Honoring Our Legacy, Proclaiming Our Future
Soledad Díaz at YWCA Boulder County's Better Because of her Luncheon (April 16, 2026)
When I look out at this room, I see what this organization has always been: a community that chooses to show up. For the mission. For each other. For the women and families we serve.
Think about a woman in your life who made you who you are. A mother. A teacher. A mentor. A colleague. A leader. Someone who believed in you before you believed in yourself. That is the work of YWCA Boulder County. That has always been the work.
104 Years and a Bold New Chapter
YWCA Boulder County has served this community for 104 years. One hundred and four years of showing up. One hundred and four years of standing with women, children, and families of color when it was easy and when it was hard.
We are not here to start over. We are here to build on what came before, and to claim the future for an even bigger community where all women, girls and allies belong.
As the only YWCA in Colorado, we declare our commitment to three things: economic empowerment for women, racial justice, and health and safety for ALL women and girls, regardless of gender assigned at birth.
What We Are Announcing
To advance economic empowerment, we are launching the Persimmon Scholarship Fund, a dedicated fund to reduce the cost of childcare for the most vulnerable families. When women have a safe place for their children, they can go to school or work, to build economic security for their future. We have just been awarded a grant for $130,000 from Boulder County. Part of this grant is intended to provide reduced tuition, which means the first $25,000 for the scholarship fund has already been secured.
On racial justice, YWCA Boulder County stands up. We will be a steadfast, public advocate for immigrant women and families in this community, working to dismantle the systems that harm them, and building something more just and more joyful in their place. We are launching AskY, a racial equity conversation and action group hosted by YWCA Boulder County. AskY is not a lecture series or a one-time training. It's an ongoing practice of curiosity, accountability, and collective action rooted right here in Boulder County.
On health and safety, we continue to stand with survivors of domestic and sexual violence with honesty, with dignity, and without flinching. Last week we held our third Women's Empowerment Day at the Capitol, bringing women and allies to meet their legislators face-to-face to discuss the issues that matter, including two bills to protect survivors.
We are also launching YLab, a hub for organizations and individuals to generate ideas for public policy and action projects, focused on systems change locally and across the state.
The Future Is Ours to Build
Every single person has been better because of a woman who believed something was possible before the world did. And every single family and child at Persimmon, every young woman in our STEM and mentorship programs, every Reading to End Racism volunteer and those they read with, they are better because of our community of supporters.
104 years ago, a group of women sat together and decided that this community deserved better. They built something. Today, we are continuing what they started. Today, we honor our legacy and we proclaim our future.