Blog: Community

Headshot of Dr Anita Heiss, with her name and the She Leads -Conversation Series logo at the bottom of the tile

2022 She Leads In-Conversation Series – 5 Quick Questions with Dr Anita Heiss
12 May 2022

With less than two weeks to go before our first She Leads In-Conversation of the year, we can’t wait for the Canberran community to hear from Dr Anita Heiss and Sarah Burr. This event will be in a conversational format, where two Wirdayuri women will discuss empowerment through education and why the stories of First […]

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Building joyful businesses through small grants
21 February 2022

In 2021, YWCA Canberra and the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) were pleased to award a Great Ydeas Small Grant to Serina Bird to start a new sustainable fashion website, The Joyful Fashionista. We’ve loved watching Serina’s business grow from concept to reality, and were pleasantly surprised when Serina offered to give back to the Great […]

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Housing: the foundation of wellbeing
21 February 2022

There is no other indicator more inextricably linked to improved societal outcomes than housing. That means that our current crisis in housing affordability and supply is also a crisis in community wellbeing.  Impact of housing on wellbeing  Housing is the foundation from which people can connect to the community, economy and essential services, and where […]

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Small grants empowering innovative partnerships
15 February 2022

YWCA Canberra has been pleased to have the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) as a partner for our Great Ydeas Small Grants Program since 2017. Every year, CBRIN has returned with enthusiasm to see what local women and girls are coming up with, so we took a moment to speak to Sharyn Smith, Chief Operating Officer […]

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After all they’ve given, older women deserve better
14 February 2022

Insecure housing, tenuous economic security, and looming stress and burnout: these are the lived realities of too many Canberrans as revealed by YWCA Canberra’s 2021 Our lives: women in the ACT survey.  Our findings reinforced that the lives of many people living in Canberra are defined by economic insecurity and general uncertainty, with COVID-19 exacerbating […]

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Image of a person holding a paper with the trans-inclusive gender equality symbol on it. Above, the text "YWCA Canberra stands with the LGBTQIA+ community" has a background of the trans pride flag.

Statement supporting the rights of gender-diverse people
9 February 2022

YWCA Canberra proudly stands with the LGBTQIA+ community and calls upon members of the Australian Parliament to exercise their vote in support of trans and gender-diverse people. In 2017 with a convincing majority, Australians voted to support same-sex marriage. A journey that had taken decades of lobbying and inconceivable trauma ended in a national celebration […]

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Five things you might not have known about YWCA Canberra
9 February 2022

Have you ever wondered what a typical day at YWCA Canberra is like? Perhaps you’re interested in knowing a little bit more about our programs and what services we can provide.   With no two days the same, it might be easier to ask what we DON’T do!    From running our She Leads programs, our community […]

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Thanks for giving a gift that matters
19 January 2022

It appears that the last two years have not dulled the generous community spirit of Canberrans! In our annual End of Year appeal, we were blown away by how the local community continued to step up to help vulnerable people within the ACT.  At the start of the appeal, we set what we expected to […]

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A perfectly pleasing Prom in the Park
12 December 2021

What better way to bid 2021 goodbye than a youth festival on a summery Friday afternoon where young people can celebrate their authentic selves? That’s exactly what we did with the sixth annual LGBTQIA+ & Allies Prom!   Usually, the Prom is an opportunity for young people to experience a formal style event with a sit-down […]

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Recognising the realities of our lives in Canberra
7 December 2021

We were honoured to launch our second report into the reality of life in Canberra for women and non-binary people, Our lives: women in the ACT. This report, an update from our 2019 publication, was the result of surveying over 1200 respondents living in Canberra. It provides an insight into how life in Canberra has changed over those two years, including the impact of COVID-19 on women’s […]

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