YWCA Toronto

📣 Learn about YWCA Toronto’s advocacy work in March! ⬇️

⚖️ Ahead of International Women’s Day (IWD), Sami Pritchard, Director of Advocacy and Communications, joined the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, the United Way Greater Toronto and LAMP Community Health Centre on a panel titled Balancing the Scales: Gender and Access to Justice in Community Empowerment. Together, they explored gendered and social barriers to justice and the role lived experience, and cross sector collaboration play in building more equitable systems.

👩🏽‍💻Sami Pritchard, also participated in a second United Way Greater Toronto panel entitled, ‘Diving Deeper: Investing in Women, Strengthening Communities’, that examined employment pathways for women and the critical role of wraparound supports in strengthening women’s leadership.

✊🏽 We attended the Women's Habitat of Etobicoke International Women’s Day Leadership Breakfast which celebrated feminist leadership and honoured recently retired Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Heather McGregor, for her decades of work addressing gender-based and advancing gender equity.

🗣️On IWD, we joined YWCA Member Associations across the country in sharing “why we say feminist” through a YWCA Canada video featuring Kim Quashie, Manager of Marketing and Communications, and Katie Campbell, Senior Digital Marketing and Social Media Officer from YWCA Toronto.
Learn more: https://ywcacanada.ca/news/were-saying-the-f-word/

💙As a founding member of the Equal Pay Coalition - Ontario, we were proud to attend a celebration of the Coalition’s 50 years of activism. The event also honoured Heather McGregor, YWCA Toronto CEO, recognizing her significant contributions to the feminist movement as she prepared to retire at the end of March.

✍️As members of the Shelter and Support Board Advocacy Coalition (SSBAC), we shared a letter with the Provincial government highlighting our concerns on their decision to defund supervised consumption and treatment services across Ontario.
Read the letter: https://tinyurl.com/su7mecbw

🌎We issued a statement acknowledging and condemning escalating violence and war across the globe, extending our solidarity to those seeking safety and resisting oppression, and urging a renewed commitment to peace, equity, justice, and human rights.
Read the statement: https://tinyurl.com/bdd7wn8x

🏳️‍⚧️Ahead of the Trans Day of Visibility, we joined Society of Q***r Momentum and dozens of feminist organizations across Canada in rejecting any attempt to frame trans inclusion as a threat to women. Add your name to the open letter: www.WomenForTransRights.ca

🗞️Have you subscribed to the Feminist Edge? Our monthly e-newsletter brings you highlights from our advocacy work, resources to deepen your learning, and practical tools to help you take action on the feminist issues. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/3VKrZnM

✨ Immerse yourself in an inspiring evening filled with impactful stories, meaningful conversations, and a celebration of seven trailblazers leading real change in Toronto!

Join us for YWCA Toronto’s Distinction Awards, presented by Elmwood Spa and Bangkok Garden.

🍽️ Enjoy an intimate sit down dinner
🎤 Hear powerful stories from our 2026 Award Recipients
⭐ Bid on exclusive silent auction items
🤝 Connect and network with local changemakers
💙 Support women, girls, and gender diverse people in Toronto
🎶 Relish in our after party featuring music and delicious desserts

We are excited to return to The Carlu on Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 5:30 PM! Swipe to see moments from the last time we hosted this inspiring event in this iconic space ➡️

🎟 Table and early bird tickets are on sale now! Act fast, the Early Bird deadline is April 30th at midnight. Purchase your ticket to now: www.DistinctionAwards.ca

📣 “This round of funding cuts is destabilizing a system that took decades to build. These cuts will hurt our communities for years to come,” says Debbie Douglas of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) in a Toronto Star article highlighting the federal budget reductions affecting immigration programs across Ontario.

For a second year in a row, organizations within the immigrant settlement sector are navigating devastating federal funding cuts. Alongside the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI), our Director of Employment and Training Joanna Jaskielewicz and recently retired Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Heather McGregor spoke with the Toronto Star about the impact of these cuts on.

At YWCA Toronto, we are facing a 21% reduction in funding this year. As a result, we have had to close our childminding services, reduce staff positions, and redirect English learners to programs that already have long waitlists. These reductions limit access to essential services at a time when housing costs, employment barriers, and social pressures are especially high for newcomers.

As one of Toronto’s largest multi service organizations and a steadfast advocate for the communities we serve, including refugee claimant, non status, and immigrant women, girls, and gender diverse people, we know that newcomers deserve stability, opportunity, and a fair chance to thrive. Achieving this requires sustained investment.

🗞️Learn more and read the article: https://linktr.ee/ywcato

We are deeply grateful to OCASI for their leadership, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to protecting newcomer services across the province. We are proud to work alongside OCASI and sector partners as we continue to push for the resources and services newcomers need to support their futures💙

Photo (left to right): Heather McGregor, recently retired CEO of YWCA Toronto, and Joanna Jaskielewicz, Director of Employment and Training.