With every day presenting a new challenge, COVID-19 continues to impact our lives in a wide variety of ways. Many of us are currently stuck at home and wondering how we can help our community members most in need. Check out the tips below for how you can aid YWCA women and families at this crucial time.

DONATE SUPPLIES & GIFT CARDS

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YWCA is committed to remaining open during this outbreak, as many of our services are essential and lifesaving. However, like many of you, finding enough supplies to keep our spaces safe and hygienic continues to be difficult.

If you would like to donate supplies to YWCA, here’s what we currently need:

  • Cleaning supplies for ongoing maintenance of office, shelter, and apartment spaces
  • Baby formula, diapers, and baby food to support families in our programs
  • Gas cards to help YWCA program participants get around safely
  • Grocery store gift cards for our food bank and program case managers

Here are ways you can deliver or drop-off in-kind donations for YWCA:

FINANCIAL DONATIONS

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Beyond supplies and gift cards, financial donations still make a huge impact in our work. In order to protect public health, YWCA had to cancel and reschedule our spring Luncheons, which normally marks our biggest fundraiser of the year. While we are excited to reconnect with our community when it’s safer later this fall, there are funds that we currently need to keep our spaces open for those who need them.

Funds are needed for deep cleaning our shelter and shared community spaces at all of our locations. Almost all of YWCA’s 22 locations across King and Snohomish counties have shelter or other kinds of living spaces, as well as shared kitchen and common areas. In order to make sure we’re cleaning them to the best of our ability, we contract out specialty cleaning services, which is highly effective but can be expensive.

You can make a one-time or recurring gift today.

NONPROFIT SUPPORT CHECKLIST

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Giving Compass has a great list of ways donors can support the nonprofits in your community. They include:

  • Check in with the organizations you support
  • Maintain or increase funding levels
  • Think about “safety net” organizations
  • If you are able, volunteer
  • Find ways to support the staff
  • Contribute to coordinated community efforts

TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF

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Any kind of support we at YWCA receive is gratefully accepted and appreciated! We know these are scary times for all members of our community, but we also know that we are resilient and we will survive. Make sure you take care of yourself before helping others to avoid burnout. Check out the self-care tips in some of our previous blog posts:

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Annalee Schafranek

Annalee Schafranek is the Marketing & Editorial Director at YWCA. She contributes agency news, press releases, and media coverage to the website. Annalee’s educational and professional experience has always focused on the place where gender equity and media meet.

YWCA

We share the stories of our program participants, programs, and staff, as well as news about the agency and what’s happening in our King and Snohomish community.

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