A Message From Francesca Rattray, CEO

This Thanksgiving, YWCA San Antonio wishes to express our gratitude. I am not, however, going to sugar-coat the current state of the world with a pumpkin-spice-scented message. Nor am I going to gloss over the complicated and painful history of this holiday – I’ll leave that conversation to my Black and Indigenous sisters whose voices must lead it.

These are challenging times. All around us, families in our own community are struggling to pay for food, child care, and housing, even as the support systems meant to sustain them continue to fray. It can be hard to find the silver lining when we hear stories of families afraid to leave their homes, mothers choosing between groceries and rent, and women navigating systems that were never designed for them to thrive.

What I can do – and what gives me hope – is to look around and find gratitude in the extraordinary examples of human resilience emerging in this moment. These reminders show us that all is not lost, that we are not powerless, and that together we can fight to build systems that protect and uplift the most vulnerable.

I am profoundly grateful for the YWCA San Antonio team – working hard, relentlessly, and with deep compassion – to walk beside the women and families we serve. From the moment a woman reaches out for help to the day she completes her training, finds child care, navigates support services, and secures a job that pays a truly livable wage, our team is there. Every step of the way.

I am grateful for our community partners who have stepped up when the need has been greatest and have strengthened the safety net for housing, food, medical care, and basic needs. The SA Food Bank, our youth-serving partners, our workforce training allies, and our friends at the Mexican Consulate -- all working tirelessly to create opportunities that once felt out of reach for many of the families we serve.

I am grateful for our dedicated health care partners who continue fighting to find cures, solutions, and dignity in care, even as critical funding is slashed and the work becomes harder. Their commitment reminds us what it looks like to uphold humanity.

And I am inspired by countless individuals fighting to protect democracy. A friend who left home to spend the summer of 2024 in a swing state to register voters, whose futures would be most affected by the election. Public servants working to protect freedom and dignity by ensuring that communities most affected by policy decisions are empowered to vote, to speak, and to be heard. And high school and college students sharing voices on social media.

In a year filled with uncertainty, fear, and injustice, gratitude becomes more than a holiday ritual, but an act of resistance. It is a way of naming what is worth fighting for.

As we enter this season, I invite you to join me recognizing the heaviness of the moment, but finding the hope that still persists. Let’s give thanks not by looking away from hardship, but by recommitting ourselves to the work of creating a more just, equitable, and compassionate community.

From all of us at YWCA San Antonio, thank you for standing with us. May we continue forward together, with clarity, courage, and unwavering care for one another.