Single Mother of 3 Finds a Place to Call Home

Without a doubt, everyone has had a time that they have needed to persevere though – some may have faced more difficultly than others, may have been affected differently or might have dealt with it differently. We, at the YWCA, would be interested to hear about your experiences and how you dealt with them – you never know, your experience may help another reader or someone at our shelter! For now however, we have our own success story to share about a recent resident of our shelter… Here at the YWCA Minot, a single mother of three children under 10, has finally found her own apartment. She spent week after week looking for day care, calling around with no luck. She found that child care assistance could not be obtained without a job and that a job could not be obtained without child care assistance. How backwards does that seem? She persevered through tears and frustration, and after almost a month was able to get child care.  After that everything fell into place, she obtained a job and was then able to get into an affordable apartment with room for all 4 of them.  The YWCA Minot supported her with help with her deposit, thanks to one of our granting agencies. This young mother really is an inspiration to all those struggling out there.

Promotion & Retirement!

It has been an exciting time for some of our board members recently – one has received a promotion, and another is retiring!

Peggy Johnson has been promoted to Regional Leader at Gate City Bank, and will lead Minot Downtown, Minot Dakota Square, Williston and Mohall offices. Congratulations Peggy!! A native of Harvey, N.D., Peggy graduated from Bishop Ryan High School.

Peggy Johnson’s promotion in our local newspaper.

It was only in February that Peggy was promoted Senior Vice President, so two promotions in 6 months is very impressive! It should also be mentioned that Gate City Bank have freshly baked cookies for their customers…for free – which is pretty awesome!

Then we have board member Caren Barnett, who is retiring! Caren has retired from Minot State University after 14 years as Director of Student Health. Minot State University honored employees who retired at the end of the semester at their Employee Recognition and Retirement Event, which was held in May. Happy Retirement Caren, we hope you enjoy it!!

The YWCA Minot is so thankful to have a variety of dedicated and ambitious women on our Board of Directors.

We wish both Peggy and Caren well in their new endeavours!

North Dakota Oil Boom a Hotspot for Sex Trafficking

Swing Fore Shelter

We are currently in the process of organizing our 5th annual golf tournament! Every year we tour one of the counties the YWCA Minot serves, and this year we are heading to Garrison, North Dakota for a fun-filled day of golf, laughter, prizes and riding around in golf carts! Last year the teams laughed their way around the golf course, celebrating their great shots and taking a much needed Mulligan at times. This year the event takes place on August 10th, so there will be plenty of pictures to follow soon! Community support is always amazing for this event – team registrations fill up quickly, and last year we had an array of business sponsors. Hopefully this year will be just as fun!

Can You Imagine?

Today we have a post from board member Amber Wheeler – Amber can be seen in the picture with the awesome red hair! She importantly highlights the habit many people have of taking things for granted… 

I often try to picture what it’s like… to be homeless, without work, no food to eat. It sends shivers up my spine to think of living in the very thing I run from when carrying groceries from my car… the cold. I jokingly say I’m “hangry” (hungry and angry) when I’m starving… in all reality, I don’t know what its like to truly be hungry. Often times, I’ll walk into my home and hate how dirty I’ve left it and vow to get rid of everything I have just for less clutter. There again, I’m lucky to have that clutter. Its incredible what we take for granted each day. Imagine living in your car, hungry and cold… for most of us, it’s hard to wrap our minds around the thought. 

We have this unofficial motto around the YWCA… that we want to give women a ‘hand up’ not a ‘handout’. As soon as a woman walks through our doors, the work begins. They’re worked with on an individual basis to find work and proper housing. In the meantime, they find comfort in knowing that their car is no longer their home.

We recently held our annual Women of Distinction banquet. Summing it up in one word: success. Success in fundraising for the shelter… success in honoring strong women… success in an overall incredible night. This absolutely, positively, most certainly (you get my point) could not have happened without help from our sponsors. Without your continued support, we wouldn’t be who we are:

Former first lady, Mike Hoeven was the guest speaker. We also heard from two shelter residents (not a dry eye in the house… and yes, I’m a cryer) Nine women and one business were honored for spearheading our agenda in their own communities. Not to mention, the hilarious and witty Chris Kelly from WGO knocked it out of the park as our MC. It was heartwarming to know we’re not alone in our mission to empower women.

If you couldn’t make it this year, there will always be next year! Check out our Facebook page for pictures from this year… we’re facebook.com/ywcaminot. If you attended, thank you! As a board member, it gave me butterflies to look up during dinner and see so many of you there supporting the shelter. You’re allowing these women to have the opportunity to also have a cluttered home and a grocery sprint into their own house… and for that, we thank you!

Sometimes all it takes is a Hand-Up to get back on track…

A letter sent to the YWCA from a previous resident:

 “I wish to heartily thank you for sheltering me at Young Women Christian Association lodging facility, when I was homeless.  I also appreciate the provisions and necessary household materials given to me for use in my new apartment.  I appreciate the trust you had in me.

I want to commend your program for the love that you so lavishly shower on those who are in need.  I am very honoured to be part of this assistance.The list of the things freely given to me are countless.  You, myself and God know about them.

I am convinced that you are rendering a humanitarian service to your fellow-men and doing what God wants you to do through this program, as you have become His outstretched hand of fellowship.”

May Donations

We have received so many generous donations for the women at our homeless shelter since the start of May! Community support has been so amazing – the women of the shelter appreciate all the items. A variety of items have been donated and include make-up testers, toothpaste, clothes, bed linen, socks, and food. It is so important that we are able to give homeless women and children the opportunity to meet their most basic needs. Many come to us in survival mode. A simple pair of socks, or some shampoo can go a long way with someone that has been worrying about where they will sleep or how they will get their next meal. A special thanks to Evolution Salon, Victoria’s Secret, Minot State University, and Mary Kay Cosmetics for their donations. A local middle school also arranged a ‘donations drive’ for the YWCA Minot! The middle school’s motto is to ’empower students’, and encouraging them to do charity work within their local community is the perfect way to do this. Below you will be able to see some of the donations individuals and businesses kindly donated!

Keeping the Tradition Alive

Often, YWCA board members will write a blog about their experiences while serving on our Board of Directors. Here is an amazing account of Brittany Dahl’s contribution to one of our major fundraisers ‘Women of Distinction’. SO much planning goes into events like this, as Brittany knows, and we would like to share it with you! Enjoy!

I first learned about the YWCA from my mother-in-law, Alisa Dahl, who served on the Board of Directors. She had many roles throughout her term as a Director, including the chairperson for the Women of Distinction banquet, the largest fundraiser of the year for the YWCA.

The Women of Distinction banquet honors women in our community that have been nominated by their peers in one of several categories like business, community, and professional. One award is presented for each category. It is a truly inspiring evening–it also takes A LOT of work to make happen!

A few years ago, Alisa asked me to help her with a few things that needed to be done for the banquet, and I was happy to help. My husband and I attended the banquet for the first time that year and we both were blown away, not only by the women that were honored that year but also by a resident who was staying in the shelter at the time. She spoke about her journey before the YWCA and how much it meant to her to have the opportunity to get back on her feet while at the women’s shelter.

Fast forward a year or two and now I’m the one serving on the YWCA board of directors as well as chairing the Women of Distinction banquet. The YWCA board is the first board I have served on. I was terrified to chair the banquet; Alisa Dahl is a tough act to follow!! I could not believe how much there was that needed to be in place in order to have a successful banquet.

I have also had the opportunity to work with an amazing group of women who served on the committee. They dug their heels in and helped me put fires out left and right!! This was the first big event I have ever planned and I received an amazing amount of support and help, all while displaying how green I was in this type of setting. I learned so much, but what I learned about myself would be my biggest take-away from this experience.

YWCA Board Director, Sana Keller and YWCA Executive Director, Gina Gonstad

On the day of the banquet, I was nervous, excited and scared!! All that was left to do was make sure that all the hard work, time, planning and preparation put into the banquet was not wasted as well as make sure the women received their awards. I also wanted to make sure the funds raised from this event were enough to help keep the YWCA of Minot open, operating and able to continue to help women receive the “hand up” they need to take the next step needed to put their lives back together!!

That morning felt so important to me and I thought I would remember every second up to the banquet! I could not have been more wrong. What I remember most is the feeling I felt aftereveryone left, the clean-up was done and I was on my way home. A warmth I had never felt in my life rushed through my body and has stayed there to this day.

I have chaired the next two Women of Distinction banquets which has given me the opportunity to meet some amazing women in our community that might not otherwise be recognized for what they do, because these are “behind the scene” type of women. They don’t feel they need recognition for the inspirational acts they do on a daily basis.  I’ve also been honored to meet the women staying in the shelter and permanent supportive housing. I now consider them my friends. These women are the same as any of us. Circumstances in our lives lead us to places we never thought we would be–good or bad–and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to help in any way I can.

The YWCA board of directors is made up of women with different backgrounds, interests, lifestyles and opinions, all with the same goal…to empower women in whatever capacity needed. Every woman that serves or has served on the board of directors, worked or volunteered for the YWCA has brought their passion and talent to a nonprofit organization that has been serving this community for 100 YEARS!!!

When it comes to the role the YWCA has had in my life, I have so much more that I could say. I hope the take-away message from what I have shared is that the Women of Distinction banquet (and Alisa Dahl) is where my love and passion for the YWCA began. The banquet is the BIGGEST fundraiser of the year for the YWCA.

In addition, I hope I was able to express how the YWCA is so much more than a homeless shelter for women and children!! “Empowering women” is in the mission statement. This does not just apply to the women in the shelter–it applies to all women. I have never felt more empowered and grateful for having the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing organization and group of women!

A little bit about us…

New to WordPress, our first blog post should really let people know what we, the YWCA Minot, is all about – right? So here goes…

The Young Women’s Christian Association of Minot (but you can call us YWCA Minot…) has been in existence since 1915. That is 100 years, this year! We have an Emergency Homeless Shelter, and 7 Permanent Supportive Apartments that are used to assist homeless women and children within the area. We are known as the ‘center of hope’ within the community, and our main aim is to assist homeless individuals, whilst also empowering them.

We strive to give a ‘hand-up’ and not a ‘hand-out’.  We want the women we serve to be empowered, to become self-sufficient, and to journey towards their own independence.  We want them to be able to break out of the homeless cycle.

In 2014 alone, we gave out 3,643 warm beds to homeless women and their children. When the unexpected strikes, a safe place to sleep can mean everything.

On this blog we will share success stories with you, allow you to catch a glimpse behind the doors of the only female homeless shelter in the area, and keep everyone updated with YWCA Minot news!