What's New

The YWCA Central Alabama is honored to be the recipient of the American Planning Association's (APA) 2013 National Planning Excellence Award for Advancing Diversity & Social Change in Honor of Paul Davidoff. The award comes as a result of a multimillion dollar urban neighborhood revitalization effort implemented in the Woodlawn community. 

The YWCA was pleased to have several members of the Jefferson County Senate Delegation at our Downtown and Woodlawn locations. The senators began by taking a walk through our NAEYC accredited child care center before heading to view firsthand the revitalization work that is being done in Woodlawn which includes four apartment complexes with 58 units of affordable housing, a KaBOOM! playground, Interfaith Hospitality House, a shelter for intact, homeless families, a community garden and a Family Resource Center.

Thanks to the generosity of The Belk Foundation and Birmingham City Schools, the YWCA After-School Enrichment Program (ASEP) can now offer quality after-school programs to an increased number of children. With the recent additions to funding, program participation has grown by thirty percent and this is only the beginning! It has also allowed our staff to expand the range of services that will be offered to include spring break and summer enrichment programs.

Once again, this year, the YWCA Central Alabama was transformed into the North Pole for its annual holiday event, Santa’s Workshop. With the help of more than 200 volunteers, the YWCA was able to make the season a little brighter for homeless families in the Birmingham area on one special day. Thanks to Belk, the nation’s largest privately owned mainline department store company with 301 Belk stores located in 16 Southern states, the elves on their visual design team turned the gymnasium into a winter wonderland – Santa’s Workshop!