YWCA Annual Luncheon Inspires and Challenges

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We’re so inspired by the work of one of our biggest partners in education and financial stability, YWCA Central Carolinas!

 

As executive director Kirsten Sikkelee relayed yesterday at the YWCA’s annual luncheon, 83% of their Women in Transition and 100% of their Families Together clients have transitioned into stable housing.

 

It would have been easy for an everyday keynote speaker to be upstaged by Sofia, the adorable star of the YWCA’s video, who reminded some 800 supporters in attendance how a strong afterschool program can nurture a child’s self-belief as well as grow reading comprehension.

 

Then US Bank’s Dee O’Dell reminded everyone how close we were to missing out on our intended keynote guest – his Opportunity Task Force “sister,” Novant Health’s Ophelia Garmon-Brown – as she fought to recover from a brain tumor and kidney surgery. The Westin ballroom’s laughter subsided as Ophelia got serious.

 

Ahead of the Task Force’s report later this month, she shared key observations from their work so far – as she put it, 18 months of unearthing “a tale of two cities: one where our children’s lives are so different because of the zip code they were born in.”

 

• “We expect our children to arrive at kindergarten ready, but because we didn’t pay enough attention to ages 0-3, they’re not equipped to compete with the child sitting next to them.”

• “We have to look at mentors and life navigators who can help children see what they can become. Children in certain zip codes don’t have access to them.”

• “When we subject our children to schools where there’s 99 percent poverty, we’re telling them they don’t matter. And when we put other children in schools without anyone different from them, we’re depriving those children of valuable life skills on adapting to different cultures.”

• “While it’s a sensitive subject in this state, we need to have more open conversation about becoming a parent – supporting mothers if they’re ready, helping them avoid unintended pregnancies if they’re not. We must have that honest conversation.”

 

As United Way looks forward to working with the community to address the Task Force’s findings, we’ll be examining ways to take successful programs, like those at the YWCA and so many of our other partners, and expand them to reach even more of our neighbors in need.