February 2022

February 2022


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February is known as the month for loved one, you are not alone! In a survey of those who planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day, the National Retail Federation reported that spending plans most commonly include buying candy (56%), greeting cards (40%), flowers (37%), and jewelry (22%). One-third of respondents say they planned an evening out, and about 40% stated they wanted their gifts to be an “experience,” meaning tickets to a performance, like a concert or sporting event. To show your
YWCA Northeast Indiana’s mission is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. Because February is Black History Month and Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, we want to specifically draw your attention to these areas. To build equality, YWCA Northeast Indiana is providing ways to learn more about racial justice. After a pandemic hiatus, our Diversity Dialogue series is once again bringing educational content to our community. On February 10th, we heard from local leaders who have demonstrated their commitment to racial justice and equity. To watch the recording of this event, please visit our YouTube channel. Additionally, Allen County Councilwoman Sheila Curry-Campbell shares the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in this month’s Dash of Persimmon. You won’t want to miss watching the short video below. And, we are excited to announce our inaugural Race Against Racism 5K Walk/Run scheduled for April 30th! Register for this event below.

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month gives us an opportunity to shed light on one of the most devastating, but often hidden, dangers that our young people face. Did you know that 1 out of 3 teens will experience dating violence? Follow our social media to find weekly facts and resources. Download love is respect’s 2022 Action Guide to get involved!

Empowering others is a wonderful way to show your love towards others. We feature many community leaders in this month’s issue, including our Power of Persimmon (POP) star, Jenee Johnson. Her work in empowering our youth is especially worth reading about. Also, in our Women’s Empowerment campaign, we are featuring eight amazing men and women.

Are you looking for more ways to get involved? Please consider joining one of our committees or volunteering. We have many opportunities that we hope will resonate with you!

From the bottom of our hearts, please know that we love all of you. We simply could not do what we do without your support. You are all our special Valentines!

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We’re excited to share that our organization has earned a 2022 Gold Seal of Transparency with Candid! You can support our work with trust and confidence by viewing our Nonprofit Profile here.

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Racial Justice

YWCA Northeast Indiana’s mission starts with the words “eliminating racism,” and working towards racial equity and justice is part of our goal for our staff, clients, and community. To that end, we have launched our Diversity Dialogue series again after a pandemic hiatus, with the first event taking place last Thursday, February 10th.

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We heard from local leaders, Mr. John Dortch, Councilwoman Sheila Curry-Campbell, and Mr. Adrian Curry who have demonstrated their commitment to racial justice and equity through their work with local organizations. They shared how we can learn from local history and get involved in building a brighter future. To watch a recording of this diversity dialogue event, please click here.

Internally, our Diversity Council conducted a survey of our own staff to learn areas we can improve as an organization, and are using those results to prioritize our efforts towards equity. We want to ensure that all staff thrive as part of our team, as well as in our work with individuals, families, and the wider community.

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In this year-long awareness campaign, local men and woman join together in solidarity to tell stories of how they help empower women. Stay up to date with our weekly featured community members here and learn more about YWCA Northeast Indiana here.

Dottie Davis, Kim Carpenter, Dr. Angela Harrell, & Michelle Chambers

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“Women have so many burdens put upon them by society. We often struggle to find balance in our lives and look at ourselves with judgment when we think we have fallen short of society’s expectations. As a woman who has not always been viewed favorably by others, I know the importance of a warm smile, a sincere compliment, speaking the truth, and having support when feeling incapable, inadequate, or unsure. Many women helped me see my worth, so now it is my passion to assist other women to come to know the power they possess. Serving as a Board member for YWCA Northeast Indiana allows me to advocate for women and straighten their crowns through positive messaging, raising dollars to support programming, and community engagement. I hope every reader will contemplate how they might straighten a woman’s crown.”
Dottie Davis (Founder/President of Davis Corporate Training, Inc; Vice-Chair, YWCA Northeast Indiana Board; Co-Chair, YWCA Circle Event Committee)

“We never really know what someone else is going through. We all have days when we put on our shiny armor, even though we are feeling dull or damaged emotionally. Sharing a warm smile, a kind word, or a heartfelt gesture can powerfully lift a woman’s spirit, helping to brighten her internal dialogue to be as shiny as her outside. I try to offer these cheerleader moments daily, to let other women know they are not alone and there are people who care.”
Kim Carpenter (Client Experience Advocate, Ash Brokerage; Featured Leader in YWCA Northeast Indiana’s Empowering Leaders Video Series)

“It has been said that behind every successful woman is a tribe of successful women who have had her back, and that is so true. I have been blessed to have worked for and with some exceptional female leaders throughout my time in radiologic technology and in my current higher education career. These women have served as excellent role models to me on what it means to be a servant leader and have demonstrated how important it is for women to straighten each other’s crowns. It is a privilege to repay the favor that was given to me by being the nurturer, encourager, and example for other aspiring female leaders within healthcare and academics.”
Dr. Angela Harrell (Associate Vice President of Healthcare Relations & Dean of the College of Health Sciences, University of Saint Francis)

“Every room that I walk into I wear my crown. I wear my mother’s crown, my grandmother’s crown, and the crowns of my ancestors (sisters) who came before me. There are days when my crown may become somewhat crooked, and on those days I look to my fellow sisters, friends, and community to help me straighten my crown. Let us all be a blessing to one another and make sure that the women in our lives never have a day with a crooked crown. Step in, step up, step forward and straighten their crowns, especially on the days when they can’t.”
Michelle Chambers (Councilwoman at Large, Fort Wayne; Featured Leader in YWCA Northeast Indiana’s Empowering Leaders Video Series)

Mitch Stein, Larry Mayers, Tom Henry, & Palermo Galindo

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“Women’s equality is critically important to our team and our community. The team at Pond needs diverse perspectives to succeed, given the incredibly diverse community we serve within the nonprofit sector. We intentionally uplift and empower nonprofit leaders, especially women, through our platform and our storytelling in our podcast The Kids Table. Thank you to the many women who have helped shape and drive the innovation of Pond.”
Mitch Stein (Co-Founder, CEO & Chief Impact Officer, Pond)

“I believe that behaviors, like biases against women’s equality, are learned and ingrained early in our personal and professional lives. I consider myself fortunate to have grown up in an environment with strong opinionated women: my mother, my wife, four sisters and three daughters. My professional life has been much the same in that I have benefited from working for, and with, many strong and talented women. Thanks to their examples, it is hard for me to imagine considering women as anything but equal, be it in my business or personal life. Finally, as a business professional, I think it would be foolish to discount the input and contributions of women or anyone who can bring diverse viewpoints to all the challenges we face today.”
Larry Mayers (Business Banking Group Head & Regional President, Fort Wayne Region, 1st Source Bank)

“Women’s equality is not only a fundamental right but a necessary one. To ensure fairness, impartial strategies and measures must become available. Unquestionably, achieving equality requires the empowerment of women in all decision making at all levels. True equality is intricately linked to sustainable development.”
Tom Henry (Mayor of Fort Wayne)

“Growing up, I was raised by my mother, grandmother, and aunts. Each one taught me a valuable lesson. Even now, I incorporate those lessons in my life daily, and share them in the community. As a result, my daughters have a special connection with their roots and continue to learn those exceptional values as well. I am proud to contribute to the mission of the YWCA by supporting programs and sharing the inspiring and outstanding stories of empowerment from each woman at YWCA Northeast Indiana.”
Palermo Galindo (Program Director LAMPRO Latin American Master’s Programs, Indiana Tech; Featured Leader in YWCA Northeast Indiana’s Empowering Leaders Video Series)

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Dash of Persimmon offers you expert information on a variety of topics every month. We hope you will find this information valuable. May a Dash of Persimmon sweeten your cup!

Sheila Curry-Campbell

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In this Dash of Persimmon Video Series, we are featuring Sheila Curry-Campbell, 1st District Allen County Councilwoman. She shares why diversity, equity, and inclusion are important for our community and what you can do to be a part of the solution.

Learn more here.

Thank you to Sheila Curry-Campbell for being our featured Dash of Persimmon expert!

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YWCA Northeast Indiana’s Power of Persimmon (POP) initiative honors empowered women who diligently seek to help empower other women through mentorship, networking, and education. Kudos to these remarkable women!

Jenee Johnson

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Jenee is an in-school Program Manager for Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana. She also works part-time as an usher for Parkview Field and the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Jenee empowers other women through her involvement with the Miss America Organization and the Miss Three Rivers Festival Competition. Learn more here.

Stay tuned to upcoming newsletters to see who will be featured next in Power of Persimmon! Thank you to our media partner, glo magazine.

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Race Against Racism 5k Walk/Run

Come run with YWCA NEIN in our first annual Race Against Racism 5K Walk/Run! The event provides an opportunity for the community to come together in solidarity for racial justice. Building a more just and equitable community takes all of us, so YWCA NEIN wants to offer community members the opportunity to run the race against racism, together. The event will also include educational opportunities and be a great place for those interested in working to end racism to network together.

The Race Against Racism 5K Walk/Run will raise funds for YWCA’s racial justice efforts, which include community events and organizing, assessing community priority areas for racial justice, working with BIPOC-led groups, and developing educational content to share with Fort Wayne and the northeast Indiana community.

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The race will take place at PFW on Saturday, April 30th with a 10:00 a.m. start time. Early-bird registration is $25/adult, $15/student, and $7/children ages 12 and under. Registration for adults and students includes an adult-size T-shirt! Packet pickup for all runners will start at 9:00 a.m. the day of the event. Register Here.

If you or your organization is interested in sponsoring or volunteering at this event, you can reach out to Patty at pdunn@ywcaerew.org.

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Join a Committee

Joining a committee is an excellent way to get involved by contributing your time, talent, and expertise to support our mission! Committees typically meet on a monthly basis for one hour, depending upon current board or association initiatives, activities, and events.

The Finance Committee works with staff to develop an annual and operational budget. The board will help set long term financial goals, gross revenue and targets, and ensure all guidelines are met and adhered to for the budget.

The Governance Committee works with the board and staff to oversee a consistent and engaging volunteer and board structure for the purposes of governance, orientation, nominations, and organizational oversight.

The Strategic Planning Committee works with YWCA staff on adhering to the organization’s mission, vision, and next level details for strategic planning.

To learn more about our committees and to submit an application, please visit our website.


Goldstein Family Scholarship Program

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The goal of the Goldstein Family Scholarship Program is to help female survivors of domestic violence improve their self-sufficiency and quality of life by completing higher education. The scholarship fund provides financial support for tuition, books, rent, utilities, and childcare. Learn more here.


Donate

We have recently updated our Amazon Wish List with current needs, including needs for clients and operations needs. Your purchases can be sent directly to our location.

If you would like to financially support YWCA Northeast Indiana, you can access our donation page by following this link.