Clarifying misperceptions of the YWCA and YMCA

Dear Editor:

I write with great hopes of clarifying a common misperception that leads to repeated mistakes and misunderstandings! Twice this week alone, articles in local newspapers incorrectly attributed work being done by the YWCA Orange County to the YMCA. Unfortunately, it is a frequently re-occurring mistake that I hope to diminish while educating as large an audience as possible!

There is only one YWCA in our county – the YWCA Orange County. While our office is currently located in New Windsor, we serve over 5,000 women, girls, and families throughout Orange County. We work on a variety of issues addressing sexism and racism, and the inequities that result from these two societal ills. We run programs that deal with women’s economic advancement, racial justice, women’s health, violence against women and family support. We no longer own nor operate the fitness facility in New Windsor.

While there are two YMCA’s in the county (Middletown and Newburgh) doing some great work, we are NOT affiliated with them in any way and do not share programs, staff or resources. We are affiliated with the YWCA-USA and the World YWCA, the world’s largest women’s membership organization, representing 25 million women in 122 countries (including 2.6 million women in the U.S.).

Thank you for allowing us this space to clarify the facts and educate as many people as possible! The entire Board of Directors and staff take great pride in the work we do at the YWCA and hope others may be interested in joining our efforts – now that we’re clear on just who we are and just what we do!

Christine Sadowski

Executive Director,

YWCA Orange County