Welcome to YWCA cass clay

women of the year recipients named

The YWCA Cass Clay held its 39th Annual Women of the Year event on Monday, April 30 at the Fargo Holiday Inn. This event honored 43 outstanding women and businesses from Cass and Clay counties whose lives, talents, and passions shape our community. With a record-breaking crowd of 675 guests, the evening culminated in the announcement of the 2012 YWCA Cass Clay Women of the Year recipients in twelve different categories:

*Kim Seeb - Advocating for Equality
*Claudia M. Pratt - Arts & Communication
*Marta Ybarra - Business
*Rape and Abuse Crisis Center of F-M - Business / Organization that Empowers Women
*Linda Clark - Community Service
*Sarah Dodd -Education
*Amy Kippen - Faith Community
*Megan Riegel - Volunteer Service
*Dr. Susan Farkas - Wellness
*Kate Wiste - Young Woman of Today & Tomorrow
*Susan K. Smith - Youth Advocacy
*Julie Blehm, MD - Lifetime Achievement – Florence Reed Owens

participating in the fargo marathon? join team ywca!

In the past two years, 952 GoFarCharity runners and walkers have raised a total of $281,000 for various local and regional charities. We encourage everyone - from seasoned marathoners to first time 5K walkers - to join Team YWCA.

GoFarCharity benefits include training shirts, race day singlets, and other incentive prizes from the YWCA; exclusive use of the ballroom at the FARGODOME on race day for gear storage, post-race massages, a post-race family meeting area, and much more! Register for the marathon by visiting their website; then, join Team YWCA by completing our registration form. For more info, email Amber here or call her at (701) 232-3449.

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 2012 community collaborators

thank you to our 2012 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.

Childbldg
A Child's World