Thanks to the Community Foundation!

The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina has awarded the YWCA of Asheville’s New Choices program a $20,000 grant from their Janirve Legacy Fund. This grant will help the YW continue to provide Drop-In Child Care to women and men who are working toward economic security and sustainability.  More than 70% of participants in New Choices are in school and not eligible for child care vouchers. The Drop-In Center also provides child care for participants of more than a dozen other agencies, including AB Tech, Steadfast House, Children First, Families Together, Goodwill, OnTrack, and Helpmate.

photo of drop-in child care by sandra stambaugh

Profoundly Moving Domestic Violence Vigil

Last night Helpmate and the YWCA, with support from Pisgah Legal Services, hosted a Domestic Violence Vigil at the YWCA. This profoundly moving event drew awareness to the problem of domestic violence. The program included remarks from YWCA Executive Director Beth Maczka and Helpmate Executive Director Valerie Collins. Mayor Terry Bellamy read  the City of Asheville’s Proclamation to end Domestic Violence. Taylor Loven shared her story of surviving domestic violence.

Then participants in the YWCA MotherLove and New Choices programs read the names of the 48 people who have been killed by domestic violence in North Carolina so far this year. As the names were read, people in attendance, who had been given a heart with the name of a victim on it, placed the hearts on a sign that reads “One Life Lost is One Too Many.”

Finally, a MotherLove participant who is also a survivor of domestic violence shared her story. We’ll be posting her remarks here soon. Director of MotherLove Tangela Ballard Bowman closed the evening with an inspiring message of support and survival.

Here are some photos, you can see more on our Facebook page.

New Choices Supports Families

Access to job training while nurturing the family is the goal of New Choices.

The single mother of this sweet child is studying with AB Tech to complete the CNA program. She is pursuing a trade skill that will stabilize her family while her new born daughter is nurtured and supported. The YWCA New Choices Drop-In Child Care strives to offer single parents an option for continuing their education, perusing a career, or access to social services.
Pictured with baby: Katherine Hensley, Director of New Choices

Welcome Katherine Hensley

The YWCA would like to welcome Katherine Hensley to the position of New Choices Director. Katherine is a community advocate for mothers and children. She has worked as a Birth and Postpartum DONA Doula, Breastfeeding Peer Counselor in the NICU, and is an active voice for women in Western North Carolina. Katherine is the mother of four and an Asheville High Cougar! She enjoys mountain biking, heirloom sewing and playing outdoors with her family.

The YWCA New Choices program is structured to assist our participants move out of financial crisis and put the essential components of stability in place so they can become more economically self-sufficient.

Economic Justice Focus Group

Sign up by calling New Choices at 254-7206 x 113.

Woman for Woman Grant

The YWCA of Asheville recently received a Community Foundation Woman for Woman grant for $64,000 ($32,000 a year for 2 years) to continue to provide Drop-in Child Care service to women of low wealth who are seeking economic self-sufficiency. Drop-In Child Care is part of the YWCA’s New Choices economic empowerment program.

Securing affordable child care is one of the most critical barriers for women seeking economic self-sufficiency. This need was recently identified by Buncombe County as an economic development issue, and was determined to be one of their top priorities for 2009. Our services address two critical barriers women face when trying to improve their economic well-being: 1) flexible, affordable childcare while attending school or job training; and 2) access to essential job-related equipment necessary to begin work.

There are only 6 child care centers in Buncombe County who provide care outside standard work hours. The YWCA Drop-In Child Care Center is the only service of its kind in Buncombe County. Also in 2007-08, our Drop-in Child Care Center helped 151 families, which included 237 children. A-B Tech, Mountain BizWorks, OnTrack, and Buncombe County Literacy Council are some of the agencies serving clients who are seeking economic self-sufficiency who also use our Drop-in Child Care services.

We are very grateful for this grant. However, the YWCA can still use your support for our New Choices program. To make a donation, click here.

New Choices Success

Every once in a while, the YWCA New Choices Director, Jenny Sliker, gets an email like the one below:

“I am overwhelmed with excitement, joy and gratitude….thank you so much for helping me take this photography class. I’m currently writing my business plan for Mountain Bizworks to get a business loan to buy my first professional camera! Attending this workshop and receiving tuition from the YWCA is going to help me gain the knowledge I need…to get my photography business going. Knowing that you and Kristine and the YWCA are behind me and supporting me in so many ways has helped to get me through one of the most challenging times in my life. 

I am hopeful now. Things are looking up!

Hugs to you and the New Choices crew,

Megan”

And now the rest of the story…

When Megan Richardson came to the New Choices office for assistance in December 2006, she had a desire to pursue a vocation in photography, but had to figure out how to do that and care for her two toddlers, ages 4 and 2. She had been separated for a year and a half, and was seeking ways to be more financially independent. She used the YWCA Drop-In Child Care service to go to court, seek educational opportunities and develop her photography business. The New Choices program was also able to provide funding to Megan for a 2 day photography workshop in March 2008 sponsored by The Rocky Mountain School of Photography, an opportunity that could not be paid for by traditional financial aid. Megan also worked with Mountain Bizworks and received a business loan for a professional digital camera, and launched her business on line in April 2008.

Now, a year later, she is expanding her business with a studio, and has an updated website at www.greatsmokiesphotography.com – check it out! The photos in this post are all by Megan.

Women’s Confidence Day Report

The second annual Women’s Confidence Day at the YWCA was attended by 21 women who participated in a variety of empowering workshops such as personal safety, creating a complaint-free world, advocacy for women’s issues, soul collage, writing and Nia! Breakfast and lunch was donated and served by members of the Asheville branch of the AAUW.  Special thanks to Judi Peterson, AAUW president, for coordinating the volunteers and food. Presenters included Maureen Jablinski from the Stephens-Lee Rec Center, Tom Sliker, Lisa Eubanks of Creative Inspirations and writing “naked” teacher Annie Miracle. Some of the comments from the day’s evaluations included:

“This writing class was better than therapy!”

‘Maureen has an energetic, positive, fully accepting attitude and personality.”

“[This seminar is] inspiring me to make a difference on the local level.”

- Jenny Sliker, YWCA New Choices Director

Women’s Confidence Day Planned

Heads up! Women’s Confidence Day will be held at the YWCA, 185 S. French Broad Avenue, on Saturday, March 21 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Participants will choose two of six empowering seminars on topics including personal safety, writing, and strategies for success. The cost is $10 and includes breakfast, lunch, and all seminars. Free child care is also available for up to 20 children. Click here to read descriptions of the seminars and to download a registration form.

Call Jenny Sliker at 254-7206 x 113 to register, for questions, or if financial assistance is needed. Registration deadline is March 16th at 6:00 p.m. This event is sponsored by the YWCA New Choices program and the Asheville American Association of University Women.

New Choices Receives Eaton Grant

Great news! The Eaton Charitable Fund, the charitable arm of Eaton Corporation, has awarded the YWCA of Asheville a $5,000 grant for our New Choices program.  Eaton Corporation is a power management company with 82,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries. Mike Keenan, the local HR manager, helped the YWCA secure this grant. “Each year, we contribute approximately $5 million to nonprofit organizations in support of community improvement, education, and arts and cultural programs. The Eaton Charitable Fund oversees the distribution of charitable funds to organizations in communities where Eaton has facilities.”

“We will use the grant from Eaton for ‘Readiness to Work’ support,” says New Choices Director Jenny Sliker.  “It costs money to go to work! It costs to have resumes printed, or buy a uniform, or take a drug test.  The cost for the NC Certified Nursing Assistant test is $93.  Sometimes this little amount of money is what stands between someone and a new job. With Eaton funds, New Choices will be able to do things like buy a uniform for a newly-graduated Nursing Assistant, purchase work boots for a woman going into the non-traditional but high-paying field of construction, or help someone else take the real estate license exam, and dozens of other little incidentals that come with a job search.”

Here are some examples of people who have been empowered by the YWCA’s New Choices program:

Alicia, a divorced single mother of two was working part time at Mission Hospital.  In order to go full-time, she needed to complete her CNA certificate.  New Choices paid for textbooks and the CNA testing fee.  Her children came to the New Choices Drop-In Child Care while she attended school in the evenings. She now has a full-time job with benefits.

Toni moved to Asheville to get away from a bad domestic situation. She needed to complete a medical transcriber certificate, and purchase uniforms in order to work full time. New Choices paid her tuition for training and for her uniforms, and provided occasional Drop-In Child Care while she looked for employment.  She now has a full time job at a local medical office.

Megan, a mother of two, who was also going through a divorce, wanted to launch a photography business.  New Choices paid tuition for a weekend photography seminar. Through the YWCA’s partnership with Mountain Bizworks, Megan received a small business loan for a professional camera.  She met another New Choices participant who was also interested in starting a business. They have set up a partnership to do photography for on-line catalogs.