We get by with a little help from our friends!

Photo on left: Mentor Braedon with Tallon and Asher picking blueberries, Aug 2020
Photo on right: Boomer Nation group exercise class, Sep 2020

Show Your Love for YWCA…
Give for National Philanthropy Day!

Make your donation count more by giving before November 16.

Help YOUR YWCA win a prize by participating in one of the biggest giving events in Cortland County! The National Philanthropy Day contest is your chance to show our community that the spirit of giving is alive and well. Submit your tax-deductible donation through the Cortland Community Foundation to give us a chance to win up to $10,000!  Click for details on how to make a donation today.

Support Our Community’s Needs

In April, we asked you to support a COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. And you responded! These funds helped fill the revenue shortfalls when Child Care and Health & Fitness were mandated to close or operate in severely limited ways. We are awed by your generosity and we remain grateful for your gifts. However, we continue to incur shortfalls as our fee-based programs are reopening under stringent capacity restrictions and with increased risk-reduction expenses. To continue operations through 2020 and beyond, and to support our free services (Aid to Victims of Violence and Mentoring), we hope you will make an end-of-year gift to the Annual Giving Campaign. Thank you!

 

Child Care

The largest childcare provider in Cortland County, this program took a huge financial hit from the COVID shutdown. Although we provided emergency care for the school-age children of essential workers, enrollment didn’t cover the costs to operate. Daycare center numbers fell and are slowly coming up to 50%. Summer Recreation and Before & After School numbers are also at 50%. While we care for fewer children, expenses are greater due to limited class sizes that require more teachers and staff and increased sanitation needs. Your support can help us continue a much-needed service for working parents in the community.

Photo: Charlotte and Ezra at Here We Grow daycare center, Sep 2020

Mentoring

YWCA Cortland’s mentoring program–Bridges for Kids, Kids Club, and GEMS (Girls: Empowered, Motivated, Successful)–aims to improve confidence and self-esteem in our community’s youth so they are set up for success later in life. COVID has drastically impacted this program due to restrictions that limit in-person group gatherings, prohibit SUNY Cortland students from volunteering, and keep YWCA staff from running the program in local schools. Currently, 140 children are enrolled but only 20 have active mentors. Your donation can provide the support we need to keep in touch with these families.

Photo: Serenity and her mentor Dottie at a party celebrating the 40th year of the Bridges for Kids program, Jan 2020

Aid to Victims of Violence (AVV)

The only comprehensive victim service program in the county, AVV provides free, confidential services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, and other crimes. It also operates off-site emergency housing and a 24/7 crisis hotline, and offers prevention education programs for all ages. In 2019, AVV received over 4,000 calls. Since the shutdown in mid-March, AVV has seen a marked increase in the need for assistance and has fielded over 2,800 calls in just six months. The need for AVV services continues to grow so your gift makes a difference.

 

Photo: AVV staff members Kaity and Stefania, Apr 2020

Health & Fitness (H&F)

In a typical year, women, men, and children strengthen their bodies, hearts, and minds at the YWCA with robust offerings of exercise, wellness, and aquatics programming for all ages. After a six-month closure, the H&F program is slowly reopening under stringent capacity restrictions. The co-ed weight room and a limited number of group exercise classes are open with reservations, but, finances necessitate the pool remain closed for now. We are exploring innovative options for reopening the pool and expanding fitness/wellness offerings, both in-person and virtually. Your contribution can help.

Photo: Co-ed weight room users, Sep 2020

 

Two ways to make a gift that matters

Thank you for being a friend of YWCA Cortland! No gift is too small. Or too great. For gifts of $100 or more, please donate via the National Philanthropy Day contest and give us a chance to win $10,000! For gifts of less than $100, please donate directly to YWCA Cortland. Find details here.

Thank you for being a friend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Child Care School-Age Supervisor Janice and Summer Recreation program participants on a Friday outing, Aug 2020