History of Achievements

In 2005 YWCA NSW celebrated 125 years of successful operation as a not-for-profit Community Service Organisation - making a difference to the lives of over one million people throughout NSW.

A number of firsts in addressing community needs

• First Home for women immigrating to Australia in 1881
• First Employment Agency for Women in 1890
• First Travellers Aid Program in 1903
• First Savings bank for women in 1904
• First Cafeteria for city workers
• First Women’s Gymnasium in 1912
• First Women to play organised Hockey and rowing
• First Women’s Cricket and Hockey Teams

1939-1944

• Assisted thousands of service men and women through the Open House Program

1945 -1960

• Played a major role in addressing the position of women in society including issues of discrimination and equal opportunity women including education, citizenship and suffrage

1972

• Began working in the newly established Mount Druitt Estate to provide day care, after school activities and special programs for the unemployed

1978

• Established the first Big Sister Big Brother Mentoring Program in Australia

1985

• Opened Refuge Houses in Ashfield and Lewisham to house homeless women and their children

1993

• YWCA’S Emergency Housing Service established and receives its first government SAAP funding through Department of Community Services

1994

• One of the first organisations to become a Registered Training Organisation
• Began the Business Women of Today Breakfasts to promote women’s contribution to business and to provide access to role models for young women

1996

• The YWCA Encore, a unique gentle exercise program for women recovering from breast cancer, commenced in NSW in 1996. It now reaches 20-25% of all women diagnosed in a total of 35 locations across the state, from Central Sydney all the way to Broken Hill.
• 1996 developed the first continuous abuse prevention education program for teenagers. To date this has been presented to almost 30,000 young people in 11 within the Shoalhaven and Wingecarribee areas.
• YWCA commences delivering services within the Shoalhaven region, including Job Placement Employment and Training (JPET)

1997

Started YWCA's Homeless Brokerage Program, in an innovative partnership with City of Sydney Council as to meet the needs of homeless people in Sydney. 2 Houses acquired under the Office of Community Housing for the YWCA’s Emergency Accommodation Service

1998

• Established the Week Without Violence Public Awareness Campaign
• Established a partnership with New Woman Magazine to actively promote positive body image through the No Diet Day Campaign
• Major refurbishment of our inner city property to convert from a hostel to a quality budget hotel

1999

• The YWCA NSW assumes management of the Nowra based Domestic Violence Support Service and the Nowra Women’s Domestic Violence Court Assistance Scheme. To date almost 3,000 women have been supported. 
• Minster John Fahey launches the YWCA's new Employment and Training Facilities in Campbelltown, Camden and Picton
• Y on the Park Hotel becomes one of the leading budget hotels in the city 2000
• The YWCA stages the highly successful ‘From whale bone corsets to g-strings’ a fashion parade of ‘real women’ that affirmed that beauty, health and fitness comes in all shapes and sizes as part of its new Celebrate Your Body Campaign
• A partnership is established with Tyco International to grow and promote the YWCA’s Big Sister Big Brother Program
• YWCA and Woolworth’s join forces to implement programs that support families and children in Lismore 2001 
• Lend Lease donates four large demountables for our Parramatta site – two to house Community Programs and the other two are developed as a high quality Childcare Centre

2002

• Established a ground breaking partnership with Citigroup to address financial literacy education for children and families across Australia
• Long Day Childcare Centre opened in Parramatta to meet the growing need for childcare places.
• Funding for the Homeless Brokerage Service significantly increased under a new contractual arrangement with the City of Sydney as a result YWCA becomes one of the leading providers of homeless services in Sydney
• Alcoa donates a 4 bedroom house to the YWCA’s Emergency Accommodation Service to be used as an exit house for refuge families
• The YWCA receives a 1.5 million dollar bequest from Gerda Schon. The Hotel undergoes another major refurbishment converting rooms to ensuite facilities

2003

• Launched the comprehensive Research Report on Socio Economic Needs and the Social Services Landscape in NSW
• YWCA makes further commitment to Shoalhaven community with the purchase of the building at McGrath Ave 
• Finance First a partnership between YWCA NSW and Citigroup is launched to bring financial education to primary school children and their parents
• Established the first Nowra Domestic Violence After Hours Service to operate out of Nowra Police Station.
• The YWCA conducts a successful campaign highlighting the plight of refugees as part of the YWCA’s Week Without Violence
• YWCA’s Youth Services starts an innovative range of enterprise based education programs for young peopler In the Shoalhaven
• NSW Health commits to funding Encore throughout NSW

2004

• Launched Y It Takes a Village - a new community wide, collaborative model of Service Delivery to overcome generational disadvantage in Lismore, Nowra and Campbelltown
• Rachel Ward raises $500,000 for the YWCA’s Big Sister Big Brother Program through the Mother of All Balls 
• Further funding to the YWCA’s Emergency Accommodation service allows for the delivery of a Weekly Living Skills and Parenting Programs in the refuges 
• Chosen by the Department of Family and Community Services to pilot the Communities for Children Project in Lismore
• The Shoalhaven Youth Enterprise Project produces a Cookbook for all parents called What’s Cooking Good Lookin’

2005

• Celebrated 125 years of women’s Contribution to the Community at a reception hosted by the then Premier Bob Carr and a High Tea with the Governor John Landy at Admiralty House
• 2005 launched the Radiance Club a new Health and Wellbeing Initiative for professional women to nurture their mind, body and spirit.
• The Mother of All Balls is another huge success attracting considerable publicity and funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Finance First wins the State Prime Ministers Award for Community Partnerships
• Win the Communities for Children Project for Murwillumbah
• Luke Lewis becomes the Ambassador for Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Noni Hazlehurst becomes the Ambassador for Finance First
• Picton Employment is ranked first in the Macarthur Area
• Shoalhaven Training Services Work for the Dole Project produces Mum Dad Baby an excellent resource for young parents focusing on life skills.
• Encore After Breast Cancer Program Launches Indigenous Program
• Shoalhaven Creative Re-use Action Project (SCRAP) Shop opens in Bomaderry selling clean re-usable materials donated by local Shoalhaven businesses.

2006

• Purchased a boutique Budget Hotel in the South of the City – Y Hotel City South
• Encore launches in Armidale taking the number of locations to 30
• Picton Employment Services achieves a 4.5 star rating

2007

• Campbelltown Employment Services is Launched