February 2009

pasadena-foothill valley

YWCA SURVEY SHOWS GREATER ECONOMIC CONCERNS AMONG BLACK WOMEN THAN WHITE WOMEN

According to a YWCA national survey, Black women stand apart from White women on a range of worries about workplace, education and health care issues. Major obstacles to their own progress over the next decade cited by greater proportions of Black women than White women include:

• Major illness or medical expense (84% vs. 68%) 
• Unequal pay (81% vs. 55%)
• Affordable and accessible child care (72% vs. 57%)
• Limited opportunities for job promotion and advancement (72% vs. 41%)
• Lack of job training opportunities (66% vs. 37%) 
• Student loan indebtedness (62% vs. 33%)

“These findings reaffirm the need for a long-term national agenda that addresses the economic and financial concerns of women,” said Lorraine Cole, PhD, YWCA USA’s CEO. “With the country in a recession, rising unemployment, flat wages, and income inequality at levels not seen in years, we must make sure our national economic and financial public policies work for all women, especially Black women whose economic and financial well-being often lag far behind White women.”

The findings are revealed in What Women Want: A National Survey of Priorities and Concern, a national telephone survey of 1,000 women ages 18-70 during the week preceding the 2008 presidential election. It was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates on behalf of the YWCA USA, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

“Women’s concerns about the future reflect the widespread economic uncertainty gripping the nation as the economy continues to shed jobs, housing prices continue to decline, and 401(k) retirement and savings accounts are shrinking,” said Cole. “The YWCA looks forward to working with President Elect Obama and the 111th Congress to help women improve their economic security and financial well-being.”

In Memoriam
Gloria Gutierrez Delaney
1936-2009

Members of the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley are deeply saddened by the death on Monday, January 12 of Gloria Gutierrez Delaney. Gloria touched many lives – the school children of Pasadena where she taught and was a District administrator for many years; the participants, staff and volunteers at El Centro de Accion Social where her leadership as a board member and president had such a valuable impact, and other organizations throughout Los Angeles too numerous to mention. She was also an active and valuable member of the YWCA having served on the Women for Racial Justice Breakfast Committee and the Educational Advisory Committee.  Gloria exemplified that statement: When you want something done, ask a busy person. Hers was a participatory style that made her greatly admired and much sought after for both the expertise and the commitment she brought to everything she undertook.

Her passing will be a personal loss for many and we at the YWCA who worked with her so often want her family to know that we grieve along with them.

Parenting Education
This class will provide support for parents in need of basic parenting skills and practices by delivering training on child safety, parental functions, family nutrition and developmental stages. Childcare is provided while parents are in class and participants will receive a certificate upon completion of the program.

This 20-week class is for moms and dads and will begin February 24 from 6:30-8:30 pm at the YWCA facility.
Cost: $10/class  

The History of

by Elissa Haney

Americans have recognized Black history annually since 1926, first as "Negro History Week" and later as "Black History Month." What you might not know is that Black history had barely begun to be studied - or even documented - when the tradition originated. Although Blacks have been in America at least as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a respectable presence in the history books.

Blacks Absent from History Books

We owe the celebration of Black History Month, and more important, the study of Black history, to Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Born to parents who were former slaves, he spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines and enrolled in high school at age twenty. He graduated within two years and later went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. The scholar was disturbed to find in his studies that history books largely ignored the Black American population - and when Blacks did figure into the picture - it was generally in ways that reflected the inferior social position they were assigned at the time.

Established Journal of Negro History

Woodson, always one to act on his ambitions, decided to take on the challenge of writing Black Americans into the nation's history. He established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now called the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History) in 1915, and a year later founded the widely respected Journal of Negro History. In 1926, he launched Negro History Week as an initiative to bring national attention to the contributions of black people throughout American history.

Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. However, February has much more than Douglass and Lincoln to show for its significance in black American history. For example:

• February 23, 1868: W. E. B. DuBois, important civil rights leader and co-founder of the NAACP, was born.  
• February 3, 1870: The 15th Amendment was passed, granting blacks the right to vote.  
• February 25, 1870: The first black U.S. Senator, Hiram R. Revels (1822-1901), took his oath of office.    
• February 12, 1909:  The NAACP was founded by a group of concerned black and white citizens in New York City.    
• February 1, 1960: In what would become a civil-rights movement milestone, a group of black Greensboro, N.C., college students began a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter.    
• February 21, 1965: Malcolm X, the militant leader who promoted Black Nationalism, was shot to death by three Black Muslims.    

Just for Girls
Program Wish List

Program Supplies:

• Digital photo printer
• Paper goods: plates, cups, napkins
• Bean bag chairs

Gift certificates to the following:

• Movie theatre
• Pasadena Ice skating rink
• Laser Tag
• Amusement Parks
  • Disneyland
  • Knott's Berry Farm
  • Six Flags
• Los Angeles Zoo
• Aquarium of the Pacific

Some of the girls are participating in a baby simulation day titled Baby Think It Over We need:

• baby clothes
• baby carriers

Congratulations to the following winners of Pasadena Magazine's "40 Under 40"

• Carmen Vargas, vice president at Stone & Youngberg, president of the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley Board of Directors
• Tammy Huang-Anacleto, co-founder and president of College Launch, YWCA volunteer
• Katie Sloan, executive at Southern California Edison, YWCA volunteer  

Do you know
"What's the Difference?"

Three new postings went up on our blog in January.  Check them out here, www.ywcapasadena.blogspot.com and make comments at the end of the post by clicking on the word 'comment.' While at the site, remember to subscribe to the blog so that the updates come to you. If you would like to contribute to the blog with an original post, please email Community Outreach Coordinator, Ashley Phillips, at ashley@ywca-pasadena.org

How Can I Get Involved?

• Volunteer. We are always recruiting women and girls to join a committee or to volunteer in the office. Contact the Programs Office at programs@ywca-pasadena.org.
• Make a gift of stock, real estate or money.
  Contact the Development Office at pr@ywca-pasadena.org.
• Join the Racial Justice Committee.
  Be a part of the conversation. Contact Denise Jones, Chair.
• Contribute a brief article to our blog, "What's the Difference?" Contact Ashley Phillips, Community Outreach Coordinator at
  ashley@ywca-pasadena.org

YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley 1200 N. Fair Oaks Ave. • Pasadena,CA 91103

Phone: 626-296-8433 • Fax: 626-296-8434

www.ywca-pasadena.org