This past August, we, the YWCA of Asheville and WNC dedicated ourselves to an all-staff professional development week. This was an important time to connect with our needs as individuals, recommit and reaffirm our work in the community, and most importantly, center ourselves as a team. 

We are grateful for our program partners at Light a Path, Youth OUTright, Read to Succeed, and Biltmore Farms for volunteering their time to grow the expertise and awareness of our YW team across topics like trauma-informed resilience practices, gender expansion, GRACE Burnout Prevention, literacy development in early childhood, and customer service. We also took the opportunity to launch our new Racial Justice Workshop content.

As advocates for social justice, we understand that our ability to create change on a broader scale begins with our willingness to continue learning. The scope of our impact in Asheville and WNC isn’t simply measured by our programmatic outcomes but also our collective work as individuals- the sum of which informs the daily practice of our organizational values. The ability to honor our mission of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all is bolstered when we commit to our continued education around issues of social justice, provide intentional opportunities to support personal awareness and growth, and forge strong interdepartmental relationships with one another predicated on accountability. 

Thank you to our community for your continued support and a particular thank you to the board members, community partners, friends, and family that shared in continuing our internal work as an organization.