In Honor of 150th Anniversary, YWCA of Western Massachusetts Celebrated as Bay Path University’s Holiday Charity Partner

Longmeadow, MA—In the spirit of the season of giving, Bay Path University’s annual holiday celebration and Employee Recognition Ceremony boasts a longstanding tradition of presenting a local non-profit organization with contributions from the University community. This year, the University selected the YWCA of Western Massachusetts as the recipient charity. At the event, held Monday, December 17, 2018, three representatives of the YWCA — Executive Director Elizabeth Dineen as well as two Bay Path graduates, Dalila Cardona ’13 and Luz Rivera ’16 — were presented with gifts of clothing and monetary contributions for the organization.

“In the spirit of the holiday season, we must all remember to extend a helping hand to those in need,” President Carol A. Leary, PhD, said. “This year we were proud to salute the YWCA of Western Massachusetts as our ‘adopted’ charity, celebrating its 150th anniversary of serving our region by providing, among their many programs, safe places for women and children in crisis.  The members of the Bay Path community opened their hearts with a collection of clothing and monetary donations.” 

The YWCA of Western Massachusetts is one of 300 local Associations in the United States. For 150 years, the YWCA has served our region, guided by its founding principle: to provide shelter, support services, and tools for self-sufficiency for women and girls in our community. Today, the YWCA provides safe places for women and children in crisis. It offers women counseling, job training, and health and fitness. The YWCA also offers job training to people ages 16-21 who are out of school. In pursuit of its mission to empower women and eliminate racism, the YWCA strives to create opportunities for women’s growth, power, and leadership to obtain peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all people.

The YWCA of Western Massachusetts operates 21 programs at several sites, including Westfield, Holyoke, Northampton, and Springfield. The YWCA also operates an 11-acre campus at 1 Clough Street in Springfield that provides shelter to battered women and their children in a modern facility with state-of-the-art computerized security.

The University also recognized over 85 employees for giving five, 10, 15, 20, or 30 years of service to Bay Path.

“When I add up their commitment to the University, the total is an astounding 635 years,” Leary said. “I cannot find enough words to reflect my appreciation for the dedication of our faculty and staff to this institution. Over and over again, students share with me how a faculty or staff member has made a difference in their education, and, more important, their lives.”

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About Bay Path University

Bay Path University was founded in 1897. With locations in Longmeadow (main), East Longmeadow (Philip H. Ryan Health Science Center), Springfield (MA), Sturbridge (MA), and Concord (MA), Bay Path’s innovative program offerings include traditional undergraduate degrees for women, The American Women's College on-ground and online, the first all-women, all-online accredited bachelor’s degree programs in the country; over 30 graduate programs for women and men; and Strategic Alliances, offering professional development courses for individuals and organizations.  Bay Path’s goal is to give students confidence in the fundamentals of their chosen field, the curiosity to question the ordinary, the leadership to show initiative, and the desire to make a difference.