I was looking for a way to give back to the Austin community, but in a way that would make lasting, macro-level changes. I found YWCA and have had the pleasure of serving as a volunteer grant writer and researcher for this agency. During my time in this role, I have become increasingly aware of the number of people and communities YWCA supports. I thoroughly enjoy the work that I do for YWCA, and I see first-hand the work that goes behind the programs and events that directly support our mission.
Review from Guidestar
The executive director and staff are so committed and awesome, and coupled with great volunteers and board, make it a great organization.
The YWCA Greater Austin continues to bring cutting-edge continuing education to the counseling community. They are part of making Austin a great community and place for healing, hope, and change. The staff has always been very loving and friendly. I recommended their classes and becoming a member.
For over 100 years, the YWCA Greater Austin has served the Austin community in so many ways. From providing free breakfast for school children; offering the first out-patient substance abuse programs for women in Texas; engaging in a student "sit-in" at a Rexall Drug Store lunch counter to oppose segregation in the 50s to now providing low cost mental health counseling for women and their families; offering youth groups for middle school girls; honoring women leaders in the community; and, offering professional trainngs for mental health providers, the YWCA has made a big difference in our city. I am proud to be a member and donor of this great organization for over 30 years. I feel that giving to the YWCA Greater Austin is making our community stronger by helping women and their families create better and healthier lives. It is amazing what outstanding and life-changing work can be done with such devoted staff and little money. It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway; The YWCA Greater Austin is the best!
The YWCA Greater Austin is an outstanding organization because its staff and volunteers are dedicated to making a profound impact in the lives of Austin women. The YWCA offers great counseling services at very affordable prices.
The YWCA of Greater Austin helps women who are changing their lives who otherwise might not be served. Culturally sensitive services are offered to women and their families at an affordable cost.
I benefit from referrals to my independent practice and more importantly have taken continuing
education credits through the YWCA Greater Austin. I am able to receive ethics credits as well as learn new mental health practices from colleagues throughout the Austin area.
In short, the YWCA offers MUCH needed services to women that would otherwise not be able to receive them. There are general health, wellness, mental health, and life skills programs that help women... in turn women are the main driving force within ANY healthy community. Programs that benefit women benefit everyone at large because women are conduits. There are also stellar youth and mentorship programs servicing young people.
The YWCA of Greater Austin has a stellar herstory of activating the Y 's mission with integrity and Grace. Their commitment and impact is integral to what makes Austin a great city. I am proud to have served as a Contractor for the YWCA of Greater Austin, and to have been served by it's programs.
The YWCA of Greater Austin provides culturally sensitive services to women and their families at very low cost. Its staff goes above and beyond to provide support and referral services to everyone who comes in contact with them. I highly recommend it to clients and everyone I know might need an agency like the YWCA.
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I worked for the YWCA for about 4 years as their bilingual-therapist. I have worked in many other great non-profits in my experience as an LCSW but my experience at the YWCA Greater Austin was my best of all. Not only I got super clinical supervision from Pam Schott, LCSW; but I also witness first-hand the commitment and dedication of the Executive Director, Diana Gorham and the rest of the non-clinical and clinical staff. The YWCA Greater Austin makes a difference in people's lives by providing meaningful services to children and families at a very low cost. I was honored to be part of this organization as an employee in the past and as a volunteer in the present.
For over 100 years (a long time for a non-profit!), the YWCA Greater Austin has served women, girls and their families through its counseling and youth services with compassion, sensitivity and professionalism. It’s a great place to work…a great place to receive help as a client…and a great place to support through your donations. The staff is always friendly, kind and welcoming. When you go through the doors of the YWCA Greater Austin, you feel like you have come home.
I volunteer with the YWCA of Greater Austin as a member of its Board of Directors. In 2011 I had the honor of leading the Board and the organization in advancing the YWCA’s mission of empowering women and eliminating racism. It is truly a fulfilling and inspiring opportunity to be working among a community of women that advocates and supports the empowerment of all women and their families through health and family services, education, and advocacy on a local and national level. I have gained invaluable experience in the non-profit industry through this leadership role, and have a tremendous amount of gratitude for the staff members that truly work in the trenches on a daily basis.
The YWCA of Greater Austin stands as a beacon of possibility for women who otherwise might not have the opportunity to gain access to some of the terrific services they provide. I know of three friends who were survivors of sexual abuse and had nowhere to turn to get therapy for their issues, which were deeply affecting their abilities to work and be in relationship with other people. Because of the amazing programs the YWCA provides, these women were able to reclaim their lives and their relationships. I am so glad we have these types of services available in our community. The staff they've assembled is extraordinary in their commitment to women's lives and our community is deeply enriched by this amazing organization.
The YW and I go back so far, I don't remember a time when I did not hold it dear. I remember when the YW was affiliated with UT and housed on the "Drag" in Austin. Over the years I have been proud to have been the faculty liaison from the UT School of Social Work to work with social work interns in placement there. I have attended and presented workshops there,and more recently have served on the YW board. Never have I known a more dynamic, dedicated staff or a more competent one. This agency serves women and their families with first class counseling and support programs, after school outreach, day care services and more. Here's to a first class non-profit and leader in our community! Bonnie L. Bain, LCSW
The YWCA is a vibrant part of the Austin community offering services to clients as well as trainings for professionals. I had the privilege of working there twenty years ago, which was life-changing for me as a staffer and I am still a fan and supporter. I continue to be amazed at all of the good work they accomplish with very little money. They have been at the forefront of helping women and their families through crises of all kinds and I hope they receive the recognition they deserve.
The YWCA is not only an impatcful, counseling asset to our community, but also a wonderful source of learnign and training to those wanting to make a difference. As a graduate student of psychology, I have had the privelege of taking continuing education seminars in which I am gaining skils I would not have otherwise learned in the classroom. I look forward to interning with the talented YWCA counselors this January and continuing to grow my relationship with this institution.
The YWCA of Greater Austin not only does a fantastic job of serving low income women, but also has a ground breaking program for women vets! They support the psychotherapy community by offering outstanding professional trainings on a monthly basis as well as coordinating the Somatic Experiencing trainings. There are not many agencies with the YWCA's level of out reach to both clients and therapists. I am proud to be a supporting member of the YWCA of Greater Austin and have benefited tremendously by participating in their professional programs!
The YWCA of Austin is an exceptional institution. They provide an array of effective and targeted interventions to low-income people from all backgrounds. I know this because many of my doctoral students do practicum placements where they get to see the power of clinical interventions out in the community. They also have a powerful, dynamic speaker/workshop series addressing multicultural issues and in this way serve to inform the community. I am enormously impressed by what they accomplish year in and year out.
I had the privilege of receiving a year of my clinical practicum training in counseling with the YWCA. Their training program is fantastic, and I was exposed to feminist and relational-cultural counseling approaches that continue to impact the way I approach my work with clients. YWCA offers tremendous resources to the community and fosters an empowerment model for helping women and their families. Above all, the YWCA is an organization with great heart. The commitment and enthusiasm of the staff pervades the organization; they are there because they want to be and they believe in their work. That makes all the difference!
The YWCA Greater Austin does a fantastic job of providing counseling services for women, and for counselors who are getting started in their careers. They reach women who may not otherwise be able to get the help that they need. As a volunteer I have enjoyed working with the staff to raise funds to support all of their programs.