A special delivery was made a few weeks ago to the YWCA Central Alabama. Power Force Apparel LLC donated 200 pairs of shoes and athletic apparel for the families that we serve. The company's CEO, Guy Savage, says he's simply doing his part to give back to the community.
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 Central Alabama will be hosting a National Day of Action on Thursday, February 14th at 11:30 a.m. People from all across the Birmingham region are invited to gather together and call for changes to laws which allow certain lenders to charge predatory rates. These predatory loans have a devastating affect on our neighbors, and we want you to come out and lend your voice in the fight against abusive lending practices.
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.
While most employees look forward to a day off in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., the YWCA Central Alabama's AmeriCorps members look forward to a day ON! MLK Day is a national day of service for all members of AmeriCorps, and the YWCA's AmeriCorps members chose to further Dr. King's dream by participating in the Birmingham Metro Diversity Coalition's (BMDC) MLK Unity Walk, which was held on January 12th. Members will also be attending the MLK Unity Breakfast on January 21st in observance of the MLK holiday.
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.
Students from Vestavia Hills Elementary East shared some holiday cheer with the children in KIDS (Kids in Distress) Korner, the YW’s child care for children of homeless families. Cathy Wall’s third grade class, also known as Wall’s Winners, took a field trip to downtown Birmingham to hand deliver brand new toys that they selected for the children served by the YWCA.
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!
This holiday season, KPMG launched Operation Bookitecture, an exciting firm-wide community service project related to KPMG's Family for Literacy program. Understanding what a significant impact books have in the lives of young children, employees at KPMG's Birmingham office recently donated new and gently-used books to help foster the imaginations of the special children whom the YW serves.
The YWCA Central Alabama recently hosted a Lunch & Learn to educate the community about predatory lending practices in Alabama and its impact on citizens. The Lunch & Learn featured Alabama Representative Patricia Todd and Shay Farley, JD, Legal Director of Alabama Appleseed.