YWCA Spring Breakfast

At this year’s Virtual Spring Breakfast – a Celebration of Community – we come together to share stories of success and survival and to thank all who helped us keep our essential services going during these most difficult times.

This week, we invite you to learn more about the people, the programs, and the supporters who are a part of the YWCA family. Listen to their stories, share them with your friends, family and network. Help us continue to be a light for women, children, and families in our community.

A Message from YWCA President & CEO, Sharon K. Roberson

A Message from Virtual Spring Breakfast Producer & Chair, Hannah Paramore Breen

Will You Provide the Light?

When area schools shifted to remote learning during the pandemic, many youth-serving programs were unable to connect with the children who needed them most. But not our Girls Inc. and AMEND Together programs. We found creative ways to reach and teach our youth through virtual camps and after-school programming. In fact, our AMEND Together program expanded nationally to six different cities across the U.S.

Thanks to our community’s support, we’ve continued our innovative and inspiring programs so boys can learn respect and healthy masculinity and girls can grow up to be strong, smart, and bold.

Education is the great equalizer. And YWCA has provided adult education to our community for decades. We know just how important earning a high school equivalency diploma is to the women and men we serve. We couldn’t let the pandemic stop this important part of our mission. In fact, we’ve increased enrollment and attendance by converting our classes to an all-virtual setting.

Similarly, while many adults were fortunate enough to work from home during the pandemic, our Dress for Success Nashville clients needed to interview and go into the workplace. We found innovative ways to keep clients, donors, and staff safe during these uncertain times, and we couldn’t have done it without our community’s generous support.

YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee is the largest provider of domestic violence services is Tennessee. We are the light for women and children who need us in their darkest hour. We’re honored to provide the Weaver Domestic Violence Center –  a place of safety and refuge – to survivors of domestic abuse and grateful to our community for its longtime support.

Closing the doors to the Weaver Domestic Violence Center during the pandemic was never an option. We adapted to make sure both survivors, staff, and volunteers stayed safe. In addition to launching the state’s only domestic violence textline, our Re-New continued their inspiring work, masking up and moving in several families during these difficult months. And our advocacy efforts led to the passage of our Shear Haven legislation, a new statewide law requiring all licensed cosmetologists and barbers in Tennessee learn about the signs of domestic violence and how to help.

The YWCA’s life-saving and life-changing programs are possible thanks to the individuals, corporations, and foundations that support us. We’re grateful to operate in a community that cares so deeply and humbled to provide services that empower our youth, educate our adults, and keep women, children, and families safe from domestic violence.