Women - EmBe - Page 2

100-Year Sunday Story: Working Women

Mikena VanLiere2022-09-04T13:38:15-05:00

As we honor Labor Day at EmBe, we’re reflecting on the women laborers. The YWCA has always been in support of working women. Since its beginning, the organization has been there to support industrial women, advocate for women’s rights, and declare equal pay. YWCAs worldwide helped with the representation of labor units and the empowerment of women entering the workforce. This story will help to illustrate some critical aspects of the history of the working woman and the YWCA. United War Work Campaign One of the first significant efforts the organization started to help the working woman was the United [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: Working WomenMikena VanLiere2022-09-04T13:38:15-05:00

100-Year Sunday Story: Amanda Clement

Mikena VanLiere2022-08-20T19:53:00-05:00

Beginning Years: Amanda Clement was born in 1888 in Hudson, South Dakota. Amanda was familiar with strong women her entire life. Her dad died when she was seven, so Amanda watched as her mother stepped up to the plate and took on the challenge of raising two children alone. It was a social crime to parent kids without a man in the house, let alone a young boy. However, Amanda watched as her mother ignored the critics and raised her brother and herself all alone. Amanda grew up playing sports with her brother, Hank, but her favorite was baseball. There was [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: Amanda ClementMikena VanLiere2022-08-20T19:53:00-05:00

100-Year Sunday Story: Strawberry Festival

Mikena VanLiere2022-08-13T12:18:43-05:00

Throughout its history, the YWCA of Sioux Falls has hosted countless fun events for the community that work to raise money for the organization's scholarship fund. One of these events was the Strawberry Festival of 1962. This event occurred on May 24, 1962, at the beginning of the strawberry season. The festival was a day-long celebration that featured many exciting activities. The highlight of the festival was the bake table. Throughout the event's entire duration, a giant table was set up on one side of the room. This table held a large variety of strawberry-flavored treats and drinks. People were [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: Strawberry FestivalMikena VanLiere2022-08-13T12:18:43-05:00

100-Year Sunday Story: Louisa Mitchell

Mikena VanLiere2022-08-06T13:29:17-05:00

As EmBe celebrates its 100th anniversary, we are digging through our history to discover some of the trail-blazing women who defined our values and shaped our history. While looking through the archives, one name popped up repeatedly, continuously doing good for the community and shaping the YWCA into what it is today. This woman was one of the organization’s first members, one of the most influential figures in the Sioux Falls civil rights movement, and one of the most prominent beauty figures in South Dakota history. For our Sunday Story this week, we’re highlighting the life of Louisa Mitchell! Beauty [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: Louisa MitchellMikena VanLiere2022-08-06T13:29:17-05:00

100-Year Sunday Story: The YWCA’s Womanless Wedding

Mikena VanLiere2022-08-01T09:53:08-05:00

Just six years after its opening, the YWCA put on a production guaranteed to grab the attention of the Sioux Falls Community – The Womanless Wedding. The two-hour-long play took place at the Coliseum on April 21-22, 1927, with tickets sold for 50-75 cents. The production was breaking records as soon as it was announced, with the most tickets sold on opening day for an amateur production. It was expected to be the funniest play ever performed in Sioux Falls. After two nights of sold-out shows, it was named one of the most successful amateur productions in Sioux Falls history. [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: The YWCA’s Womanless WeddingMikena VanLiere2022-08-01T09:53:08-05:00

100-Year Sunday Story: Supporting Women from Around the World since 1920

Mikena VanLiere2022-07-15T14:49:11-05:00

YWCA’s All Nations Club In 1921 the Emergency Quota Law was passed by the US Congress. This law established the United States’ first numerical limit on the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States. A year after this law passed, the Sioux Falls YWCA created the All Nations Club – a club founded to support new women citizens. Many new citizens felt homesick and lonely, unsure how to engage in American culture. This club aimed to celebrate the members’ home countries while teaching them about the American way of life. Each meeting would center around a different topic. [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: Supporting Women from Around the World since 1920Mikena VanLiere2022-07-15T14:49:11-05:00

100-Year Sunday Story: Typical Girl Does Boy’s Job

Mikena VanLiere2022-07-10T15:58:59-05:00

As part of our 100th anniversary, EmBe is highlighting powerful women from our past! These women remind us to be courageous and strong in our lives, and to follow our passions, even when others are against us. This week’s spotlight is on Diane Powell– a member of the YWCA from the 1940s! On September 2, 1947, Diane Powell became Sioux Falls’ first woman sports editor for a high-school paper. Because of this (and many other achievements), the YWCA named her the Y-Teen representative of the city. She traveled to many cities with this title and connected with other YWCA members. [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: Typical Girl Does Boy’s JobMikena VanLiere2022-07-10T15:58:59-05:00

EmBe Announces Plans for its 100 Year Celebration

Ngoc Thach2022-06-28T21:06:07-05:00

Stephanie Land, the author of the New York Times Bestseller turned Netflix series Maid, will provide a keynote on September 28 to honor the organization’s 100-year-old mission of empowering women, children, and families of the Sioux Empire. Sioux Falls, SD (June 23, 2022) –EmBe, the oldest and largest women’s organization in the region, will celebrate its centennial through a series of events beginning with the organization’s first-ever girls’ summit, Rise2Raise, on August 10 and culminating with a keynote by New York Times Bestselling author Stephanie Land at its celebration event on September 28 at the Washington Pavilion. The nonprofit organization [...]

EmBe Announces Plans for its 100 Year CelebrationNgoc Thach2022-06-28T21:06:07-05:00

EmBe Celebrates Renovated Boutique and Professional Development Center

Ngoc Thach2022-05-24T12:56:01-05:00

EmBe Celebrates Renovated Boutique and Professional Development Center The renovation and relocation project is now complete, giving new life and purpose to 27,000 square feet in downtown Sioux Falls, S.D. Sioux Falls, SD (May 19, 2022) –EmBe will celebrate the completion of a large-scale renovation and relocation project, marking a new era of women’s programming for the century-old nonprofit. Commencing in February, the project included the transformation of 27,000 square feet in EmBe’s downtown facility and relocation of the Dress for Success Sioux Falls Boutique. The renovation was completed earlier this month with Fiegen Construction at the helm. With credit [...]

EmBe Celebrates Renovated Boutique and Professional Development CenterNgoc Thach2022-05-24T12:56:01-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Kelly Ballew – Chief of Staff

Ngoc Thach2022-05-24T08:39:16-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Kelly Ballew - Chief of Staff Just as EmBe can be many things to many people throughout a lifetime, our stakeholders interact with our century-old mission through a variety of programs and roles throughout their EmBe journey. We call it the Circle of Empowerment. Whether participants become donors or volunteers who become team members, everyone we touch finds a way to impact our organization and the individuals we serve positively. While our Chief of Staff is no exception to this rule, Kelly Ballew’s story is exceptional, and we’re finding more than one circle within it. Although Kelly joined our leadership [...]

Staff Spotlight: Kelly Ballew – Chief of StaffNgoc Thach2022-05-24T08:39:16-05:00