YWCA of Southern Arizona Joins & Expands the Tucson 2030 District

YWCA of Southern Arizona Joins & Expands the Tucson 2030 District – New Partnership Focuses on Creating a Healthy Community, Fostering Climate Equity

The YWCA of Southern Arizona today announced that it is joining the Tucson 2030 District (T2030D) as a partner in the district’s mission to create a healthy community and mitigate climate change by helping Tucson businesses, organizations and residents reduce their energy, water and transportation emissions and usage.

The expansion of the T2030D will include both properties owned by the YWCA, their main headquarters on Bonita Avenue and their House of Neighborly Service (HNS) in the City of South Tucson — a historic 75-year-old property restored by the YWCA to its original use as a neighborhood park and community center.

The new partnership comes on the first anniversary of the YWCA’s YClimateAction event last September that celebrated the completion of the energy and water audits of the HNS. Last year’s event also celebrated the first anniversary of the Sept. 9, 2020, passage of the City of Tucson’s Climate Emergency Declaration.

T2030D existing partners include Pima County, the University of Arizona, and the City of Tucson.

Join the YWCA and Tucson 2030 District on Friday, Sept 9, 2022, at 12:00 pm (YWCA Southern Arizona, 525 N. Bonita Avenue) for the signing of the new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” said Magdalena Verdugo, CEO of the YWCA of Southern Arizona, of the need for reducing energy and water usage. “We are already seeing the impacts of higher temperatures from a warming planet. The work is about coming together as a community to create a more sustainable future for our children and grandchildren.

“We need to start working as a community to begin the process of both mitigating the dangers of climate change and, even more importantly, building resilience,” said Verdugo. “This is especially true for our underserved populations.”

“It’s not the heat, it’s the vulnerability,” added Verdugo, quoting the title of a recent Arizona State University article on heat, which last year claimed 339 lives in Maricopa County alone, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Following the completion of the HNS audit, the main headquarters of the YWCA on Bonita Avenue also completed an energy and water audit. The energy audit was conducted by Gemini Energy Solutions of Washington, D.C. EcoBlue of Tucson conducted the water audit. Both are 2030 District audit partners.

The audit of the main YWCA building, as well as the HNS audit, “jumpstarted our interest in doing more about energy and water use efficiency,” said Verdugo. The YWCA and HNS are currently using the audit findings for making decisions on upgrades to more efficient HVAC equipment and the use of solar power.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome the YWCA as one of our valued partners,” said Karen Peterson, Tucson 2030 District chair. “The YWCA will strengthen our commitment to engage all of Tucson in taking the steps and making the commitment to protecting the planet but also the people who live and work in our beautiful Sonoran Desert.

“Now in its 105th year of commitment to the health and well-being of women and their families in Southern Arizona, the YWCA will bring its tradition of community outreach and action to the T2030D’s work of reducing harmful environmental and atmospheric pollutants,” said Peterson.

Added Verdugo, the partnership with T2030D will “ensure energy equity in Tucson’s poorest neighborhoods. There are numerous programs and financial incentives for weatherizing homes and conserving water — both of which can also save money. One of our goals is to make sure that everyone knows what’s available to them, and that requires communication.”

The Tucson 2030 District, a nonprofit organization, is one of 23 U.S. districts within the 2030 Districts Network and provides audits, tools for benchmarking buildings and other resources needed to reduce carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. It follows the national organization’s 2030 Challenge for Planning goals, which call for a 50% reduction in building-related emissions by 2030. Buildings account for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

YWCA’s mission: Eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.