The Cedar Rapids YWCA is no more. The Cedar Rapids Y-W-C-A is still there, but it’s given up its name, and its affiliation with the Y-W nationally. Marketing director Corinne Ramler says in January the board came to the conclusion its goals were different.The national YWCA is an advocacy movement for women and racial justice but locally it provides childcare and help for the homeless and victims of domestic violence. Ramler says the local Y-W board voted to “disaffiliate” with the national group, and that became final this month. She says they also wanted money raised to all stay in the local community. The national YWCA voted in July to keep refusing membership to men, which the Cedar Rapids board didn’t think was fair. And there’s the matter of those initials, which at one time stood for “Young Women’s Christian Association.”She says they don’t want to exclude anyone, man or woman, or exclude people of any faith. The Cedar Rapids YWCA has owned its building since 1911 and has an annual budget of two and-a-half million dollars. Ramler says it’ll save twenty thousand a year by not paying dues to the national Y-W.The new name will be Waypoint Services for Women, Children and Families. Ramler says the YWCA has no link to the YMCA, which also has a presence in Cedar Rapids and is keeping its original name.
