Today we are continuing our Y-WE Become campaign by highlighting one of our alum, Ahshah Kennedy. We invite you to partner with us by making a gift and supporting the impactful leadership development that Ahshah describes.
“The first program I participated in was Y-WE Grow. I had the honor to work alongside other inspiring people along with Neli and Tayah (Y-WE Grow Facilitators) who are incredible. Experiencing Marra Farm not only taught me how to be a leader but also how to be intentional and kind to the land we occupy. I was exposed to a different range of opportunities through Y-WE and it made me sure of how I want to impact the world and what communities I want to help. Within my personal life and career I want to advocate for and support food insecure and low income communities.”
On a field trip this past summer for the Y-WE Grow internship, Ahshah visited Kamayan Farms. She remembers, “It was so joyful for us to learn from the farmers there. I was really amazed and inspired by their determination to grow fruits and vegetables to share with local food banks and restaurants.”
Through these experiences Ahshah really grew more into her activist side and clarified her values, “seeing that so many different people could come together to help with food insecurity by harvesting and sharing food with the community was really dope to me. It really influenced me to want to become a nutritionist or dietician. Now I’m apart of the labor movement at the University of Washington, working with social workers and supporting undocumented individuals with low wages who don’t really have equal rights. Y-WE influenced me to join this movement by being exposed to what it means to properly advocate for community members.”
Y-WE continues to be an intersectional feminist organization deeply rooted in the principles of social justice and liberation. Exposing our youth participants to collaborative community responses of care is integral to the work of empowering creative leaders and courageous changemakers. We are deeply grateful for all you who champion us to do this work.