YWCA Southern Arizona
YWCA Southern Arizona is a community resource serving Tucsonans in need.
About YWCA Southern Arizona
YWCA Southern Arizona is a Tucson-based community resource focused on eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. Established in 1917, five years after Arizona gained statehood, the organization was founded by women committed to progressive values and to building a more inclusive community. Today, it serves Tucson and Southern Arizona through programs, advocacy efforts, community events, and opportunities for people to take part in local efforts related to racial justice, gender equity, economic security, and the well-being of women and families.
The organization describes itself as a local association of YWCA USA, a grassroots nonprofit independently governed by a local board of directors. Its work is centered on women's needs and issues, with programs that are inclusive of trans and non-binary people. The YWCA also recognizes the role men play in eliminating racism and empowering women, welcoming trans and gender-nonconforming people, as well as men, onto its staff and board. It is separate from the YMCA and is not a religious organization, although the wider YWCA movement has historical roots in progressive Christian values.
YWCA Southern Arizona's current program areas include SNAP-CAN, the Women's Business Center, Pima County Teen Court, the Dr. Laura Banks-Reed Center for Gender & Racial Equity, the ReRoot Cohort, Your Sister's Closet, and Project Period. The organization also offers facility rentals and opportunities to volunteer, donate, receive its newsletter, and take action around community concerns. Its public programming has included film screenings, candidate forums, panels on issues affecting women, families, and BIPOC communities in Arizona, and an annual Women's Leadership Conference.
Its history in Tucson includes work that helped meet practical needs while advancing broader social change. Before locally built municipal swimming pools emerged, the YWCA was the only place where children of color could learn to swim, according to the organization's history. It provided the region's first child daycare centers for working families and its first domestic violence shelter. The Big Sisters component of Big Brothers Big Sisters also began as a YWCA program. Over the years, the organization has worked in coalitions on environmental crises, gender and racial justice, antiviolence efforts, and local economic development.
YWCA Southern Arizona moved from its original building at Fifth Avenue and University Boulevard to the Frances McClelland Community Center in West/Central Tucson in 2007. In 2015, YWCA of Tucson formally became YWCA Southern Arizona, reflecting the reach of its programming. The organization also operates at the House of Neighborly Service in South Tucson, and together the two locations welcome nearly 50,000 visitors annually for classes, public forums, arts and theater, conferences, community events, and meetings. During the pandemic, the YWCA continued offering programs and services virtually, distributed more than $9 million in pandemic relief grants to small businesses and domestic violence survivors through City of Tucson funding, and received recognition for its social impact and business support work. Tucsonans can begin by exploring the organization's program areas, community events, and volunteer or donation opportunities.