On May 4, the YWCA of Asheville, and the YW’s Getting Ahead In a Just Gettin’ By World, were recognized as the OnTrack 2023 Community Partner of the Year! Congratulations to Aminat Bashorun, Getting Ahead Coordinator, and Women’s Empowerment for this distinction. Getting Ahead is an eight-week program that meets twice weekly to provide support and resources for women looking to make positive changes in their lives. Guest speakers meet with Getting Ahead participants to discuss topics like banking and housing, and to share information and insights into the social determinants that cause poverty, and what individuals can do to address barriers.YWCA community partner OnTrack WNC is a community-supported, United Way agency that supports participants as they work to achieve their monetary and housing goals. OnTrack has worked with the people of WNC for fifty years, and we were especially honored to receive this recognition at their 50th-anniversary celebration.  

Together, Getting Ahead and OnTrack work to empower women and their families to take control of their financial health through education, support, and practical advice. Getting Ahead grads know that they have support from Aminat and OnTrack even after they complete the program.  Aminat continues to act as a point of contact for participants after they graduate, as they implement the positive changes they began while in the program.Recent Getting Ahead graduates describe the program as inspiring, safe, welcoming, and inclusive.

Participants also talk about how Getting Ahead creates a safe space, where you are allowed to get out personal issues, with no judgment, regardless of what you bring to the group. As Aminat tells participants in the first week of the program, "There is a space for you here" in the Getting Ahead program and at the YWCA.For more information about Getting Ahead, and to find out when the next session will begin, contact Aminat at 828.254.7206 x219 or email her at Aminat.Bashorun@ywcaofasheville.org