2008 West Virginian of the Year

Congratulations to our dear friend and long-time YWCA supporter Betty Schoenbaum for being named the Sunday Gazette-Mail's 2008 West Virginian of the Year! Betty shares the YWCA's vision for making our community a better place - especially for our children. Her charitable philosophy is never void of purpose, and she truly involves herself in each project she supports.

Over the past decade, Betty and her foundation have contributed more than $200,000 to the YWCA of Charleston because she wholeheartedly believes in our programs and sees our organization as an invaluable asset to our community. With her help, we continue to change the lives of women and children each day in the Greater Kanawha Valley.

At age 91, Betty still lives her life with energy, generosity, and purpose. Congratulations, Betty, for your deserving accolade! Read more about her inspirational story in the Gazette-Mail.

Photo: Betty Schoenbaum and Charleston Mayor Danny Jones cut the ribbon to the new YWCA Schoenbaum Pool at the YWCA Pool Dedication in September, 2008.

$100,000 hole in one

Golfers try your luck tomorrow at the West Virginia Golf Association's hole-in-one tournament for your chance to win big - and help YWCA Sojourner's win big too! Should a lucky golfer score a hole-in-one, he or she will pocket $50,000 and the YWCA Sojourner's Shelter for Homeless Women and Families will receive the other $50,000.

The event begins at 5 p.m. on hole No. 17 (approx. 145 yards) on Coonskin Park's par-3 course in Charleston. And not to worry - the course has lights that will illuminate the tee box and green. To enter, golfers must pay $1 and produce one canned food item, which will be donated to YWCA Sojourner's.

The field of contestants will be narrowed down to 10 golfers each hour through a closest-to-the-pin contest. The contest will last three hours, meaning a total of 30 players will shoot for the grand prize of $100,000. The top 10 contestants will also win a VIP golf card - an access pass that allows golfers to play more than 200 of the top golf courses in West Virginia and Virginia.

Come out and try your luck tomorrow (Saturday, December 20) at Coonskin - rain, snow or shine! You'll be helping homeless families in need and may even walk out $50,000 richer! Special thanks to the West Virginia Golf Association for thinking of YWCA Sojourner's and for caring so much about giving back to our community.

OWN IT

How would you celebrate your 150th birthday? This year, the YWCA USA is celebrating 150 years of empowering women and advocating for critical social issues across our great nation. As a part of its Sequicentennial celebration, the YWCA USA has launched the OWN IT campaign, which focuses on igniting a new generation of 22 million young women aged 18 to 34 to get involved with important issues facing women and the country today. This call to action focuses on many topics, including self-esteem and body image issues, HIV/AIDS, health care, quality childcare, gender equality and racial justice.

The YWCA of Charleston invites you join us, as well as millions of OWN IT women across America who are determined to take charge of their lives and communities, and make the world a safer and more just place for all people. Working together, we will transform communities across the country by exercising our collective power and energy to empower women and eliminate racism. Motivated by courageous women of the past who wouldn’t take NO for an answer, the YWCA invites us all to join in changing our world.

The YWCA of Charleston has joined this exciting movement of change, education and celebration. You can too! We choose to OWN the goals of economic empowerment, eliminating violence against women, and early childhood education, to name a few. What goal will you OWN?

The YWCA's new OWN IT website will keep you informed of OWN IT activities nationwide. They ask for our feedback and want to hear what we are doing in our own community. Find how you can OWN your power - and more! Plus watch the recently-released OWN IT video and see what issues other women across the country are owning.

Give hope during the holidays

She isn’t asking for toys this Christmas. All she wants is a place for her and her mother to call home.

In times of great hardship
Across the nation, people are losing their homes. Their retirements. Utilities and food prices have skyrocketed. Pillars of Wall Street have closed, been absorbed by other financial institutions or have been bailed out by the federal government. Our country’s economic outlook is bleak, indeed.

And times of great need
In times like this, it’s more important than ever that the YWCA of Charleston continue to provide critical social service programs in the Greater Kanawha Valley. Domestic violence increases in times when families face financial crises. More and more families are losing their homes. Single parents are looking for affordable quality childcare, while the cost of living continues to increase.

Are times of greatest hope.
In a time that lacks hope, the YWCA of Charleston is offering just that – hope for a better future – to those who have seen the worst of humanity.

Hope for independence.

Hope for justice.

Hope for safety and peace.

Hope for a better future for their children.

Hope for a better education.

Help us continue to be the beacon of light for so many in our community by renewing your commitment to the YWCA of Charleston. You can give the gift of hope this holiday season and help thousands in need in our community.

Celebrating Solutions

When working to eliminate domestic violence in our community, partnership and collaboration is key. From law enforcement and judicial branches, to schools, churches, and domestic violence advocates, a coordinated effort is vital to prevent domestic violence and to keep victims safe.

Today, such a partnership was recognized for its outstanding work: the West Virginia's Legal Assistance to Victims (LAV) Partnership. This is an innovative statewide collaboration between the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (of which the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program is a licensed program) and Legal Aid of West Virginia.

This afternoon at the Governor's Mansion, First Lady Gayle Manchin welcomed members of the Mary Byron Foundation in presenting the LAV partnership with the "Celebrating Solutions" Award. This national award showcases and applauds local innovations that demonstrate great hope in breaking the cycle of violence. Each year, the Mary Byron Foundation selects programs that serve as models for the nation and offers $10,000 cash awards in recognition of their pioneering efforts. The LAV partnership was one of only four recipients nationwide - great honor and testament to the work being done to eliminate domestic violence in our state.

The most moving part of the presentation was the personal testimony of Star Hogan - a domestic violence survivor who received help through the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program and Legal Aid of West Virginia. With the help of a YWCA court advocate, Star received legal counsel, representation, and individual and group counseling. Her Legal Aid attorney helped her understand her rights as a victim and helped her through child support and custody issues. Star and her two children all received free individual, group and family counseling through YWCA Resolve. Today, her life is free of violence.

Thanks to Mary Byron Foundation and First Lady Gayle Manchin, today we celebrated the innovative solutions that continue to provide all citizens with the right to be free from violence. I will end this post with Star Hogan's poignant closing statement - a quote from British author Albert Pine: “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

(pictured above: First Lady Gayle Manchin and Star Hogan)

When one door closes, another door opens

Two weeks ago, we announced the YWCA Board of Directors' decision to expand YWCA Past & Present Gently Used Clothing Store and close the store’s in-house coffee shop, YWCA Perkin’ Up – both located at 1598 Lee Street East on Charleston’s East End. The decision was made after the Board and Finance Committee reviewed a comprehensive business analysis of both stores, conducted over the past 12 months by a University of Charleston Executive MBA class. Read the full announcement here.

YWCA Perkin’ Up Coffee Shop’s last official day of operation will be Saturday, December 12, after which we will immediately begin efforts to remodel the space to accommodate Past & Present’s growing inventory of gently used clothing, shoes and accessories. As a gesture of gratuity to our customers, we will continue to keep a fresh pot of coffee on hand for anyone in need of a cup of joe.

Since the announcement, we have received a few emails and letters from loyal Perkin' Up customers who are saddened by the news - and we understand their disappointment. We also see this as a fantastic opportunity to thank our customers for their loyalty and support, as well as remind everyone of the YWCA's mission and the purpose of our stores: to generate much-needed revenue for the YWCA Alicia McCormick Homes, which provide transitional housing apartments for battered and homeless women and their children as they transition to self-sufficiency and permanent housing.

We are excited about the valuable new floor space available to expand YWCA Past & Present and better meet the needs of women and families in our community. Thanks for your support during this transition!