vision:
The YWCA envisions a network of women of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds working together to build more fulfilling lives, promote racial justice, and reinvigorate communities throughout the Greater Baltimore area.

local, national, and international scope:
Founded in 1883, the YWCA of the Greater Baltimore Area, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with programs in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, northern Anne Arundel County, and Harford County. We are affiliated with the national YWCA, which has 2.6 million members in 300 local associations. The national YWCA works on behalf of all local Associations to advocate for national programs and policies to empower women and eliminate racism. We are also part of the World YWCA, which has over 25 million members in 122 countries working to advance the welfare of women worldwide. The YWCA is the world's oldest, largest multicultural women's organization.

programs:
With an annual budget of $2.6 million and over 60 employees, the YWCA offers a variety of programs in the areas of affordable childcare, housing, the economic empowerment and advancement of women, and racial justice. Our programs are summarized below.

Homeless Services--Stabilizing Vulnerable Populations through Supportive Housing
From our inception, the YWCA has provided housing and services to meet the needs of at-risk women and children. We opened and operated the state of Maryland's first emergency shelter for women, as well as Baltimore City's first convalescent care center for medically fragile homeless women. From 1981 through 2007, the YWCA was the largest provider of emergency shelter beds for homeless women in Baltimore City. We continue to provide supportive housing to the most vulnerable members of our community through a transitional supportive housing program for 23 families in Baltimore City. Our new permanent supportive housing program for chronically homeless, disabled women in Baltimore County will provide an innovative supportive housing model in a facility that has been renovated to meet stringent green standards. This program will emphasize sustainability and cycles of renewal as means of helping long-term-homeless women achieve stability and rebuild satisfying, secure lives.

Providing Affordable, High-Quality Care for the Children of Working Families
The YWCA's comprehensive affordable daycare programs provide year-round, all-day care to infants and toddlers, helping working families in Baltimore City and northern Anne Arundel County to make ends meet. The YWCA's Upton Childcare Center serves 74 children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old from low-income families in inner-city Baltimore. In partnership with the Baltimore City Childcare Resource Center, the Upton Center offers a Head Start program and the Creative Curriculum. The Upton Center works with children to support their physical and social development and implements the Baltimore City Public School System's curriculum for three- and four year-olds. Like the Upton Center, the YWCA's North County Childcare Center, in northern Anne Arundel County, provides daycare for infants and toddlers year-round, working with the public school system and other resources to ensure that the children enter school ready to learn. The YWCA is currently exploring ways to expand the services available to the community at large, for parents as well as children, through the North County Childcare Center.

Pre- and After-School Programs
The YWCA offers before- and after-school care programs for children ages 5 to 12 in the following elementary schools outside Baltimore City: Reisterstown and Timber Grove in Baltimore County; Hickory, Joppatowne, and Forest Lake in Harford County; and Overlook, Linthicum, Sunset, and George S. Cromwell in northern Anne Arundel County. Program activities encourage academic achievement, creativity, and physical fitness.

Advancing Racial Justice and Promoting Diversity
The YWCA is in the planning phase of a three-pronged initiative to address race, race relations, and diversity at the grassroots level as well as within area institutions. Through a partnership with Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, we will test a new education and training program to address diversity and race relations in the workplace. With the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, we will offer new racial justice programming to thousands of children in our service area. Finally, for the community at large, we will launch a Web-based portal to facilitate grassroots organizing, advocacy, partnerships, creativity, and communication about race relations and diversity.

Activities will include driving public opinion polling and survey data to state lawmakers to advance improved public policies on issues such as hate crimes.

Honoring and Promoting Leadership
Women's Leadership--Every year in May, the YWCA's Leader Lunch event pays tribute to extraordinary women leaders in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Selected for their accomplishments in business, education, and civic life, these honorees exemplify the YWCA's tradition of leadership--combining professional excellence with a personal commitment to helping others. Leader Lunch honorees collectively form the YWCA's Academy of Leaders, a group of over 70 inspired women awarded in previous years. Our Women's Leadership Initiative will connect the Academy with opportunities to share their expertise and insights with the next generation of young leaders throughout the greater Baltimore area.

Youth Leadership--Spearheaded by the YWCA's Morgan State University program, the Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) will serve as model for activating YWCA programs on college campuses throughout the region. By channeling the energy, creativity, and intelligence of college students to address the needs and concerns of their communities, the YLI will be a powerful addition to the YWCA's movement to end racism and empower women.

Program Statistics 2007 - present
Over 85 percent of families who exited our transitional housing program moved into stable permanent housing Our emergency shelter in Baltimore County served over 350 women and children in crisis over the last two years, providing more than 20,000 bed nights, tens of thousands of meals, and a rich array of supportive services 95 percent of residents of our emergency shelter successfully transitioned to stable housing with steady incomes and employment Each year, the YWCA cares for over 400 children from a variety of settings, from inner-city West Baltimore to suburban Harford County According to recent Work Sampling test results, children at the Upton Center have achieved major improvements in key pre-literacy and school-readiness areas 95 percent of children at our Upton Center are from low-income families eligible for free meals through the Maryland State Department of Education; the other 5 percent are eligible for reduced-price meals 150 Morgan State University students are active participants in the YWCA's Youth Leadership Initiative.