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CELEBRATING 15 YEARS - MAY 24, 2008!
The Center for Young Women's Development (CYWD) is one
of the first non-profits in the United States run and led entirely by young women.
From the beginning, we have organized young women who were the most marginalized in San Francisco —
those in the street economies and the juvenile justice system —
to design and deliver peer-to-peer education and support.
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Today we offer a vibrant model for linking youth development and youth organizing, with the mission of providing gender-specific, peer-based opportunities for high-risk, low- and no-income young women to build healthier lives and healthier communities. Our programs work to ensure that young women who have been deeply hurt and excluded — who have been homeless, incarcerated, or otherwise severely impacted by poverty — have a place to heal, achieve self-sufficiency and become positively engaged in their communities. All of our programs have been designed using a holistic approach that recognizes each young woman as a whole person who already has the experience and strength necessary to become a powerful leader and agent of change.
Key to CYWD's success is that it is gender specific and focused on a diverse group of young women who share very explicit experiences that are severely marginalizing and traumatic. Our programs help dissuade the notion that generic youth programs can truly serve all young people, when their lives vary so greatly. The general belief that everyone is welcome in any program usually means that only some will make it, while those most in need will fall away or never walk through the doors at all.
Executive Director
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A LETTER FROM OUR DIRECTOR, Marlene Sanchez
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Greetings!
Your support over the years has provided us with the "fuel" to create and sustain what many thought was impossible. Yes, through our girls-run empowerment programming, young women from every housing project, from every gang turf, from every group home and jail cell around San Francisco are creating transformative changes for themselves, their families, and communities. Having come to The Center for Young Women's Development nearly ten years ago seeking refuge and self-determination, I experienced the breadth, power, and promise of The Center's amazing work. I am one of the hundreds of young sisters that CYWD has trained, employed, and loved — and there is no stopping us now! Now more than ever, we are committed to providing the space for sisters who have survived the streets to resurrect from hopelessness to power. We are steadfast in our determination to ensure that our doors stay open, but we need your love and support to keep us moving. You can help us in our work by clicking this link and giving generously. Marlene Sanchez, Executive Director |
A Mother for Justice
Violette Mejia
Young Women's Development
832 Folsom Street, Suite #700
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone 415.703.8800
Fax 415.703.8818