Blog: community

Image of Tom Sloan, with the Great Ydeas and Sustineo logos

Building communities, one small grant at a time
8 March 2022

YWCA Canberra is pleased to have Sustineo join us again in 2022 as a partner for our Great Ydeas Small Grants Program. With a focus on services that have positive social impacts, Sustineo is a natural fit as a partner for YWCA Canberra. We took a moment to speak to Tom Sloan, CEO of Sustineo, […]

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Connecting women with housing and community
7 March 2022

At YWCA Canberra, we believe that safe, affordable and secure housing is a fundamental human right. That’s why we have been providing housing services to women and families in need in the ACT for 80 years.   We know our services have improved many lives, but rather than us talking about them, we want our client’s […]

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Small grants supported by a bank that goes above and beyond  
28 February 2022

YWCA Canberra is pleased to have Beyond Bank join us again in 2022 as a partner for our Great Ydeas Small Grants Program. Beyond Bank has been an incredible supporter of YWCA Canberra, so we took a moment to speak to Kenyon Neal, Beyond Bank’s local Community Development Manager, about what inspires him about the […]

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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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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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Finding the perfect formula for innovation
18 January 2022

At YWCA Canberra we love to see women and non-binary people excel in all their creative and professional endeavours. We understand that for them to truly thrive, they need to have the right balance of support and resources to help lift their projects off the ground.    In celebration of the opening of our 2022 Great Ydeas […]

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Seven ways to help keep your COVID-19 anxiety at bay this new year!
11 January 2022

With last minute summer plans, and COVID-19 cases rising, it has become nearly impossible to escape the anxieties that come with living through a pandemic.  But do not stress! We’re here to remind you that you don’t have to go through this alone, and there are plenty of precautions you can take to reduce your […]

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