The YWCA of Brooklyn, Inc. (YWCA Brooklyn)
YWCA Brooklyn is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.
Founded in 1888, YWCA Brooklyn has been a champion for racial justice and gender equity for over 130 years as the first YWCA in the country to racially integrate in 1943 and a leader in both the civil rights and women’s rights movements.
In 2009, we declined offers from developers seeking to convert our historic building in rapidly gentrifying Downtown Brooklyn to luxury housing and instead reinvested our real estate in service of our mission. Today, our work is primarily focused on the economic empowerment of women and girls of color whose paths to prosperity have been limited due to systemic racism and gender bias, ensuring they can live independent, self-determined lives, and our building is now home to:
- Over 300 women impacted by gender-based violence, homelessness and poverty who live in our permanent affordable housing units and have access to onsite trauma-informed supportive services and therapeutic programming to ensure they remain stably housed without a return to an abusive relationship or homelessness;
- Our year-round, long-term, holistic YW Brooklyn LEAD college access and leadership program that advances the educational outcomes and economic mobility for girls of color from poverty-impacted communities to develop them into the next generation of leaders in communities of color; and
- Our Social Justice Community Center, the last surviving community hub in Downtown Brooklyn, which provides office, event and program space for other grassroots nonprofits, helping them to broaden their scope and reach,.
We are a nonsectarian 501(c)(3) grassroots nonprofit organization that receives no financial support from our association with YWCA USA, nor are we affiliated with any other YWCA in New York City.
Fundraisers
A Daughter's Love Letter: In Memory of My Mom Darlene Sluga
In Memory of Darlene Sluga My beautiful mom died suddenly in 2007. She was dedicated, hilarious, playful, active and loving in a big way. She loved to dance, she loved soap operas, and she adored John Denver, which I could not stand as a kid. She sang around the house. She gave food to homeless people she passed in our town. She was a nurse before we were born, then a stay at home mom, and she was late often because of everything she was carrying. I wish society had supported her more effectively. She was the reason I practiced for piano lessons, recitals, competitions. I could not have done any of it without her belief in me. Now that I have my own kids, I feel in my bones what she put into us. This fund supports YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, which helps women and families across Chicagoland with counseling, childcare resources, and legal advocacy. Every $100 raised covers an hour of counseling for a survivor. In remembrance of my beautiful mom, I'm sharing this donation link on my Country Roads Cover instead of a tip jar. If something I played reached you, this is where I would rather your money go. Thank you for reading. I've been exercising my musicianship in preparation for potential upcoming opportunities and because moms also deserve to make time for self care and art and I wanted to focus my energy into doing something in remembrance for her and to help support all girls, women, and mothers going through challenging seasons too many of us face in this life. If you'd like to hear the John Denver cover song I recorded and uploaded in honor of her contributions in my life check out the youtube video on my linktree here: https://linktr.ee/heathersingstheblues?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=c86ba3e6-2245-4b72-bad9-14eee56ac572 (View the video description for more about my mom)
- Raised
- $70
- Next milestone
- $100
3 supporters
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