disadvantages of credit cards, types of credit cards, credit record, choosing a credit card, costs of credit, calculation of the finance charge, credit card evaluation, credit availability, and credit card responsibilities.


For information on any of the YWCA’s Advocacy programs, please contact Athena Mota, Director of Advocacy and Communications: 508-999-3255 or by email: amota@ywcasema.org.