YWCA’s annual We Believe event may have looked different this year, but we still felt supported by the entire YWCA community! On Thursday, February 25, 2021, more than 700 YWCA friends and family came together virtually to celebrate our mission and support our programs.
For our We Believe 2021 event, our virtual platform allowed supporters from all over the country to attend our virtual fundraiser – individuals from 31 states and 2 countries were watching our event!
Our We Believe 2021 program celebrated the ways each of YWCA’s programs have impacted the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, and especially highlighted the work of our Department of Youth Programs.
In the fall of 2020, YWCA’s Youth Programs staff partnered with education experts at Georgia State University, Mercer University, Atlanta Speech School and Georgia Public Broadcasting – creating the ‘Panther Team.’ This partnership hosted a 13-week professional learning community for our staff that was grounded in historically responsive literacy (HRL). HRL empowers educators to plan activities and lessons that support a child’s personal and academic development in identity, skills, intellect and criticality. It also gives educators the tools to teach literacy through an equity framework.
At our We Believe 2021 event, Dr. Felicia Baiden, assistant professor of clinical practice in the Tift College of Education at Mercer University and an educator from our ‘Panther Team,’ sat down with YWCA’s CEO, Kirsten Sikkelee, to discuss the importance of teaching culturally and historically responsive literacy to young readers.
YWCA Central Carolinas is grateful for the support we’ve received from the community in our We Believe 2021 campaign, and it’s not too late to participate!
During the event, we were thrilled to announce an incredible matching gift challenge we’ve received! Inspired by YWCA’s leadership in creating affordable housing opportunities and steadfast commitment to advancing racial equity, an anonymous couple has committed $25,000 to YWCA as a challenge for We Believe. Their pledge is a challenge match for YWCA to raise $25,000 in new or increased donations through the event!
Our We Believe campaign continues until March 11th, so there’s still time to give to support the event and to spread the word about our campaign and the incredible matching gift challenge we’ve received!
You can revisit our We Believe 2021 program any time!
Thank you to the team at WonderWorld for their incredible work creating our event videos, producing the event livestream and ensuring everyone’s safety at our livestream location – WonderWorld’s West End Studio.
And thank you to all of our We Believe 2021 event sponsors for supporting YWCA’s mission and programs.
Empower Equity
Empower Justice
Empower Freedom
Atrium Health
Food Lion
TIAA
Empower Dignity
Brown Brothers Harriman
Fifth Third Bank
First Citizens Bank
Novant Health
Moore & Van Allen
Regions Bank
RSM
Summus Group
Truist
WonderWorld
Zaparta Group Inc.
