Our mission is to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Our vision is to be a collaborative leader and catalyst for community change. Our core values are justice, social change, freedom, inclusion, and collaboration. Our strategies are to organize, educate, listen, partner, and convene. Our impact is to reduce isolation, close service gaps, create long term social change, and amplify voices of the vulnerable.
YWCA Duluth formed in 1893 to provide education, employment, and housing support for women in the Twin Ports area. Over the years the organization has grown and changed, and our focus expanded. The YWCA has been at the forefront of many of the most critical social movements during our long history. Some highlights include the safety of immigrant women and girls, advocacy for better wages and Social Security for women workers, support for single parents, mentoring programs for girls, breast cancer awareness, and police accountability.
Our staff and board team’s skills include community development, entrepreneurship, executive leadership, women and family advocacy, elected office, public health, finance, the arts, youth education, social enterprise research and development, and marketing. We work as a collaborative team that builds off each other's skills and use a shared leadership model that uses our individual roles, accountabilities, and key performance indicators as guides.
