Presenting our Annual Report: Thank You

Families supported.
Kids learning.
Women employed.
Community mobilizing.
Prevention works.

We are pleased and proud to present the YWCA of Asheville’s Annual Report for FY 2011-12.

The Report includes a chart showing how we invested the resources provided by our donors, sponsors, and members, and features several personal stories of hope, accomplishment, and success. The report’s theme is Thank You, and is dedicated to those who have made all this possible. A non-profit geared for success and growth needs the support and commitment of those who share a passion for the mission.

Because of our YW family, it was a banner year!

You may have received a copy of our Annual Report in the mail. If not, click here to read an online copy, or email tami.ruckman@ywcaofasheville.org to have one mailed to you.

Announcing Our New Executive Director!

Beth Maczka has been named Executive Director of the YWCA of Asheville. Barbara Benisch, a local non-profit management consultant, has been serving as Interim Director since January.

Maczka, currently Senior Program Officer at the Community Foundation of WNC (CFWNC), has 26 years of experience in the non-profit sector. She has held the positions of Development and Annual Campaign Director of Pisgah Legal Services, Executive Director of the Affordable Housing Coalition of Asheville and Buncombe County, and WNC Branch Director of the Self-Help Credit Union. Maczka received her B.A. from Davidson College and a Certificate in Not for Profit Management from UNC-Charlotte. She has served on the Mayor’s Task Force on Affordable Housing and the Living Wage Steering Committee of Asheville and Buncombe County. She has also served as a Board Member of the NAACP Empowerment Resource Center, the NC Low Income Housing Coalition, and Children First. During her tenure at CFWNC, she worked with Women for Women, a giving circle that focuses its grants and advocacy efforts on economic security for women and girls. Her honors include the NAACP President’s Award and the William  C.Friday Fellowship of the Wildacres Leadership Initiative which promotes improved human relations across North Carolina.

“I am delighted that, after a nationwide search, our ideal candidate was right here in the community,” said Nancy Ackermann Cole, president of the YWCA Board of Directors. “Beth’s personal experience and values are a perfect match for the YWCA going forward.”

The mission of the YWCA is eliminating racism and empowering women. The organization offers programs that bridge gaps in education, health care, child care and earning power, including a 5-star certified Child Care Center and School-Age Program (After-School and Summer Camp), MotherLove (mentoring for teen mothers), New Choices (support for displaced homemakers), Preventive Health/Diabetes Wellness, Aquatics, and the Club W Fitness Center. The YWCA of Asheville serves approximately 6,000 women, men and children a year.

“I am inspired by the people I meet and the clearly articulated values of the YWCA. I find hope in the programs that bring people together from across race and class. I am heartened by the YW’s history and what it represents in Asheville. I look forward to helping the YWCA become an even stronger voice to eliminate racism and empower women through advocacy and community engagement,” Maczka said.

Maczka will begin her tenure on July 12th. She succeeds Holly Jones, who led the 105-year old non-profit for the past 16 years and is now Regional Manager for the YWCAs of the Southeast Region.

The YWCA is thrilled to welcome her as our new leader!

photo by sandi stambaugh

Our “Big Idea” for 2012

The Mountain Xpress asked various people around the community what their “big idea” is for 2012. This is what we submitted that was printed in the paper:

Big Idea: It’s the Mission

At the YWCA of Asheville, our mission itself is the big idea: We incorporate “eliminating racism and empowering women” into everything we do.

In 2012, the YWCA will continue to offer vital programs bridging gaps in child care, education, health care and earning power. In April, we’ll hold our third annual Stand Against Racism campaign, which is aimed at increasing awareness that racism still exists and that it will no longer be tolerated. Our community struggles with issues related to race, and the Stand Against Racism provides an opportunity to address those issues.

This year, the focus will be on how we as a community can make our common spaces more welcoming to all types of people. We invite local businesses, organizations and faith groups to join us in the Stand Against Racism.

In September, we’ll hold our annual Tribute to Women of Influence, which celebrates women who have excelled in their field and empowered others through their work. This inspiring event highlights how far we have come toward equality in the workplace, and it advocates for the day when women possess the same financial and political power as men in this country.

Throughout the year, our wellness programs address health disparities, our child care programs strive to minimize the achievement gap, and our economic-empowerment programs give people tools to succeed. We look forward to continuing to strive for peace, justice, dignity and freedom for all in 2012.

MotherLove Celebrates 26 Years of Service to Teen Moms

The YWCA MotherLove program is throwing an anniversary/end-of-the school-year party this Friday, May 27 at 5 pm in the Asheville Housing Authority Parking Lot. Read on to find out more about the history of this important program, the need for it, and how we continue to serve today.

In 1969, the YWCA Public Affairs Committee recognized the need to address the fact that pregnant teenagers were being forced to leave school. In the spring of 1970, with no funds, the YWCA started a Continuing Education Program for teen mothers. Initially there were twelve teenagers who met two days a week at the South French Broad facility with volunteer teachers. By 1973, the program was moved to the Allen Interagency Center because it had grown into a full-time school serving sixty girls, and it needed much more classroom and nursery space. By 1975, the school board policy regarding pregnant and parenting teenagers had changed, and the Asheville City Schools absorbed the YWCA Continuing Educational Program into their Optional School.

Though teen mothers eventually were allowed to attend school as mainstream students, dropout rates were high. To address this problem the YWCA again focused on pregnant and parenting teens by starting the MotherLove program in 1985. Today the successful MotherLove program supports teen mothers with a unique blend of one-on-one mentoring and in-school and extracurricular activities designed to encourage girls to stay in school through graduation and beyond.

More than 19,000 young North Carolina women between the ages of 10 and 19 get pregnant each year. The 2009 data, compiled by the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), shows that 56 of every 1,000 teen girls ages 15 to 19 became pregnant in 2009. The new rate reflects a 4.4% decrease from the 2008 rate of 58.6 per 1,000 girls. Teen pregnancy rates in North Carolina have consistently decreased since 1991 following a spike in the late 1980s. Pregnancy rates fell across all age, racial and ethnic categories, as well as in all but 37 North Carolina counties. Abortion rates also decreased in all categories.

Despite the positive trend, significant disparities still exist between racial and ethnic groups. The pregnancy rate among white teens was 45.4 per 1,000 girls, while the corresponding rate for minority teens was 74.3. The rate specifically for Hispanic teens was 118.4. North Carolina’s underserved rural counties typically saw higher rates of teen pregnancy than urban counties.

While the drop in teen pregnancy rates has mimicked national trends, North Carolina still lags behind the rest of the nation. The latest state rankings by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy show North Carolina has the 14th highest teen pregnancy rate.

While Buncombe County ranks relatively low (82nd) as compared to other North Carolina counties in teen birth rates, there were still more than 300 teen pregnancies in our county in 2009. Additionally, of those 300 pregnancies, 23% of them were repeat births.

And while our rates have improved (NC used to have the 9th highest rate) over the past two decades, there is still a profound effect that teen pregnancy has on communities, future generations and the teens themselves. The answer to, “Why do teens get pregnant?” can seem so simple – after all, we all know how babies are made. But both significant research and common sense tell us that the answer to that question is much more complicated. Education, socio-economic status, future opportunities, how a teen relates to parents or peers, and self-esteem only scratch the surface of the risk factors for teen pregnancy.

In 2010, MotherLove helped 54 young women learn parenting skills, access child care and health care, and most importantly, stay in school. Of the 12 Seniors enrolled in the MotherLove program in Spring 2010, 100% of them graduated from high school. The YW also made more than 30 presentations throughout the community to help other organizations help their students avoid early pregnancy.

Click here to make a donation to suppor the MotherLove program.

Here is a link to a video by Sabrina Nizzi featuring MotherLove Director Tangela Ballard-Bowman and some of the teens currently in the program: http://youtu.be/yvQVITcdctI

photos by sandra stambaugh

Child Care Center Parents Speak

Here is a short video of testimonials from parents of children in the YWCA Child Care Center. The YWCA’s 5-Star licensed Child Care Center brings the mission of the YWCA – eliminating racism and empowering women – to our youngest members. To find out more about our Child Care Center, call Director Wanda Harris at 254-7206 x 109.

Video by Sabrina Nizzi

End-of-the-Year Wrap Up Video

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of the YWCA and our mission of eliminating racism and empowering women. With the year drawing to a close, YWCA Executive Director Holly Jones offers this quick overview of our accomplishments during 2010. These accomplishments include receiving a 5-Star Rating for our Child Care Center and having 100% of the seniors in our MotherLove program for teen moms graduate from high school.

Find out more, and hear our after-schoolers sing, here:

Diabetes Wellness & Prevention

The goal of the YWCA Diabetes Wellness and Prevention Progams is to empower those with diabetes to develop the habit of exercise to manage their illness; to reduce the incidence of diabetes by increasing exercise frequency and reducing weight; and to promote healthy lifestyle changes for the entire family.

The programs include:
A commitment to exercising a minimum of 8 times a month
Membership to Club W: The YWCA Health & Fitness Center
Peer Mentorship
Fitness Counseling
Monthly Educational Sessions
Weekly Support Groups
Cooking Classes (provided my Cooperative Extension)
Diabetes Education Classes (provided by Mission Hospital)

Through regular exercise, participants notice better blood sugar levels, more energy, weight loss, greater flexibility and greater self confidence. Working out together, participants support one another, creating an environment of inclusion, acceptance and friendship. Our programs are supported by the Health and Wellness Trust, Office of Minority Health and Health Disparity, Mission Healthcare Foundation, United Way and YWCA donors. The program costs are based on a sliding scale, using household income. This fee ranges from $10 to $55 a month. To register, please call Alphie Rodriguez at 828-254-7206 x 212. If you would like to make a donation to support these vital programs, click here.

Hear what program participants have to say in this video created by Sabrina Nizzi:

Year End Giving

In 2009, the YWCA helped more than 100 women and their families find work.

We cared for their children while they did job searches in our computer lab; paid for things like work shoes, tuition, and bus tickets; and supported them through their job search or through returning to school.

More families than ever will be looking for work this coming year.

Will you help a family gain their economic stability?

$25 pays for a month of bus tickets to and from work.

$50 provides child care for a mom on a job interview.

$100 helps buy books for new classes.

Please consider including us in your end-of-year giving.

To help families looking for work, send your contribution now to the YWCA of Asheville, 185 S. French Broad Ave., Asheville, NC 28801.

You can also donate securely online at ywcaofasheville.org.

Gifts to the YWCA of Asheville are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

If you have any questions, please call Development Director Tami Ruckman at (828) 254-7206, ext. 206.

Adult Swimming Lessons

Did you know the YWCA has classes for adults, too?

LiveFit Asheville Class at the YWCA

Real estate is a stressful business, especially these days!

Many companies have creative incentive plans to encourage their employees to work out and get fit.  This saves the employer on healthcare costs, and is a great bonus for staff.  And now Keller-Williams Asheville joins those ranks.

In partnership with the YWCA and LiveFit Asheville, Keller-Williams agents have their own weekly fitness class at Club W: The YWCA Health & Fitness Center. Agents can access group personal training with certified personal trainer George Farley, owner of LiveFit Asheville and one of the trainers at the YWCA. The weekly class covers topics such as balance, stress management, weight training, and Tai Chi. 

The class is an affordable way to access personal training, reduce stress, and get healthier. Agents also receive a 20% discount on Club W: The YWCA Health & Fitness Center membership. 

If a company decides to be a corporate sponsor of the YWCA, their employees can receive a discount on Club W. The following sponsor companies receive either a 10% or even 20% discount on memberships:

Asheville Citizen-Times
Asheville.com
Asheville Savings Bank
Bank of America
Clear Channel Asheville
CarePartners Health Services
Keller-Williams Realty
Mission Hospital
HomeTrust Bank
SunTrust Bank
Sophie Magazine
Volvo Construction Equipment
Webb Insurance and Webb Investment Services

If you don’t see your company listed here, tell your employer about what these other companies are doing.  For more information about YWCA sponsorships or creative membership opportunities, call Health and Fitness Director Susan MacDonald at (828) 254-7206, ext. 213.

-Tami Ruckman, YWCA Development Director