Previous UpDayton projects include the Longest Table, which invited more than 2,000 residents to share a meal together to help break down racial and economic barriers; the Reading Park Project, which focused on eliminating book deserts in the Salem Avenue area; and Participatory Defense, which provides people with a better understanding of the justice process and how to prepare for attorney meetings, court dates and more.
Shannon Isom, president and CEO of YWCA Dayton, said the organization is positioned to lead UpDayton’s initiatives through a social justice lens.
“YWCA Dayton is dedicated to both addressing the immediate needs of women and people of color to ensure needs are met, and to solving for – and preventing – future inequity through advocacy and education,” Isom said. “We have grown from providing housing for one widow in the 1870s to a six-site, two-county, multifaceted organization with deep subject matter expertise in racial and gender justice. UpDayton programming is a natural expansion of our current advocacy offerings.”
Planning is underway for the April 2023 summit. Information will be available http://www.ywcadayton.org/.
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