Local YWCA Receives $2 Million Donation from Mackenzie Scott
The YWCA of Northwest Ohio
is the proud recipient of a $2 million donation from
national philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The funds, which
were announced last week, will be used for operations and to
seed a $12 million capital campaign at the YWCA.
“Being one of the 384
organizations painstakingly selected to receive a donation
from MacKenzie Scott is truly amazing,” said Lisa McDuffie,
president and CEO of the YWCA of Northwest Ohio. “This
important donation comes at the same time we are launching a
much-needed capital campaign to renovate and improve our
physical plant at the YWCA, and this will serve as the first
major gift to the initiative.”
The donation to the Toledo
YWCA is part of Scott’s plan to give away $4.2 billion in
recent months. It will be split, with $1 million to support
operations and $1 million into the capital campaign. The
YWCA capital campaign, which entered its planning stages in
October, will seek to raise a total of $12 million to
renovate the facility located at 1018 Jefferson Avenue.
“We also are pleased to
announce that our campaign is being chaired by four
outstanding local women – Rita Mansour, Cynthia Thompson,
Sara Jane DeHoff and Lori Johnston,” McDuffie said. “Each of
these women are accomplished leaders in our community, and
we are thrilled they are volunteering their time and talent
to our efforts.”
The original YWCA facility
was built in 1954 and needs updating and renovation. As the
city’s only emergency domestic violence shelter, the current
COVID pandemic has magnified the need for major capital
investment.
The physical environment
we use to shelter primarily women and their children
escaping intimate partner violence is inadequate, and the
sheer size and design for semiprivate housing has proved to
be both challenging and constricting as we try to
accommodate our clients through an unprecedented pandemic,”
McDuffie said.
The planned renovations
throughout the core facility are also needed for the YWCA’s
many other programs and services currently working out of
shared outdated spaces.
“Ms. Scott’s donation
gives us an extraordinary start to this fundraising effort,
which will run through 2021,” McDuffie said. “As the YWCA of
Northwest Ohio marks its 150th year, we are excited about
the opportunity to create a space that will serve the agency
and the vital services we deliver to women and families well
into the future,” said McDuffie.
“MacKenzie Scott’s
generosity has given us a great start to that end.”
Founded in 1870, the YWCA
of Northwest Ohio is dedicated to eliminating racism,
empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and
dignity for all. The local YWCA serves people from 20
counties in Northwest Ohio. In addition to the emergency
domestic violence shelter, the organization provides a wide
range of critical services, including breast cancer
education, screening and support for medically underserved
women, sexual assault services, permanent supportive housing
for formerly homeless women, health education and care
coordination to reduce infant mortality, youth development
and teen pregnancy prevention, and child care resource and
referral. Additionally, the YWCA is a community leader in
promoting racial justice and equity.
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