YWI Celebration & Policy Forum

Come join us to celebrate our second cohort of the Young Women’s Advisory Council and hear about the amazing work they have done!

In 2024, the Women’s Fund SouthCoast launched our new Young Women’s Initiative (YWI). This initiative, originally stemming from the Obama Administration’s White House Council on Women and Girls, aims to ensure that more young women, particularly young women of color and gender expansive youth, have the tools to affect change in their communities. Through this national effort, participants develop leadership skills, policy training, career coaching, and learn about the power of philanthropy.

Our Young Women’s Advisory Council (YWAC) consists of 16 youth leaders, ages 14-22, from New Bedford. Meeting 2-3 times a month, they explore advocacy, leadership, and career development while developing an action plan to address community issues. With funding from the Women’s Fund, they are now putting their plan into action.

Thank you to our YWI partners — Island Foundation, Bristol County Savings Bank, Betsy Kellogg, Senator Montigny’s Children’s Fund, Hawthorn Medical Associates, the NY Women’s Foundation, and the Center for Women, Gender & Sexuality at UMass Dartmouth.