July 2013 Y's Words

At the most recent board meeting, we were pleased to welcome Pam Loh Veljacic and Sherri Falker to the organization. We also said goodbye to Kelly Walsh, who served two terms with YWCA Clark County and Alan Ford who served two years. With us since 2007, Kelly also served as board president from 2010-2012. The heart and dedication she has for YWCA is incredible. Through her various leadership roles she inspired others to be more and do more. Alan served as Vice President of Board Development for one year. He brought a great spirit and sense of humor to our meetings. Both individuals will be missed.

In June, I attended YWCA National conference in Washington DC. It was my first time at the conference and it was exciting to see and feel the spirit of YWCA. I was most inspired during lobby day when YWCA visited Capital Hill en mass to facilitate change. Board Member Dena Horton, who joined me in DC, provides a great review of the experience in this newsletter.

Also this month, read about two of our award-winning employees. Michelle Hurdle-Bradford and Heidi Hiatt have provided unique and exceptional service to our communities and I am proud to have them on our team. Michelle also was a major planner of the Community Celebration; an event that honors Val Joshua Racial Justice Award recipients and is covered in this edition of “Our Voice.”

YWCA provides services to children and youth in foster care. In this issue we recognize the great work of our Independent Living Skills (ILS) Program and feature Rafik Fouad, long time volunteer with ILS. Our Sexual Assault and SafeChoice Domestic Violence Programs are also featured this month as we share success of the great improvements made to our facility, thanks to a grant from United Way.

Finally, we celebrate the results of our spring giving campaign. We received $23,875 from our generous community! This money will go directly to the SafeChoice Domestic Violence Program to support families participating in our Children’s Advocacy Program. Thank YOU.

Strong Alone. Fearless Together.

Sherri Bennett
Executive Director