Celebrating Our Past, Sustaining Our Future
YWCA Mahoning Valley is celebrating 120 years of service to the community! YWCA has accomplished so much throughout our rich 120-year history and will be celebrating our past and sustaining our future. In 1904, YWCA Youngstown opened with 800 pledge memberships and a focus on women’s rights. In 1926, a shift toward inclusivity called for changes in power to embrace women of all faiths or creeds who could subscribe to the YWCA's purpose. The next step towards inclusivity was to have an interracial charter. Until 1953, when the Belmont Branch was dissolved, there were two YWCA branches in Youngstown. YWCA’s Belmont Branch was for African American women and opened to the public in January 1920 at the corner of Belmont and Rayen Ave. Activities at the Belmont Branch consisted of preschool classes, Girl Reserves, knitting classes, book reviews, and concerts. In 1973, the YWCA National Organization adopted its One Imperative: the elimination of racism in all its forms. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, YWCA Youngstown created events to recognize and empower women, such as the Women of the Year Awards and the Women Artists: A Celebration, which was just celebrated for the 42nd year over the course of June and July. In 1991, YWCA opened the Barbara Wick Transitional Housing Program. This was a monumental addition to the housing program because it provided housing for up to 8 months for homeless women with or without children. YWCA’s Transitional Housing Program still exists today, now also serving men and offering services such as case management, emergency items like food, bus fare coupons, and personal items, assistance in locating childcare services, and permanent housing. In 2004, the new signature highlighted the YWCA’s dual goal of eliminating racism and empowering women, which continues to be the current goal for all YWCA’s.
Chartered in 1915, YWCA Warren officially affiliated with YWCA USA in 1916 and moved to its current location in 1929. From the beginning, the goal was to aid women and girls of our community in their efforts to improve their lives. Originally, this took the form of assisting young women to become financially self-supporting by offering them a safe, inexpensive place to live and helping them find employment. As the need for employment services and affordable housing for young women declined, interest in health and fitness grew. In the 1960's YWCA Warren responded to local population growth with increased programming for children and plans for a facility expansion, completed in 1971. In the 1980's, YWCA Warren offered programs related to health and social issues and encouraged women’s career development and entrepreneurship. Handicapped accessibility was improved during a 1996 renovation. In 2014, YWCA Warren opened WINGS Housing with 12 units of permanent supportive housing for women with disabilities and their families. The Warren building is still in use for multiple occasions and continues to be a housing location today, but it is under the Mahoning Valley name. In 2018, YWCA Mahoning Valley was formed as a result of a merger between YWCA Youngstown and YWCA Warren.
YWCA Mahoning Valley has grown, endured, and adapted throughout the years to meet the changing needs of the community. In order to sustain our future, we count on the support from community members, fundraisers, and donors to keep our mission active. We have set a goal of $120,000, and to help reach this goal, there will be a new brand ambassador each month who will host an event to raise funds and promote our 120th year. We are grateful and excited for the amount of support we have received from our brand ambassadors, board members, donors, and the community, just within these first two months of this year-long occasion. How can you be part of the 120-year celebration?
· Donate
· Become a brand ambassador.
YWCA Mahoning Valley looks forward to another 120 years. Thank you for being here with us during this time of celebrating our past and sustaining our future.