Today is a historic day for New York City, the New York Women’s Foundation, and most importantly for girls, young women and trans youth of color in New York City. NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito just announced that the City Council will invest $10 million in the Young Women’s Initiative and that the philanthropic community–a group of foundations led by The New York Women’s Foundation and NoVo Foundation–will match it making for an unprecedented investment of $20 million in girls and young women in New York City.
As you know, the Young Women’s Initiative (YWI) was launched by Speaker Mark-Viverito in partnership with NYWF at our 2015 Celebrating Women Breakfast. We applaud the steadfast vision and commitment of Speaker Mark-Viverito. Her leadership on YWI, the first of its kind in the nation, has propelled great progress within less than a year, making bold investments towards closing the gaps in outcomes experienced by girls, young women and trans youth of color. NYWF is a proud co-chair of YWI, and we look forward to continued partnership with the Speaker, as we work together to build and strengthen cross-sectoral partnerships to support NYC’s girls, young women and trans youth of color.
The investment in New York City’s girls, young women and trans youth of color was just one highlight of an inspiring speech by Speaker Mark-Viverito, which included significant efforts on affordable housing for seniors, maternal healthcare quality and access, language accessibility, and greater support for caregivers.
On the national level, yesterday NYWF and our Prosperity Together partners, 27 U.S. women’s foundations along with the Women’s Funding Network, issued a statement in support of President Obama’s Budget to expand opportunity, promote equality and build economic stability for women and working families in America.
Thanks to your support, The New York Women’s Foundation is continuing this important work with our partners and building on our 29 years of taking a lead role in supporting the girls and young women in greatest need across New York City.
