When Kim Graham called the YWCA Bradford several years ago to offer furniture to the needy, she was connected with a young, single, unemployed mother with no vehicle or family support.
Graham’s furniture and the help provided by the YW not only helped turn the young woman’s life around, but got her back on her feet and functioning in society.
Graham made these comments when honored as the 2018 YWCA Leader during Wednesday’s 21st Annual Leader Luncheon in the Frame-Westerberg Commons at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
Also honored during the well-attended event was Ellery Signor as the 2018 Rising Leader. Both women were honored for the outstanding charitable work they have done in the community as well as for humanitarian causes. A number of other women, also honored by the YW in the past for their community service, academic or professional successes and leadership, were recognized by board president Ellen Evans at the event. The past honorees made the Walk of Honor around the room wearing the signature long orange scarves that had been given to each of them as keepsakes at previous luncheons.
In her remarks, Vanessa Castano, YW executive director, said the organization on West Corydon Street is continuing on with its capital campaign, which will fund the repurposing and expansion of the former Second Ward School on Congress Street. Funds are still needed for the project that will condense all of the YW’s operations into a single, larger campus — and better serve the needy and disenfranchised in the community.
In commenting on the honorees, Castano said the YW has always focused on individuals who quietly lead in the community while helping others. She said Graham and Signor fit into this category, as they both quietly provide charitable services for others without fanfare.
Graham’s introduction was provided by her son Fred, on behalf of Debbie Digel, who had nominated his mother for the award.
“Mom, you truly are an outstanding woman, and Bradford is lucky to have you in it,” Fred Graham said to his mother. “If something comes up, you help, but you never want to be in the spotlight.”
In her presentation, Kim Graham said she was honored to “join this group of amazing women” who have been recognized over the past 21 years.
In continuing her story on the single mother, Kim Graham said the woman told her she had lived with her children at the YW’s shelter while they were homeless.
“Our (YW) was helping her get back on her feet,” Kim Graham said of the young mother. “About three years later, I saw her in the grocery store and she told me she had a job, a car and a stable home for herself and her children.
“She was happy and doing very well,” Kim Graham remarked. “When she walked away, I remember thinking, ‘What would this girl have done without our YWCA Bradford.”
Kim Graham noted this is why she helps the YW and will continue to do so.
“I am truly honored to receive an award from an organization that does so much for people who are needy in our community and throughout all of McKean County,” she concluded before receiving a standing ovation from the audience.
Introducing Signor was Rev. Katherine Randall of the First Presbyterian Church in Bradford, who nominated the teenager for the award.
Randall said Signor, a senior at Bradford Area High School, is involved with, or leads, many student organizations. She said Signor not only encourages her peers, but also younger children who look up to her both in church and the community.
Signor admitted that she was the typical teenager who thought she couldn’t do much to change the world until she attended a Key Club convention. While there she learned about community service as well as the Thirst Project in Swaziland and the global water crisis.
“What I learned there was life-changing,” she said.
The convention inspired Signor to conduct one of her more outstanding projects, which was the coordination of a large fundraiser for the Thirst Project that provides clean water and sanitation in the African country. Signor continued her quest to help Thirst Project during the luncheon by providing contact information for audience members to assist the program.
