Dear Friends,
Just a few weeks ago we celebrated our 13th Annual In the Company of Women luncheon. Our marvelous speaker this year was Anna Deavere Smith. Many of you may remember her as Nancy McNally on The West Wing. Although I was a big West Wing fan, I discovered her repertoire is so much broader. Anna shared that she was a YWCA woman. She brought to us characters that made us laugh and made us cry. She gave us real life stories of passionate women in their own words.
Our In the Company of Women luncheon truly is all about the passion within all of us and the power of women who make a difference every day.
Yes, the luncheon is a major fundraiser for the YWCA, but it is also a celebration of the work we do together and the difference that you make in the lives of your family, friends and community.
The YWCA has a long history of powerful, passionate women. We are about to celebrate YWCA USA’s 150th anniversary. This marks the founding of the YWCA in New York City, Boston was a close second, and the YWCA in Hartford was third, founded in 1867. The founders of the YW were incredibly powerful and passionate women in a time when women did not have the right to vote, few went to college and many jobs were not available to them.
They understood the importance of job training, housing and recreational activities for young women coming from the farm to work in the cities. Can you believe that in 1870, the YWCA was the first to start typing classes for women? Women had previously been thought too weak to type. For the last 150 years, we have created community among women, developed women's leadership in a supportive environment, fostered diversity, and brought about real change through advocacy.
With that in mind, the YWCA salutes the work you do everyday and your support of our mission. We couldn’t do it without you.
Stay tuned over the next eighteen months to hear about our past, but more importantly to be a part of our future.
Cordially,
Deborah Ullman
Executive Director
