HER-Story

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HER-Story Our Roots and Our Work Adapted from
the national presentation compiled by Kay Philips
and Myrna Deckert
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Our call to action in the YWCA Mission The YWCA
is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering
women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and
dignity for all.
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for more than 155 years, the YWCA has been
committed to helping women reach their full
potential and to this end, has

• utilized and valued volunteer-staff partnerships
• to create opportunities to build womens
• leadership, growth and power
• combined service and social action.
• been active in the womens movement and,
• been intentional in our work to break down race
  and economic barriers affecting womens abilities
  to thrive.

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the early days
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YWCA Firsts 1864 First boarding house for
female students, teachers and factory workers,
in New York City. 1869 First single
mothers residence, The Retreat, in
Cleveland. 1873 First womens employment bureau,
in New York City. 1903 First home study courses
for women, offered in several southern cotton
mills. 1915 First interracial conference in the
US south, in Louisville. 1916 First English as a
second language courses, New York City. 1919
First meeting organized of women physicians. 1924
First womens pension fund. 1960 The Atlanta
YWCA opens its cafeteria to blacks, becoming the
citys first integrated public dining
facility. 1967 Convention adopts freedom of
choice resolutions. 1970 Convention adopts the
One Imperative, which is re-affirmed at every
subsequent convention. 1978 First grant given
to a voluntary agency for publicizing jobs for
women-led local public works
projects. 1988 First womens organization
invited to join the multi sport division of the
US Olympic Committee. 1992 First
National Day of Commitment to Eliminate Racism
organized, First grant given to ensure
breast cancer detection services to underserved
women.
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• We have a proud her-story
• and a compelling future

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eliminating racism empowering women
ywca
Of all the virtues, courage is the most
important. Because without courage, it is
impossible to practice the other virtues with
consistency. Maya Angelou