YWCA Westmoreland's new executive director hits the ground running
When Carol Palcic of Southwest Greensburg met her new co-workers at the YWCA, she felt like she’d hit the jackpot.
“The volunteers, the board and staff have all been tremendous,” said Palcic, who came on board as executive director for the YWCA Westmoreland County in early June and was officially appointed at the organization’s annual meeting later that month.
Palcic, who also is mayor of Southwest Greensburg, said the YWCA headquarters on North Main Street has been “a buzz of activity” since public events began resuming.
“We have opportunities for folks to come in and learn about workforce development, there’s technology education, we have a ‘TechGYRLS’ after-school program coming up, and English-as-a-second-language is also a popular program,” she said. “The mansion is open for classes.”
For the first time, YWCA officials are planning a Veterans Day salute to women veterans, and Palcic said she looks forward to advocating for the organization she called “the best-kept secret in the county.”
“The YWCA Westmoreland is an untapped resource for the community,” she said. “I look forward to taking the leadership role and working with the dedicated staff of volunteers in the days to come.”
Fundraising is a critical part of that leadership, and Palcic said there is no shortage of those coming up.
“Right now we’re advertising our used book sale, which is a huge one for us,” she said. “We had to stop taking books, because we’re just bursting at the seams.”
The used book sale will take place Aug. 19-21, at the group’s headquarters.
In the fall, the group’s annual fashion show, this year titled “Girls in Pearls,” will take place Oct. 18 at Rizzo’s Malabar Inn in Crabtree, featuring fashions from the YWCA’s Thrift Shop.
Palcic said she plans to keep busy with grant-writing to help support the YWCA’s programming, and would like to see the group become more visible at community events.
“We want to do more to get our name out there,” she said.
For more, see YWCAwestmoreland.org.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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