SPRINGFIELD — Kim Casineau, board chair of the YWCA of Western Massachusetts, announced that the YWCA Golf Tournament will be held at Springfield Country Club in West Springfield on Monday, May 6, with registration now open online at ywworks.org.

Proceeds of the charity golf tournament will support the Children Who Witness Violence program, which offers therapy for children who have witnessed or experienced abuse and violence. The Healthy and Empowering Relationship Education program of the YWCA, which helps Springfield middle- and high-schoolers learn about healthy relationships and friendships, will also benefit from proceeds raised at the tournament.

According to Casineau, the organizer of the event, “the leadership work the YWCA is doing in addressing domestic and sexual violence is critically important. These two youth-oriented programs are providing much-needed support and resources in our community. I encourage all who are interested in supporting our event to contact me at [email protected] or register on the website. We need golfers, cash donations, and donations for our raffle. My goal is to raise awareness to all the great work the YWCA does for our community in a fun way. Please join us on May 6 in support of these very worthy programs.”

Cost per golfer to participate in the tournament is $155, which includes golf, cart, lunch, dinner, and a quarter-zip jacket. There will be a raffle and cash bar at the country club. Individuals or organizations interested in registering or sponsoring the event can visit ywworks.org.

Headquartered in Springfield, the YWCA also provides services and offers programming to children and women in crisis in Northampton, Westfield, Belchertown, and Holyoke.

SPRINGFIELD — In a typical year, prior to and up to the Christmas holiday, Greater Springfield residents bring toys, books, puzzles, games, and new clothing for children, as well as clothes and personal-care items for adults, who are residents of one of the YWCA of Western Massachusetts’ four residential and 20 community-based programs. This past year, the organization experienced an unprecedented wave of donations. The third floor of the YWCA’s administrative building on Clough Street is filled to the rafters with donations.

The YWCA campus on Clough Street hosts an emergency domestic-violence shelter, transitional housing apartments, a teen residential program, as well as programming to support adult and child survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and stalking. The YWCA made no formal request for donations during the holiday season, yet thousands of donations were dropped off and continue to stream into the organization. The overwhelming amount of generous donations will be given to survivors throughout the next year. The vast array of donated items will be put to use in support of survivors, many of whom escape violence with only the clothes on their back.

“There’s really no rhyme or reason for this outpouring of donations other than the incredible generosity and goodwill of people who live in our region,” said Elizabeth Dineen, CEO of the YWCA of Western Massachusetts. “Area churches, colleges, clubs, sports teams, women’s organizations, businesses, hospitals, fraternities, sororities, high schools, day-care organizations, libraries, book clubs, and extended families are responsible for this remarkable uptick of donations.

“There are likely many factors influencing the public to support survivors,” she went on, noting in particular an awareness of the increase in domestic violence and displacement of survivors that spiked during and since the pandemic. “Additionally, there is an increased awareness that human trafficking exists in our region and survivors of human trafficking deal with its traumatic aftermath for years after they escape their trafficker. The more information that the public has about these types of abuse, the more people want to help.

“I am so grateful for the outpouring of support from our community and want to thank every individual, organization, and group who made donations,” Dineen added. “Those who we serve deeply appreciate the community’s generosity, kindness, and support more than words can adequately express. The YWCA is so grateful for the ongoing support from this amazing community in which we do this vital work every day.”

Headquartered in Springfield, the YWCA also provides services and offers programming to children and women in crisis in Northampton, Westfield, Belchertown, and Holyoke.