Three Thousand, six hundred and fifty days.

I consider myself lucky. Crazy lucky. For lots of reasons. The family I was fortunate enough to be born into. The family I was fortunate enough to assemble. Some of those I am lucky enough to get to work with, either daily, or on an occasional basis. I have been fortunate enough to get up every morning and go to a job that I love. In a couple of short weeks I will celebrate my 10 year anniversary here. I love the YWCA because it’s been good to me – personally and professionally, but way more than that I love it because of how much life-changing good “it” is to others. I get to do my tiny part to make the women and families we serve have more. More hope. More self-sufficiency. More opportunity.

It is a beautiful thing to get to tag along to such great work being done in this building. To say that I somehow have a small part in it all is an invigorating thing. During my time here we have experienced so much change. I have had pretty much every job not in direct program service-delivery here (somewhat of an exaggeration, but I’ve had a lot during those 10 years!). Ten years! That's a mighty long time - and it's swished by like a minute. Through the years, I have had many coworkers who have come and gone and volunteers who have done the same. Many are still here and I am proud to call them my family. The programs have evolved to remain relevant and vital and the vision has a sharpened focus, but the mission has remained steadfast. The work we do, although it looks somewhat different, has remained focused on the needs of women and children, which has been a steady calm in an ocean of change for both my professional and personal life. My children were 6 and 8 when I started at the YWCA. They have literally grown up here. They both volunteer regularly (volunTOLD as they affectionately like to call it). I have celebrated lots of personal milestones, and some heartaches during that ten years. I have seen residents leave here, get married here, have their babies and come back, watched them grow, and transform and believe me – having a front row seat for that is life-changing. I have literally watched lives transform. I have watched children learn to tie their shoes, and get the framework for learning in elementary school. These same children who otherwise would have started kindergarten having to play catch-up, simply because they weren't economically blessed at birth. I have seen brides play out their childhood dreams here in our beautiful building. I have seen an ice cream venture come and go, a Resale Shop flourish, events be crazy wildly successful and others happen. We have had lots of successes and have learned through some failures. I have worked with women (and a few men!) on a regional and national basis doing the same work in their own communities we are doing here. I have watched the women who work here (and a few men!) grow and be empowered and improvise and retool. I am forever changed by being given this front-row seat and have loved the ride. Every day is not sunshine and roses, there are opportunities for growth that are sometimes painful, but it’s a beautiful place to be and I am grateful to have a part to play.

If you are one of the few I have not asked to be involved, but would like to – let me know! Obviously I love the YWCA and the amazing work we do here but everyone has their own loves and I am not silly enough to think everyone’s passions are the same. Be a part of something that makes your heart smile. Even if it’s just for a second. You never know the ripple effect that will have. For you and for those you may help and mostly for those that are watching you to know how they are supposed to do it.