leadership

Helen Quirini
YWCA Schenectady, N.Y.

When Helen Quirini was first asked to join the YWCA as a factory worker for the Schenectady, N.Y., General Electric Company in 1943, she had her reservations. She had heard that factory workers and African-American women were unwelcome.

It wasn’t long before her perception changed and Helen became a leading member and huge advocate of the YWCA Schenectady.

When she joined the YWCA, Helen became a part of the Industrial Girls Club and served as a delegate to the 17th National Convention in Atlantic City, N.J. in 1946.

“I became aware of the YW’s efforts during the war years,” Helen said. “The Industrial Girls clubs concentrated on the needs of girls and women who worked in the factories.”

It was there that Helen became excited to hear about the YWCA commitment to strengthen human rights and eliminate racism. It was at that convention that the women adopted the Interracial Charter as the official position of the YWCA.

In 1978, Helen was awarded with the United Way of America’s prestigious Joseph A. Bierne Community Service Award, which recognizes labor leaders rendering volunteer service to the people of their communities.

Helen went on to be elected president of the YWCA Schenectady in 1979 and helped establish the battered woman shelter, which remains a force in the community today.