The Brightside: YWCA, Empowering Delawareans
DELAWARE – One organization in Delaware has been empowering women for generations. With over 100 years of work under their belt, they continue to grow and influence more Delawareans to be their best selves with the right tools and resources. “We really just want to uplift and heal people as much as we can and make sure that we are propelling them forward,” says June Crocket, with YWCA.
YWCA has been helping Delawareans for nearly 130 years. To this day, they’re one of the leaders when it comes to social change. “What we’re trying to do is eliminate racism and empower women and we understand to do that we have to take care of the whole person,” says Crockett.
YWCA offers programs in five key areas, economic empowerment, housing, racial justice, sexual assault crisis, and youth development. Crockett, who is also the Workforce Readiness Coordinator with the WAND (Women Achieving New Directions) program tells 47 ABC, these areas are key to addressing issues that women and people face almost every day. She says, “Sometimes just allowing someone to see themselves a little differently and also see the opportunities that they could have and make them feel resilient and confident to go after them, that always brings us joy.”
Among the numerous opportunities, they provide to help Delawareans, addressing workforce readiness is at the top of their list, especially for moms. “A lot of times people don’t realize especially moms that all that they do, taking care of their kids and running a household and managing work is a lot. Those are skills they may not have on their resume or may not even think of them as employable skills, but they are,” says Crockett.
YWCA’s WAND gives women the tools to take their life and career into their own hands. “So we take a deep dive into making sure that individuals understand that they’re more talented than they think they are, and we really kind of build up their self-esteem,” says Crockett. She adds, “We empower women to negotiate for salaries and really harness skills for interviewing and resume writing, advocating for themselves.”
However, beyond empowering women, Crockett tells us, she understands that helping women also means helping their entire families, and even beyond. “I haven’t encountered a person where I had to say no, I don’t know what we can do for you,” says Crockett. Reiterating the idea that everyone can use some help at some point, and they want to be an organization that can help no matter the need.
Now YWCA is adding another program to their offerings, is Google Career Certifications program. At no cost, Delawareans with a high school diploma or GED can get certifications for IT, marketing and e-commerce, and digital analytics, just to name a few potential directions. “The amount of people, the variety of people that we can offer these programs to is gigantic.” Crockett adds, “Anytime we can provide an opportunity for someone to get more educated, do something they love to do, and be financially stable, that’s a win-win for everyone.”
Crockett also adds, that with the ever-changing world, and a focus on technology, this program is a golden opportunity they’re ready to provide for community members. “We have partnerships with employers who are just waiting for people to get the skills that they need, and that to me is extremely exciting.”
YWCA will have information sessions regarding the google certificates program on Tuesday, September 13th and 14th at 6 p.m. through zoom. They will also provide a soft skills workshop starting October 5th and will continue virtually on the first Wednesday of every month.
For more information on the program, click here. For more information on the organization and other programs they offer, you can visit their website.
