Newsletter
Selected Articles Currently Available.
Feature Articles
- 1st Golf Classic a Success (Fall/Winter 2000)
- Commemorative Bench Presented to NSU (Fall/Winter 2000)
- YWCA & Response Come Together (Fall/Winter 2000)
- Horizon House Opens (Spring/Summer 1999)
- Day of Commitment to Eliminate Racism (Spring/Summer 1999)
- Recognizing Outstanding Women (Spring/Summer 1999)
- Women in Transition Program (Fall/Winter 1998)
- Thomas Family Campership (Fall/Winter 1998)
- Legislative Platform Adopted (Fall/Winter 1998)
Regular Columns
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The weather was perfect, and Hells
Point provided a beautiful setting for our first golf tournament
fundraiser. It was a great day for players and hardworking volunteers.
And it was a fantastic day for the YWCA with net proceeds from
the September tournament exceeding $7,800.
Special thanks goes to Woody Marks,
committee chair, and our major sponsors, Nationwide Insurance,
MDV/Nash Finch, Wachovia, KPMG, Southern Title Insurance, and
Realty Executives.
The YWCA would like to thank the staff at Hell's Point Golf Course for their great work.
Commemorative Bench Presented to Norfolk State University
A Commemorative bench was presented
to Norfolk State University by the YWCA to pay tribute to the
historic Phyllis Wheatley YWCA and the women and girls who were
involved with this program over the years.
The Phyllis Wheatley YWCA was established
100 years ago, and from 1954 to 1972 operated from the building
which is now the Phyllis Wheatley Residence Hall at NSU.
A concrete bench with a bronze plaque
inset was presented to Dr. Marie McDemmond, president of NSU,
to honor the period the building was used as a YWCA for the purpose
of enhancing the development of young African American women.
The ceremony took place on the lawn
of the Phyllis Wheatley dorm and Roxanne Coleman, a former Phyllis
Wheatley YWCA member, was present to unveil the bench and share
her memories of YWCA activities with those in attendance. Francine
Deir, president of the Board of the YWCA, did the presentation,
noting that Phyllis Wheatley, as a slave and the first published
black woman in the U.S., struggled to have her poems recognized
as her own work and was put through a grilling on her abilities
to read and understand literature before President Washington
would accept a poem she had written in his honor.
Dr. McDemmond commented on the appropriateness
of this commemoration as Norfolk State furthers its mission to
offer education to minority students who continue to struggle
in their efforts to overcome the long-term effects of an oppressive
history .
The Phyllis Wheatley YWCA offered a residence hall for young women, job training, recreation programs, summer programs, youth clubs and critical social services. It was absorbed by the central YWCA in 1972.
YWCA & Response Sexual Assault Support Services Come Together
On July 1, 2000, Response Sexual
Assault Support Services became a vital program of the YWCA,
replacing the Phoenix Sexual Assault program.
The goal is to expand services in
the region with satellite offices convenient to clients in all
South Hampton Roads cities. A Chesapeake satellite office has
opened on Mt. Pleasant Road at The Healing Place, where individual
and group services will be offered. Joan Duhaime, LCSW, has joined
the Response team there to offer the Child Help Program-a program
providing therapy to children who have experienced sexual molestation
and who have no means for treatment. Linda Nimershein has joined
Response on a part-time basis to assist clients with legal advocacy
in Chesapeake.
Samaritan House/Safe Harbor in Virginia
Beach has offered office space for Virginia Beach clients where
two new staff members, Alicia Mathews and Diane Hofheimer will
be seeing clients for support and legal advocacy. A grant from
United Way is helping fund this initiative.
Services are already offered in Suffolk
one day per week where veteran staff person Ruth Varner coordinates
services. A Portsmouth site is being sought.
Comprehensive services continue to
be offered at the YWCA in Norfolk, including a new therapeutic
playroom for children and support groups for survivors.
A new South Hampton Roads Sexual
Assault Advisory Committee is being formed with representatives
from all South Hampton Roads cities to help ensure that needed
services are available and accessible to victims of sexual assault.
Prevention Education remains an important
focus of Response. Kim Birdwell, prevention educator, conducts
programs to at-risk youth throughout South Hampton Roads.
Call 623-2115 for information about speakers, training, volunteering, group schedules, or counseling.
Horizon
House Opens
Thanks to the generosity
of local Navy volunteers, Horizon house opens in June as scheduled.
During May, volunteers from several local Navy commands, scrubbed
floors, scraped paint, repainted walls, installed electrical
improvements, performed landscaping and refinished floors.
Horizon House is a four-apartment complex that will house families
leaving the YWCA’s emergency Women in Crisis shelter. Women
living in the apartments will pay a subsidized rent. Women and
their children will be able to live in Horizon house for up to
two years while employment is seAcured. An in-house case manager
will be available to help move the residents to self-sufficiency.
Cheryl Marks, Executive Director estimates that the volunteers
saved the YWCA nearly $8,000 in rehabilitation expenses. “Their
generosity has freed up enough money to buy small air-conditioning
units for each apartment and cover some unexpected termite damage
repairs.”
Master Chief John Racsumbergercoordinated the efforts of the
volunteers along with YWCA Board Member, Diane Brooks. This year’s
military recipient of the YWCA Outstanding Women Award, Aaronetta
Stewart worked overtime painting ceilings! Thank you to all the
volunteers from ACOM, AIC and SAC for your outstanding work!
Cash donations and contributions of household furniture, appliances
and kitchen supplies are still needed for Horizon House. Please
call 625-4248 for further information.
Day
of Commitment to Eliminate Racism
On Friday, April 30th
the YWCA held a rally at Mary Calcott Elementary School to commemorate
the National Day of Commitment to Eliminate Racism. All 627 students
marched outside and surrounded the YWCA‘s “Racism…
it really hurts” banner which was made for the event and
featured student artwork. The children listened to remarks promoting
racial harmony by their school principal, Pete Sykes. Delegate,
Jerrauld C. Jones accepted the Mary Helen Thomas award for his
work in the Virginia General Assembly to combat racism in our
community. The event culminated with the children waiving colored
ribbons and singing “Colors all our Own” a song written
by Eric Worden and Michael Goldberg of Magic99 for WHRO’s
race initiative and outreach program. Prior to the event, Executive
Director, Cheryl Marks was interviewed on “School Talk“
by Angie Callahan. The program also aired event highlights on
May 18th. Veronica Butts of The Virginian-Pilot covered the rally
and wrote a feature article “Students Defy Racism”
which was published in the May 1, 1999 edition. The event was
truly a community collaboration!
Recognizing
Outstanding Women
The 1999 Outstanding
Women Awards luncheon was a tremendous success! Over 230 people
attended the event at the Clarion Hotel to honor our twelve extraordinary
winners and applaud their unique contributions to our community.Connie
Allen of WAVY TV 10 introduced the winner in each category and
presented the awards with energy and enthusiasm. Alveta Ewell
had the pleasure of drawing the name of the winner of the $1000
MacArthur Center shopping spree which was generously donated
by Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate. Evie Hyatt of Chesapeake
was the lucky winner! She decided to utilize the certificate
to create a family heirloom and purchased a jewelry setting at
Nordstrom.
Best of all, thanks to our generous corporate and individual supporters, the event raised over $12,000 for our Women in Crisis, Women in Transition and Child Care programs. We look forward to expanding the awards luncheon next year and honoring women of distinction who will lead us into the new millennium.
First Graduate of Women in Transition Program Lands
Job
Lillian Robinson has come
a long way. She was unemployed, on welfare, and had recently
departed an abusive marriage that left her emotionally scarred
with low self-esteem. Today, she has renewed confidence and is
employed as a Patient's Admission Clerk with Children's Hospital
of the King's Daughters. Lillian's transformation was made possible
through the YWCA's new Women In Transition (WIT) program.
WIT is a six-week program that
assists women in their advancement toward self-sufficiency by
providing support to women with personal issues, such as domestic
violence or substance abuse, and helping them dissolve the barriers
that adversely affect their ability to seek and/or maintain employment.
Candidates are referred to the program through
the Department of Social Services and then begin our three phase
program, which includes:
Phase I - Assessment and Life
Enhancement Workshop
Phase II - Job Readiness Workshop
Phase III - Job Search
Unlike many participants who are in denial about their personal issues, Lillian knew she needed help to overcome the effects of being a battered woman. She was willing to do whatever it took to move forward with her life. Lillian attended the YWCA's Domestic Violence Support Group as well as completing the life enhancement workshops.
During the job readiness phase, Lillian
nearly cried when presented her work credentials in a professional
resume format. In fact she was so excited, she sent her "first
draft" out to several companies. She earned points while
in the program to use for work clothing, cosmetics and hair styling,
all of which are donated to the YWCA to help women in need. Lillian
had regained her self-esteem and her confidence was building.
While conducting her job search, Lillian effectively utilized all the tools she had learned in the previous phases. She faxed six resumes to prospective employers and received four immediate responses. Lillian's confidence and perseverance landed her a job just one week after completing the WIT program.
Lillian Robinson, sums up her experience by saying, "The
WIT program has helped me to re-establish and take back control
in my life. I recommend it strongly to anyone whose circumstances
are holding them back from being all they can be."
Thomas
Family Endows Campership
Honoring their mother, 1848-1966
YWCA of SHR President, Catherine McPherson Thomas, Ann T. Thomas
and George B. Thomas have endowed a campership in her name. The
proceeds from the endowment will be used annually to send a young
women to a summer camp which matches her individual interests
and talents.
Interested parties should call 625-4248 for a brochure and application.
For more information on endowments and other forms of planned
giving, please contact Cynthia Forrester, Director of Development.
Legislative
Platform Adopted
The Board voted to approve
a public policy platform which supports the mission of the YWCA.
Specifically they endorsed policies that lead to:
1) Comprehensive child care and dependent care policies that
support affordable, accessible, high quality care and include
anti-bias and anti-racism standards.
2) Child custody and visitation decisions that consider the dynamics
of domestic violence in a clear and definitive manner.
3) Strengthening legislation protecting against sexual assault
including marital sexual assault.
4) The safe and legal use of handguns. Where parents must have
any gun in the home, policies to protect children from these
guns such as the use of safety devices.
5) Comprehensive welfare policies that are fair and that provide
for adequate education, job training, health insurance and child
care.
6) Equitable employment policies that support affirmative action,
workplace safety, pay equity , access to education and training,
and the elimination of sexual harassment.
Executive
Director's Corner
Dear Friends,
So much has happened over the past few months. We took delivery
of $9300 of Cargo furniture at the shelter which greatly improved
the décor of the living room and bedrooms. Thank you to
the city of Virginia Beach Community Organization Grant and the
AJ and EW Parsons Foundation for making the shelter a better
place to reside.
Our staff has made wonderful improvements
to our programs. Becky Harbin, our shelter relief counselor,
volunteered to rewrite our Volunteer Training Manual and revived
our use of volunteers. The first four-session course took place
in March and we now have several new volunteers making a difference
at the shelter. Connie Brown, coordinator of our welfare-to-work
program and I did a presentation at Nationsbank on violence and
the workplace. Two groups of employees now know how to help victims
of domestic violence in their offices.
We were all active and visible in the South Hampton Roads community.
The YWCA hosted another successful awards luncheon and granted
the first Thomas campership. During February, I represented the
Norfolk Homeless Consortium on the City of Norfolk’s Consolidated
Plan Advisory Committee evaluating how to spend the city’s
federal funds for homeless and community development projects.
In March, I was on a panel at Tidewater Community College’s
“Culture of Violence” seminar held at the Chrysler
Museum looking at issues of women trying to move from welfare
to work while overcoming multiple barriers. On April 30th, we
held a rally to celebrate the YWCA National Day of Commitment
to Eliminate Racism. The event was a great success and I would
like to thank Director of Development, Cynthia Forrester for
all her hard work.
Much has happened as well on the administrative side of the YWCA. We got our web page up and running. Check it out at www.ywca-shr.org!! I’d like to thank our volunteer, Samantha Boucek and Cynthia Forrester for their collaboration on this project. Also, we said goodbye to long time grants manager and jane of all trades, Joyce Grosch as she retired last month. We will miss her greatly and wish her much health and happiness in her retirement.
In between all these activities, we wrote a large number of our grants, rehabilitated Horizon House and presented our budget to the United Way allocations panel. Over the next few months, we hope to forward the mission of the YW and help more of those less fortunate throughout our community.
Have a great summer!
