Ostensibly, it was celebrating a holiday “toy drive” to benefit YW’s Nurse-Family Partnership, a program that sends registered nurses into the homes of struggling mothers-to-be.
But to YW CEO Jennifer Ware, Tuesday night’s Holiday Happy Hour at the Komali restaurant was more about raising awareness of the group than raising funds.
A “friend-raiser,” as she put it.
“We’ve kept ourselves a secret for too long, so we’re trying to get the word out,” Ware said. “Today is kind of our ‘coming out’ party.”
The party may have been overdue.
Few may know that YW is short for Young Women’s Christian Association, an organization that is distinct and separate from the YMCA. Instead of running weight rooms and putting people up for the night, YW specializes in addressing the critical needs of women, helping them become self-sufficient.
With programs including the nurse partnership, financial empowerment services, and women’s healthcare, the 105-year-old local group depends on foundations, corporations, and individuals for its roughly $3.7 million annual budget.
But, it’s begun thinking about a capital campaign, too.
Reason: While it only has a modest, crowded office off Central Expressway now, what’s really needed is a “center for women,” where women in Dallas could come for services, Ware said.
Such a center, she added, would take “a couple of million,” to start.
But, that’s down the road. On Tuesday, those who showed up mainly had Komali’s hors d’oeuvres and great drinks—and holiday cheer—on their minds.
Among the guests helping fill the YW toy box, or exchanging words of encouragement, were Dre Chatterji, Tara Allison, Patricia Gregory, Shelley Swan, and Karla Chavez.