The YWCA
Eliminating Racism and Empowering Women

The mission of the YWCA is to eliminate racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Each year the YWCA celebrate women who exhibit the qualities of their mission.

The five women who will be honored this year are Christine Chen, Monica Benoit-Beatty, Ruby Fisher, Sheryl Cole, and Shubhada Saxena. Each woman bring qualities to their individual businesses and their lives that show how they love their communities. They uplift, challenge and empower women to be their best and do their best at all times.

The YWCA was founded in 1885 by the Young Women Christian Association at UT Austin. They have grown over the years and celebrated their 100th birthday in 2007. They now offer several programs that assist women in moving forward through education and counseling and referral services.

To learn more about the YWCA and how you can donate your time or a monetary gift, go to http://www.ywca.org.

Ujima will highlight each honoree throughout the week. I hope you take the time to read and share their stories. They are very inspirational women and by listening to each story I was definitely inspired.

Damita Miller-Shanklin
Publisher of Ujima