Volume 5: Summer 2007

 pasadena-foothill valley

HONORING AND SUPPORTING THE STRUGGLE FOR LABOR RIGHTS

Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, will be honored as the next speaker in the YWCA's Women of Excellence Leadership Speaker Series on October 15, 2007.

As the newly elected Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Durazo is the first woman ever to lead the country's largest labor council. She was President of UNITE HERE! Local 11 from 1989-2006, representing more than 440,000 hotel and restaurant workers in Los Angeles County.

Join us in hearing more about Mrs. Durazo and her passion and commitment to the rights of workers and the role of jobs in preventing community unrest.

WHO:                YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley, Maria Elena Durazo 
                           and YOU!

WHERE:          City of Pasadena Central Library
                           Donald R. Wright Auditorium
                           285 East Walnut St., Pasadena
   
WHEN:             Monday, October 15, 2007
                           11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

COST:               Admission is $35 and includes mid-day refreshments. 
                           For your convenience, you may register from the link
                           below or call in or email your RSVP and pay at the door.

CONTACT:     YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley 
                           (626) 296-8433
                            ashley@ywca-pasadena.org
                              http://www.ywca.org/pasadena/leadershipseriesreg

Just For Girls (JFG) News:
Just For Girls participants and YWCA staff members celebrated the end of the school year with a trip to Knott's Berry Farm

JFG participants pose for a group picture in the front of the park

On Friday, July 13th three members of the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley staff, two interns, one volunteer and twenty-seven JFG participants loaded up and headed off to the Knott's amusement park to enjoy the summer and of course... the rollercoasters.

Many of the girls have been a part of the JFG program for years. These veteran JFG participants say that the year end field trip is something they look forward to the whole year. It is a trip when they don't have to think about anything but having a good time and strengthening the friendships that they have made throughout this year and years past.

The trip is not only something the participants look forward to but the staff does as well. "I loved getting to see the girls in a different place - outside of Pasadena. I had so much fun just hanging out with them," commented Ashley Phillips, YWCA staff member. "These girls have become my friends."

Keep a look out later this month for the activities and events that our JFG girls will be participating in.

United Way Changes Funding Policies
With the recent changes in United Way's funding policies the YWCA looks to the Pasadena community it has graciously served for over 100 years

Pasadena City Hall

OUR NEED FOR YOUR SUPPORT
United Way of Los Angeles has changed its funding policies this year.  Although we have been a UW recipient for many years, we will be receiving only a token amount this year - about $19,000 - and nothing more for the foreseeable future. Instead, United Way has elected to substitute major grants - many $100,000 a year for three years - to organizations that reach large constituencies.

Just for Girls, the YWCA after school program for girls from six to eighteen, will miss the generous support it has received from United Way for so long.  Just for Girls lays a foundation that keeps at-risk girls from turning to gangs for companionship and emotional support but it does this in small group settings that foster communication, a sense of safety, and a sense of the YWCA Mission.  It is designed to broaden their horizons and help them to see an exciting future for themselves, a future of higher education, careers, and self-sufficiency.

It is now incumbent on all of us who see the value in this small group setting and the continuing value of the YWCA Mission to support both through our membership in the YWCA - now an even more vital part of our financial support.  I urge all who read this to join me in doing this as generously as possible.   You can use the link below to make your contribution on line.

Edith Grady
YWCA Board President

 
Donate Online NOW!       

• Just For Girls enrichment and development program for the school
  aged young women of Pasadena.
• Racial Justice work in our community.
• Community Building efforts through our public dialogue and program initiatives.
• Ensuring that your sister, your wife, you and our young women and families have a voice in our city, region and nation!

• Volunteer.  We are always recruiting women and girls to be mentors, to join a committee, or for leadership opportunities.
  Contact the Program Office . 
• Make a gift of stock, real estate, or money.  
  Contact the  Development Office .

JOIN A YWCA COMMITTEE!
Be a part of our community agenda!

• Racial Justice Committee
  Contact    Denise Jones, Chair
  
• Women's Issues Committee
  Contact  Judy Brown, Chair
  
• Auxiliary Board of Directors
  Contact  Dianne Segura
  
• Finance Committee
  Contact Dianne Segura

Meet our 2007/2008 Board 
The YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley would like to welcome our new board members and introduce you to the women behind the organization:

OFFICERS

President
Edith Grady
Community Volunteer

Vice Presidents
Judith Lee Brown
Community Advocate

Peggy Chong
Managing Partner / Co-Founder
Level Five Solutions

Paula Stamp
Business Development Manager
PCL Construction Services, INC.

Carmen Vargas
Assistant Vice President
Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking

Secretary
Leslie Caldwell
Countrywide Home Loans

Treasurer
Michelle Gavigan
CPA

Immediate Past President
Margaret Leong Checca
Vice President, Financial Services
Shapell Industries

BOARD MEMBERS

Ena M. Alcarez
Irene M. Daniels
Wendy Gladney Brooks
Janis Lipson
Barbara Madden
Angela Myers-Rackleff
Davilena Baily O'Connor
Barbosa Polverini
Dr. Sharon Yee

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

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

    www.ywca-pasadena.org