From shelters for unhoused women to storytelling platforms that amplify marginalized voices, Tucson leaders gathered last week to share how their organizations are creating change for women and girls.

The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona’s “Big Collab,” sponsored by Tucson Electric Power and its Women in Energy resource group, brought together more than 20 nonprofits to build connections and inspire new partnerships.

The foundation works to connect nonprofits, donors, students and community partners to advance lasting solutions to the region’s challenges. Its initiatives and partners serve diverse populations across the city in a variety of areas.

Rose Snyder, director of the foundation’s Center for Healthy Nonprofits, said the event aimed to help attendees “find something that fans the flame of their passion for serving” and maybe find a board or organization they might want to work with.

Snyder develops education programs for nonprofit boards, trains staff and awards grants to various organizations. Training opportunities include programs like Leading with Passion and Purpose, which focuses on advancing managerial skills; its Board Connect networking events; and the CEO Survival Series, a nine-month training program for executives.

Attendees at the Big Collab dined on food from Café 54, a nonprofit restaurant and training program for low-income adults in mental health recovery, as they learned about the various organizations.

Representatives from F*st! Female Storytellers, a platform where women and people of marginalized genders share their experiences on stage, welcomed a steady stream of visitors throughout the event. Proceeds from the group’s monthly shows are donated to local organizations that support women working to get back on their feet.

“We take people who are traditionally silenced and marginalized and we give them a big mic and a big stage to express themselves,” said board member Leigh Spencer. “For the general community who's watching, it broadens their worldview, because either you're reaching people that have similar experiences and they're so grateful to have that voiced, or you're reaching people who never knew what it was like and all of a sudden they gain a perspective that's wider than the view they can see from their window.”

Along that same vein of empowerment, the YWCA of Southern Arizona has been working to uplift women and fight systemic racism since 1850. The nonprofit now provides resources for child care, women’s empowerment and economic advancement programs, domestic and sexual violence services, and, most notably, Pima County Teen Court, a youth-led restorative justice program.

“In its whole, this means community, building relationships for things that women go through,” said Elizabeth Alegría, program coordinator for Pima County Teen Court. “It’s a place where women can come and feel safe in voicing the struggles that are raw sometimes, that are hard to hear.”

That same focus on creating safe spaces for women in vulnerable situations is also central to the work of Sister José Women’s Center.

Founded by Jean Fedigan and based on the teachings of Franciscan nun Sister José Hobday, who dedicated her life to helping the poor, Sister José’s is dedicated to the protection of women experiencing homelessness in Tucson and is the only women’s shelter in the city open to pets.

“Our mission is to provide a safe space and overnight shelter to unhoused or tenuously housed women and their companion pets,” said CEO MJ Chavez. “I think this is such a unique space where half of our help every day are volunteers, and so there’s this amazing spirit of sisters helping sisters, and the support from the community to take care of these women. I would describe Sister José as the physical manifestation of kindness in Tucson.”

While Sister José focuses on shelter and safety, other groups at the Big Collab are empowering women by connecting them to the outdoors and conservation. Founded in the early 1900s by Aldo Leopold, a forester and environmentalist, Arizona Wildlife Federation is the longest-standing organization for conservation in Arizona.

It advocates for Arizona’s parks, hosts volunteer programs and runs an educational program to integrate women into the outdoors.

“We have a program called Becoming Outdoorswomen where we help empower women to feel more connected to nature and get involved in any way they want to at any capacity,” said AWF member Aracely Esquer. “Anywhere from learning to set up a tent and backpack to learning how to shoot a gun and learning how to hunt.”

A few years ago, AWF launched a scholarship program called Bridges to Becoming an Outdoorswoman to help women of color feel safe and connected as they explore the outdoors.

For organizers, those efforts reflect the larger purpose of the Big Collab: sparking partnerships and inspiring community members to get involved.

“We named it the Big Collab without even knowing the collaborations that would come out of it,” said TEP corporate learning facilitator Diana Charbonneau. “We've had organizations really partner up and start programs together, and then we’ve also had people who not only give, but join boards, give their time, their talent, all of those important things.”

Ruby Wray is a journalism and creative writing major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact her at rubywray@arizona.edu.

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