The coronavirus (COVID-19) has unsettled normal life for all of us. More severely, it has exposed and intensified the disparity faced by the most vulnerable of our community. Likewise, hate crimes have risen against people of color, particularly against Asian Americans. All of us, without exception, are facing challenges and uncertainties that can seem overwhelming.
But YWCA Minneapolis has been here before. For 129 years, through wars, economic depressions, civil strife and beyond, we have worked to advance equity and spark positive change. We know that our community is resourceful, resilient and ready to work together to address the impact of this public health threat.
In the face of this pandemic, we continue to live our mission to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Our goal is to ensure that we can continue to deliver critical assistance as quickly as possible. With your support, we can provide exceptional services to thousands of people in our community and stand strong with essential and emergency personnel who are working hard to keep us all safe and healthy.
We are continuing to provide quality child care services for families in critical sectors at our Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Ecolab locations.
To support youth while schools are closed, we are offering dynamic online classes and activities. This includes distance-learning support, STEM home projects and weekly mentoring office hours. We will also give young people the chance to socialize meaningfully in health and wellness modules, social media challenges, e-social hours, cooking contests and more.
While we look forward to restoring full fitness operations as soon as possible, we are quickly adapting our programs to provide virtual health and wellness experiences that are free to all, including YWCA On Demand fitness videos, Facebook Live fitness classes, live Q&As with our registered dietitians and more.
We continue to stand in solidarity with our communities and are providing racial justice services through virtual platforms. In fact, we will lead upcoming conversations on health disparities, anti-Asian discrimination and actions we can take to narrow the disparities gap and confront xenophobia.
We are partnering with other local organizations to advocate for legislative action to protect Minnesota’s nonprofit organizations from the impact of this pandemic. Nonprofits in our community are not only on the front lines delivering critical services, they also employ 730,000 Minnesotans (around 13 percent of the population, according to the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits 2018 Economic Report).
We will continue to serve as an information connector, sharing articles and community resources to help keep our community informed as we navigate our way through this pandemic together.
During this time of great community need, we are carrying extra costs to keep our doors open. These costs are associated with lower group sizes, strong child-teacher ratios and increased health and safety protocols mandated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health. Additional costs amount to $270 per child per week.
Donate materials to support online learning sessions across our Girls and Youth programs, ensuring youth have the supplies at home to participate in programming virtually. Youth sign up for group projects (STEM labs, art projects, cooking classes, etc.) and participate virtually.
Your support will help us reach our $160,000 goal to ensure we meet the needs of those most vulnerable in our community. Community partners like you can make a difference by:
Together, YWCA Minneapolis will come through this better and stronger and continue to provide essential programming that eliminates racism, empowers women and promotes peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.
For questions, please contact Riley Moynihan at rmoynihan@ywcampls.org
