Welcome to YWCA cass clay

YWCA seeking nominations for Women of the Year

The YWCA Cass Clay will be accepting nominations for the 39th annual Women of the Year through Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Women of the Year event honors special women and businesses whose lives, talents and passions shape the Cass-Clay community. Proceeds from this special occasion financially support the mission and programs of the YWCA Cass Clay. Women of the Year recipients will be named during the event on Monday, April 30, 2012, at 6:30 p.m.. Please consider nominating an outstanding woman or business to be recognized in one of the following twelve categories:

Categories for Individuals

Advocating for Equality
Arts & Communication
Business
Community Service
Education
Faith Community
Florence Reed Owens (Lifetime Achievement)
Volunteer Service
Wellness
Young Woman of Today & Tomorrow (ages 15-22)
Youth Advocacy

Category for Businesses

Business/Organization that Empowers Women

Nomination forms are available at the YWCA Cass Clay administrative offices, located at 3100 12th Avenue North in Fargo or download here. For more information, please call (701) 232-2547.

giving hearts day is tuesday, february 14

Giving Hearts Day is February 14! Dakota Medical Foundation (DMF) wants to inspire you to giveback by matching your gift. On Tuesday, February 14, DMF will match online contributions of $10 or more made to Giving Hearts Day participants up to $4,000. The YWCA Cass Clay has been selected to participate in this opportunity and we invite you to give from the heart!

With your help, the YWCA can raise a tremendous amount of funding to support our mission. If the YWCA is one of the top seven organizations to receive the most online contributions, we will receive additional funding from DMF!

To make a secure online contribution to the YWCA and have your donation matched, simply go to www.impactgiveback.org on February 14 and click on the Giving Hearts Day “Learn More” button. On Giving Hearts Day, you can double your charitable gift and GiveBack with Impact!

collaborative effort protects pets of domestic violence victims

In an effort to provide safety for the family pets of domestic violence victims, the Fargo Moorhead Humane Society, Rape and Abuse Crisis Center, the YWCA Cass Clay, and a local veterinary clinic have teamed up to create the Safe Paws program. The mission of Safe Paws is to empower domestic violence victims to leave abusive households with their family pets and to provide safety for the animals caught in the middle.

Safe Paws acknowledges the richness of the bond between people and their pets, which often provide unconditional love and comfort to adult domestic violence victims and their children. "It is precisely this bond that can become a tool of violence for an abusive partner who is willing to injure or kill a pet as retaliation or to control and terrorize the victims," stated Nukhet Hendricks, FM Humane Society Executive Director. "That is why the Safe Paws program is not only needed, but absolutely necessary to provide a safe home for the family pets while the victims are getting the help they need."

National statistics show up to 48% of domestic violence victims delay leaving an abusive home out of fear for what will happen to their pets. Because victims understand the extent of the harm that their abusers will likely inflict upon their pets if left behind, many victims remain in violent relationships. “A person in crisis has many difficult decisions to make,” said Greg Diehl, Rape and Abuse Crisis Center Executive Director. “We do not want a decision to flee an abusive situation to be based upon whether or not to leave their pet behind.”

Safe Paws has been established to alleviate some of the stresses associated with leaving an abusive household. The collaborative effort will provide dogs and cats with a pre-approved temporary foster home for up to 45 days, the same time frame as families staying at the YWCA Emergency Shelter. "This is a critical addition to our programming as we often see families struggle to leave an abusive situation if they are unable to bring along their family pet to safety," explained Erin Prochnow, YWCA Cass Clay Executive Director. "It's important to support families in this way to keep everyone safe."

Start-up funds for the Safe Paws program were provided by Jordahl Custom Homes, as well through the Red River Area Learning Center's Philanthropy and Youth program. Safe Paws is currently accepting foster family applicants, as well as donations to the program. For more information, contact Nukhet or Heather at the FM Humane Society at (701) 239-0077. To download a foster family application, click here.

Stay up to date on all the happenings at the YWCA, the Emergency Shelter, and A Child's World. Become a fan of the YWCA Cass Clay on Facebook - just click here.

thank you to our 2011 community collaborators

thank you to our 2011 community partners

about the ywca cass clay

The YWCA Cass Clay is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.

The YWCA is a membership organization. Its strength is in the diversity of its membership and joining together to work toward the goal of empowering women. Please join this important mission by becoming a member today. For membership information click here or call (701) 232-2547.

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A Child's World