In March, our amazing YW Brooklyn Lead girls of our YWCA College Access and Leadership Development Program took the initiative to assist with outreach for food donations for our residents in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. They helped assemble the food, store the food, and distribute the food to our most vulnerable population.

This year, the annual Stand Against Racism campaign will take place April 23 – 26, 2020. We invite YWCA associations, other allied organizations, and everyone across the world to become civically engaged. Civic engagement is most powerful when we value the full spectrum of civic life and when all community members have the power to choose how they’d like to participate. This provides the opportunity for communities across the United States to find an issue or cause that inspires them to take a #StandAgainstRacism and to unite their voices to educate, advocate, and promote racial justice.

In March, YWCA Brooklyn partnered with American-Italian Cancer Foundation to provide no-cost mammograms and clinical breast exams to the uninsured, women we serve in our building, as well as the community at large.

In February, we attended a new Gracie Mansion exhibition lead by First Lady Chirlane McCray, which exudes a strong commitment to equity and inclusion. The diversity of the exhibition and its unique position to inspire New Yorkers through representation of our communities and our collective activism efforts over the decades is strong reminder to take action and to use our voices to make change. Representation matters.

YWCA Brooklyn CEO, Martha Kamber, took to Albany in February to speak with Assemblymembers about our organizations mission, values, and core needs. Here, Martha is pictured with Assemblymember, Peter Abatte, Jr.

On May 30th YWCA Brooklyn interns were invited to a special panel at the Capitol building in Albany, hosted by Elizabeth de León Bhargava, Deputy Secretary for Labor & Workforce for the Office of NY State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. The panel was comprised of elected officials who are women of color. Interns learned about the career trajectory of women of color in leadership, had the opportunity to ask questions and network with panelists. After the panel, interns met with their local elected officials to advocate for specific bills that impact their communities. The day culminated with sitting in on the senate in session and being welcomed by Senator Montgomery.
To prepare for this event interns, researched the panelist bios and prepared questions. In addition, some interns helped plan the day by managing marketing and outreach to other YW LEAD participants.

On August 24th we joined representatives of women’s and girls’ groups, and other community-based organizations, to speak to the profound importance of having women’s voices within the New York City Council.

The Women’s Caucus of the New York City Council will released a new report entitled, “NOT MAKING IT HERE: WHY ARE WOMEN UNDERREPRESENTED IN NEW YORK CITY POLITICS”.

The report looks at the declining number of women in the City Council, how New York compares to other American cities, and the related public policy impacts. Currently only 13 of the City Council’s 51 seats are held by women, and that number may drop to as low as 9 in the coming year.