YWCA

what we do

Young women take part

YWCA is the leading voice for girls and young women: they are central to our work and the decisions we make.

Young women are at the heart of our organisation, from campaigning to interviewing staff. For example, a number of young women helped us recruit our Chief Executive.

We regularly hold events where young women from our centres meet to talk about the things that matter to them and tell us what needs to be done to help them.

Many young women struggle to make themselves heard. Our Wise up programme gives girls the skills and confidence to speak directly to MPs and Ministers, give TV, radio and press interviews, hold events and deliver group sessions.  

Michaela's experience

When YWCA Kirkby needed a new outreach worker they asked Michaela to help with the interviews.

Michaela is 23 years old and has two young children. She regularly attends YWCA Kirkby’s Sticking together achieving results (STAR) steering group.

She says: “As this was a new experience I felt a little nervous. The staff who were interviewing with me made me feel comfortable and at ease.

“If I had the opportunity I would take part in more interviews. I really enjoyed staff listening to my opinions and feeling like they mattered.

“I learnt all about the interviewing process and the importance of being able to listen and to communicate well. I also learnt that I can adapt and fit into any situation.”

Sherelle's experience

Sherelle was invited to present an award at the prestigious Women in public life awards ceremony in London.

The annual awards ceremony celebrates the achievements of women in the public eye and includes awards such as MP of the year. Sherelle presented the award for businesswoman of the year to Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder and director of Kids Company.

Sherelle and YWCA’s Sue Ware and Helen Berresford also met double paralympic gold medallist, Sarah Storey OBE who gave an inspirational speech about her journey to becoming such a successful athlete. They even got to hold the gold medals!

Sherelle said: “It was an amazing opportunity to present the award and meet so many inspirational women who campaign to make a difference to the lives of others. It was so much fun and I was so glad to be a part of it.”