The YWCA has recently been given an early Christmas present!
On Monday, the YWCA NWT announced that they had received a donation of $25,000, which they will be using to help make improvements to the Lynn’s Place shelter. The donation came from Rio Tinto, the company that operates the Diavik Diamond Mine in the NWT.
Hawa Dumbuya-Sesay, the Executive Director of the YWCA, shared how she felt to receive such a donation.
“It’s really amazing news for us to get this additional funding to help us with the programming we’re doing at Lynn’s Place, and to continue to make sure we meet the needs of the clients, and to keep operations stable in a way, so this funding really helps us.”
Hawa also shared her idea for why Rio Tinto chose the YWCA for this donation.
“We’ve been here for over fifty years, and organizations and community members know the work that we’re doing, and the importance of the work that we’re doing, especially around gender-based violence prevention, supporting women, supporting families to reach their full potential, so it made sense for them to reach out to us.”
She added that this donation is the exact kind of support the YWCA has been looking for at this time of year. With the rising costs of inflation, it can be difficult for the YWCA to keep their programs running and support those who need help.
Hawa then explained how they plan to use the money at Lynn’s Place.
“So, at Lynn’s place, the way we get money to run the place is through the rent, so we charge affordable rent to the clients that are living there, and we also get a little bit of funding through the GNWT, but that’s not enough to keep the operation space going, because we provide 24/7 support to the clients, and the building is staffed 24/7, and so this money will help fill in the gaps where we’re really struggling, which is the staffing issue, and also the programming piece.”
The YWCA also has a Christmas Sponsorship coming up soon, which can greatly help struggling families during the holidays.
