Events

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YWCA 2020 Annual Meeting

Thursday, December 3rd, 2020 @ 6:00 pm
FREE virtual event, donations are welcome

The YWCA Annual Meeting features heartfelt stories of YWCA program participants, the annual business meeting, and election of Board members and officers.

Click here to register today!

Book Club Flyer

Community Reading Circle and Book Discussion

Tuesdays, December 8th, 2020 - January 26th, 2021
5:30 - 7:00 pm
On Zoom

Join us for a community collaborative with the NAACP New Bedford Branch and YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts. Let’s have honest dialogue in a brave space!
Register below for our next 6-week series: Marcus Samuelsson's The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food: A Cookbook.
Space is limited and reserved for the first 50 individuals to register - no exceptions. The registration deadline is December 5th, 2020.

Please contact Jordan Latham at jlatham@ywcasema.org with any additional questions.

Click here to register today!

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2020 Women of Distinction Awards

Thursday, November 19th, 2020 @ 5:30 pm
FREE virtual event, donations are welcome

Join us for our 11th Annual Women of Distinction Awards which recognizes outstanding women in Southeastern Massachusetts whose lives and accomplishments reflect the YWCA’s Mission of eliminating racism and empowering women. Honorees are recognized for their exceptional commitment to improving the lives of women and girls through their leadership, advocacy, and community service, while achieving success in their career fields. Congratulations to this year's awardees!

Click here to view a recording of the event, and click here to view this year's program!

Women of color

Women of Color X Women's Center Wednesdays

Wednesdays @ 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Click here to register for this monthly series

Join us in this Interactive Online Workshop centered around the experiences of Women of Color co-hosted by YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts and facilitated by Laurel A. Berryman.

  • September 23rd: Black Feminism
  • October 14th: Suppressed: The Fight to Vote Centering Black Women in the Fight for Voting Rights
  • November 18th: The Black Renaissance is Female
  • December 9th: Black Women and Self-Care
  • January 20th: Psychological Impact of Racial Stereotyping
  • February 10th: Misogynoir
  • March 10th: Same Class, Different Experience: Deconstructing Race
    and Gender in Schools
  • April 14th: Menstrual & Reproductive Justice
UJJI Post-election panel (1)

YWCA Post-Election Panel

Thursday, November 12th, 2020 @ 10:00 AM
Register at http://bit.ly/YWpostelectionpanel20

We invite you to join us and our panelists as we review the state of affairs post election and outline priorities following the election. Panelists will provide information, resources, and updates on how to support our community during this year of tremendous and seismic changes. Together, we must continue to raise our voices to demand racial and gender equity for our community regardless of who holds power.

Panelists include Gail Fortes (YWCA Southeastern MA), Jennifer E. DeBarros, PhD (NorthStar Learning Centers, Inc.), Lisa M. Lemieux (1199 SEIU), Dr. LaSella Hall (NAACP New Bedford Branch), Andy Pollock (SouthCoast LGBTQ+ Network), Helena da Silva Hughes (Immigrants Assistance Center), and Dr. Juli Parker (UMass Dartmouth Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality)

Missed our event? Not to worry! Click here to watch anytime on YouTube.

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Until Justice Just Is: Understanding Implicit Bias

Thursday, October 22nd, 2020
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
On Zoom

What is Implicit Bias? How can someone's race, sex, age, and other characteristics influence the way we see and treat them even when we are genuinely trying to be unbiased? What concrete steps can we take to help prevent this from happening?

To help answer these questions, we invite you to join us on Thursday, October 22nd from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm for the second event of our monthly Until Justice Just Is Series, a workshop on Understanding Implicit Bias, facilitated by Executive Director Gail Fortes. Attendees will learn more about implicit bias and its impacts, and we will talk about what practical steps we can all take to try to reduce or eliminate it. We will acknowledge our unconscious bias and accept responsibility for it by increasing our understanding of how bias, racism, and privilege operate systematically and together.

Register today!

#EnduringChangeWomen'sMarch

#EnduringChange Women's March

Saturday, October 17th, 2020
2:00 pm
1 Oneida Street, Buttonwood Park Warming House, New Bedford
Please join us on Saturday, October 17th at 2 PM at Buttonwood Park. We will come together to honor and continue Ruth Bader Ginsburg's fight for equal rights, using our collective voice and strength to help ensure #EnduringChange for our community. You are encouraged to wear black or white and we are all required to wear masks and maintain social distance.  This is a non-partisan event and all are welcome. 

If you'd like, you can RSVP for the event here: http://tinyurl.com/EnduringChangeSC.  Though no RSVP is necessary, this will add you to the mailing list and you'll be kept up-to-date on the event.

Be sure to use the hashtag #EnduringChange to share your photos and videos next Saturday!  Let's keep this important conversation going!

For more information, please contact ec.southcoast@gmail.com

What Is Whiteness_ Series

"What Is Whiteness? Exploring White Racial Identity," a seminar and reflective workshop

Wednesday, October 14th and Thursday, October 15th, 2020
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
6:30 - 8:00 pm
On Zoom
In conversations about race and racism in the US, too often “whiteness” is a racial category that goes unexamined. Many white folks have no concept of how, why, and when they became “white,” nor do they have any understanding of the history of US law and policy written along racial lines, to the benefit of “white” people, at the expense of “non-white” people.
This workshop--in two parts--explores that history and its impact on our present reality, wherein we see deep disparities in wellness along racial lines, with “white” folks consistently enjoying better outcomes than their “non-white” peers. Why is this?
The first 90 minutes of this workshop will be a crash course in the origin of whiteness in the US. An in-depth look at the conditions under which our modern racial classifications were created will help participants orient themselves in history, and better understand how race-based policy-making in the United States gave rise to a society that continues to suffer from deep structural inequities along racial lines.
The second 90 minutes of this workshop will be done in smaller cohorts in which participants will be asked to reflect on their own white racial identity: how they became aware of it, what role it plays in their experiences, how it informs their relationship to topics of race and racism, and what can be done to “wield” whiteness in a way that benefits the cause of anti-racism and racial justice in the US.
Click here to read more about our guest trained-facilitator, Aimee Davidson, of YWCA Rhode Island!
Register today as space is limited and reserved for the first 90 individuals to register - no exceptions
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Community Reading Circle and Book Discussion

Tuesdays, October 6th, 2020 - November 10th, 2020
5:30 - 7:00 pm
On Zoom

Join us for a community collaborative with the NAACP New Bedford Branch and YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts. Let’s have honest dialogue in a brave space!
Register below for our next 6-week series: Stacey Abrams' Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America.
Space is limited and reserved for the first 150 individuals to register - no exceptions

Please contact Jordan Latham at jlatham@ywcasema.org with any additional questions.

Click here to register today!

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Women of Color Lighting the Way to Equality

Thursday, September 17th, 2020
7:00 - 8:30 pm
On Zoom

Join us for "Women of Color Lighting the Way to Equality in New Bedford and Beyond," an online panel discussion showcasing the rich legacy of civic engagement of women, especially women of color and young adults. Headlined by Dr. Premilla Nadasan, Professor of History at Barnard College and OAH Distinguished Lecturer, and featuring local civically engaged female panelists, this discussion will highlight the ways that women of color have historically organized to address inequity for women, and how they continue to address issues of class, race, and other oppressions. Be inspired to exercise your rights to be an informed and engaged community member, citizen, and voter. This event is free but registration is required. 
"Women of Color #LightingTheWayToEquality in New Bedford and Beyond" is presented by the New Bedford Whaling Museum and YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts. Support comes from “The Vote: A Statewide Conversation on Voting Rights,” which is a special initiative of Mass Humanities that includes organizations around the state and is made possible by Mass Cultural Council.
Please email Jordan Latham at jlatham@ywcasema.org or call (508) 999-3255 for more information.
Missed our event? Not to worry! Click here to watch anytime on YouTube.
Updated SEMA Town Hall Flyer

Regional Town Hall on Early Education and Care

Thursday, September 3rd, 2020
6:30 – 8:00 pm
On Zoom

Child care providers, educators, and parents from Southeastern Massachusetts will share their personal stories about the struggles of providing and accessing child care during the COVID-19 crisis during a virtual town hall on Thursday, September 3rd, at 6:30pm. During the event, hosted by the Southeastern Massachusetts chapter of the Common Start Coalition, local parents, educators, and child care providers will discuss the need for high-quality early education and child care to be affordable and accessible to all Massachusetts families.

Please contact Jordan Latham at jlatham@ywcasema.org with any additional questions.

Missed our event? Not to worry! Click here to watch anytime.

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We Need To Talk About: White Feminism

Tuesday, August 18th, 2020
6:00 - 7:30 pm
On Zoom

Hosted by YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts and YWCA Cambridge, this virtual workshop is focused on unpacking white feminism and discussing strategies for dismantling it. Readings, videos, and podcast episodes will be shared one week before the workshop. Registration closes at midnight on 8/11/20. This workshop will NOT be recorded and distributed.

Please email Jordan Latham at jlatham@ywcasema.org or call (508) 999-3255 for more information.

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What Is Whiteness? Exploring White Racial Identity

In conversations about race and racism in the US, too often “whiteness” is a racial category that goes unexamined. Many white folks have no concept of how, why, and when they became “white,” nor do they have any understanding of the history of US law and policy written along racial lines, to the benefit of “white” people, at the expense of “non-white” people. This workshop--in two parts--will explore that history and its impact on our present reality, wherein we see deep disparities in wellness along racial lines, with “white” folks consistently enjoying better outcomes than their “non-white” peers.
Click here to read more about our guest trained-facilitator, Aimee Davidson, of YWCA Rhode Island! For additional questions, contact Jordan Latham at jlatham@ywcasema.org
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Stand Against Racism 2020 - Suppressed: The Fight To Vote

Saturday April 25, 2020
7:00 - 8:00 pm
On Zoom

Join YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Alliance of YWCAs on Saturday April 25th for an engaging discussion of the documentary Suppressed: The Right to Vote and ways we can all work to remove barriers to voting and enfranchise individuals, families, and communities. We are #OnAMission to eliminate racism because everyone deserves equity and justice.
Join us this year to take a #StandAgainstRacism

Please email Jordan Latham at jlatham@ywcasema.org or call (508) 999-3255 for more information.

UMD period poverty conciousness raising

Period Poverty Consciousness Raising

Wednesday March 4, 2020
UMass Dartmouth Center for Women, Gender, & Sexuality
10:30 – 12:00 pm

Together YWCA and MassNOW are raising awareness about the I AM Bill, An Act to Increase Access to Disposable Menstrual Products in Prisons, Homeless Shelters, and Public Schools. All are invited to join and learn more about this Bill!

Please email Jordan Latham at jlatham@ywcasema.org or call (508) 999-3255 for more information, or to schedule your own consciousness raising!

IWD2020

2020 International Women’s Day

Thursday, March 5, 2020
YWCA Standish House
20 South Sixth Street, New Bedford, MA 02740
5:00 – 8:00 pm

Come celebrate International Women’s Day with us! Bring your friends for a casual night of networking in New Bedford. A cash bar and refreshments will be available. Please consider bringing a donation of menstrual hygiene products if you’re able!

Please RSVP to Jordan Latham at jlatham@ywcasema.org

LTW Mar12.2020 Ignite Event Flyer

IGNITE: A Youth Showcase of Art Inspired by Historic Women of the SouthCoast

Thursday, March 12, 2020 6:00 – 8:00 pm
New Bedford Whaling Museum
Free!

ART IGNITES HISTORY! See and experience powerful art created by young artists and inspired by remarkable women from history. Many of these original artworks – whether exhibited, written, or performed – highlight the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, honor the unfinished legacy of the women’s suffrage movement, or highlight civically engaged women featured in the New Bedford Whaling Museum project Lighting the Way: Historic Women of the SouthCoast. All pieces included in the IGNITE Showcase are eligible for a cash award based on their relevance, creativity, and originality.

Learn More