A women’s leadership center is coming to the YWCA, a program that will focus on bolstering self-confidence and assertiveness among women of all ages.
YWCA Clark County intends to make the center a revenue-generating program by charging a fee for workshops, said Sherri Bennett, the group’s executive director. She said it would differ from but complement what Leadership Clark County offers.
Workshops could include helping women recognize the leadership skills and experience they already possess, teaching women to become more decisive, and helping widowed women feel more confident and independent.
Bennett brought up the idea a couple of years ago at a strategic planning retreat, having long been interested in issues and programs surrounding women’s leadership.
In the fall, the YWCA plans to launch pilot workshops using Girls Inc. curriculum. The organization, which has hubs around the country, focuses on helping girls age 6 to 18.
Around age 11 — when girls hit puberty — girls start to lose the spunk they had just a few years prior, and that dip in assertiveness can continue into adulthood, Bennett said. Even within the YWCA’s own board, she’s seen women who are hesitant to take on leadership roles that men readily fill. Research-based programs could help girls keep their spunk, she said.
The workshops will be held in the basement-level community room. Eventually, though, Bennett wants to set up the leadership center in the third-floor attic, which is currently used for storage. Refurbishing the large attic would be costly because an elevator would need to be installed to make it accessible. The building at 3609 Main St. used to be a church before the YWCA moved there in 1997.
Bennett joined the YWCA a few months after they moved into the building. She learned that before her time, the YWCA had a bingo parlor and a thrift store to try to generate program revenue. The organization is most well-known for its domestic violence and sexual assault support programs. Most programs run at no cost to the client.
The women’s leadership center, then, would be a business experiment, providing a service that jibes with the mission of the YWCA and potentially a source of profit.
