The company you will be doing an online internship with is the YWCA of New York City. You can visit their website at https://www.ywcanyc.org/ to get a full view of what the organization does.
Organizational History: Established in 1858, the YWCA of the City of New York (YW) is one of the nation’s oldest nonprofit organizations committed to the personal, physical, and social development of women, their families, and communities. YW was the first charity focused on women’s rights in New York City and, for nearly 160 years, has paved the way for women and girls. Our mission—to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all—is achieved through our Girls Initiatives focused on girls aged 9-24 and community-based programs which include Early Learning Centers; after-school services for elementary and middle school students; and STEM and Leadership Initiatives for high school students. Today, the YW operates in 10 program locations, providing more than a million hours of support and serving over 2,500 people annually, in neighborhoods with some of the highest poverty rates in NYC.
Vision: Girls. Women. Possibilities. The YWCA NYC—where everything is possible for all women and girls.
Mission: Eliminate Racism, Empower Women, Stand Up for Social Justice, Help Families and Strengthen Communities
Problem Statement: The Museum of the City of New York has an exhibit called Activist New York http://www.mcny.org/exhibition/activist-new-york and we have been thinking how the YW should be a part of this as a 160- year old activist organization. Berkeley students can examine the museum’s online exhibit, see how it presents activism, and how the YW’s history can fit visually into it. YW can provide vintage photos and have students design a short power point presentation or social media strategy that can help us to “Rise. Mobilize. Educate. Activate.” young people as a movement.
Research Goals and Deliverables: To examine NYC history through the lens of one of its oldest institutions and suggest methods for it to reach succeeding generations. This will take place in three different phases, I, II and III (see tabs above)
In Phase I, you will be completing a Competitive Analysis:
Review the YW website in detail. Review the content of the Museum of the City of New York’s online Activist New York exhibit to explore context and connection with YW’s history.
Review the industry the YW competes in. Look at its competitors and see how well the YW is positioned to be part of the exhibit vs. any competitors. Analyze what the YW does, who the clients are, how competitors affect them and what products they supply vs. their competitors. Additionally, look at this from a customer and practical perspective keeping the goal in mind.
In Phase II you will research history of activism in NYC, YM role and integration:
Review New York City’s history of activism and think about how history can inform activism in the current historical context.
What history do some companies have in activism? Could this cross over into the rise of unions at the turn of the 20th Century as opposed to their relevance today? What industries do you feel were more enlightened?
Who are the historical figures associated with the YW and NYC? Eg. Dorothy Height
The YW serves girls 9-24, but they have a network of corporate women leaders they want to cultivate. What topics would be of interest to each of these groups, such as who are the voices that resonate with each generation? A girl of 9-24 would not recognize Dorothy Height as someone older would.
In Phase III you will plan for integration into Museum Exhibit:
Explore YW images and other content to tell a visual story focused on a particular theme or concept.
How can the YW create a presentation or plan that resonates with either the LinkedIn or Twitter following? What would be the topics and who would be the people?
Develop a visual presentation which YW can utilize on its website and potentially be incorporated into the museum's exhibit.
The Phase I video tutorial provides a walk-through of research strategies and resources necessary to complete this phase of the project.
Suggestions for search terms when searching for competitors:
Other Suggested Keywords:
This question is very broad and doesn't ask specifically about the YWCA or NYC, so we are not looking for details about specific people or times, but more of broad overview of the history of activism in corporate settings.
This is a historical question, and a business question, so we can use databases from both subject areas to look for answers.
Suggested Search Terms
If you are interested in current events,you can try looking for resources related to the West Virginia teacher strikes and the legacy of coal miner organization that has influenced them. How were women involved in this activism when it was the coal miners on strike, and how was their involvement different during the teacher's strikes?
Search Tips
Searching is an iterative process, which means making small changes to your search terms and filters until you are getting the results you are looking for. Not every database looks the same, but they all use the same principles. If you'd like to go through a short refresher that outlines the search process for you, click on the link below. It is an interactive tour of the search process that many students have found helpful.
http://berkeleycollege.libsurveys.com/narrowingyoursearchpt1
History Database
Business Database
For this question we are looking for names from the history of YWCA and NYC. We are going to start our search online using Wikipedia.
This link will take us directly to the history section of the YWCA article in Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YWCA#History
As you read through it, pay special attention to the names of leaders from different times.
We can use the same approach as we look at the YWCA's own history page:
https://www.ywcanyc.org/about-the-yw/history/
Once we have a few names noted down, er. Dorothy Height, we can use those in web searches to get more specific information, or we can use biography resources, such as:
We can also go another route, and instead of using Google to find history resources about the YWCA, we can use it to find history resources about women in NYC. Remember, the question asks about YWCA, so we can look for resources about the history of women in NYC activism.
If we Google: NYC activism women then we get a good set of resources, including the first website in the list of results, Women's Activism NYC http://www.womensactivism.nyc/
When using Women's Activism NYC, follow these steps.
You can use this approach on many websites and resources you will find. But remember, that you always need to be careful when using things found on the public web. Who is providing this information? What are their motivations?
If you click on the About link in the navigation menu on Women's Activism NYC, you can read about who setup the website and what their motivations are.
Historical Databases Online
You can use the New York Public Library Digital Collections as a historical resource and use the following search techniques:
Question 3: “The YW serves girls 9-24, but they have a network of corporate women leaders they want to cultivate. What topics would be of interest to each of these groups, such as who are the voices that resonate with each generation? A girl of 9-24 would not recognize Dorothy Height as someone older would.”
This question can be answered by looking through current event resources for topics connected to the YWCA's core values of fighting racism and supporting women. Since the question asks specifically about women involved in activism, keep an eye out when reviewing current events news for women in leadership roles.
There are links to current events resources and suggested search terms below the video outlining the process.
Search terms for this are going to be connected to current events, so as you browse the news you can come up with new search terms. For example:
You can also search Google for some broader subjects, just in order to see what is out there. Try typing these phrases into Google and see if anything interesting comes up.
For Phase III, you will explore the YW's images and other content to tell a visual story focused on a particular theme or concept.
Questions you can ask to get you started include:
You will need to develop a visual presentation that the YW can utilize on its website and that can potentially be incorporated into the Museum’s online exhibit.
Explore these resources to find images for your digital display:
https://www.ywca.org/about/history/
https://www.ywcanyc.org/about-the-yw/history
https://images.google.com (search specific person, movement or YWCA NY or YWCA History)
You also might wish to explore our library database Image Quest
Creating Digital Presentations:
How to Create Better Visual Presentations
Visual Story Telling Best Practices
Creating a Social Media Strategy: