Amplify Austin 2015: Centered Women

Texas women and girls are strong, but we sure have had it rough the last few years. Our rights and well-being have been under attack, and we’ve fought back hard. Win or lose, what we showed the world during that amazing summer of 2013 was the power of coming together, organizing, learning from each other, and supporting each other.

Many of us were down at the Capitol nearly every day that year and it sealed my commitment to working for the women and girls of this state.

That commitment was why I was thrilled to start working at The Women’s Community Center of Central Texas. It’s such a welcoming, inclusive place for women, girls, and allies from all walks of life. Our goal is to help Central Texas women and girls get the tools they need to build the lives they want, and we do just that in a whole lot of ways.

We offer a variety of fun and educational events, including art shows, clothing swaps, women’s history trivia nights, our Second Saturday Screenings, and workshops on topics ranging from voting rights to self-defense to sexual health. We also organize an annual Women’s Empowerment Conference (WE Con for short) that includes a resource fair, workshops, and community conversations on vital topics like race and gender in Austin.

One of my favorite parts of the center is that we can offer low cost work-space to women’s groups like Conspire Theatre, Mariposa Pathway, Mamas of Color Rising, Diabetes Sisters, and the Lilith Fund. We have people in the space all the time, both for classes and also for our drop-in hours on Tuesday and Thursday, 12-8pm, where we offer free Wifi, public computers, a library of books by and about women, info on local nonprofits where you can volunteer or get services, a community bulletin board, a kids' corner, and more. All women and girls, and the people who care about them, are welcome to use the space. Our address is 1704 San Antonio so please drop in and say hello.

There is so much going on at the Center, and we want to do even more. We just need your support to make it happen. Please join us in giving generously through Amplify Austin to the WCC. Your gift will help all the groups and people who share our space and better the lives of central Texas women and girls for years to come.

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Stay tuned to our Amplify Austin 2015 series at austinchronicle.com/daily for developing details on all things Amp'd.