Event

Join YWCA NENY for an empowering Women’s Retreat!

Step into your power and join us for a one-day women’s empowerment retreat designed to inspire strength, healing, and sisterhood during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

This transformative event offers a safe, supportive space for women to reflect, recharge, and reconnect through powerful workshops, wellness activities, inspiring speakers, and peer support. Whether you’re a survivor, advocate, or ally, this retreat is an invitation to reclaim your voice and celebrate the resilience within.

Agenda
11:00am – 11:30am
Arrival/check in & grazing station

11:30am – 11:45am
Welcome & opening story from Annie Brill, owner of The Saratoga Winery

11:45am – 12:35pm
The 24 Chip Method with Cheryl Crockett, RN, MBA, NBC-HWC (President and Chief Empowerment Coach, Reach Wellness Collective): Attendees will be empowered to rethink their relationship with time by using a tangible, visual method—the 24 Chip Method—to improve boundaries, reduce burnout, and prioritize what matters most.

12:45pm- 1:35pm
Buried in Conversation with Brittany DeMarco (Director, Glenville Funeral Home) & Kelly Daugherty, LCSW-R, FT (Grief Counselor, Educator, Author): Join Brittany and Kelly for an open-format grief discussion where no topic is too heavy and no experience is too small. Let us bury ourselves in the taboo topics we often avoid but all face as humans—death and dying, the loss of identity, love, purpose, jobs, relationships, or even a version of ourselves we once knew. Grief touches every corner of life, but within its depth lies a surprising truth: in grief, we find healing and new beginnings. This is a safe, unfiltered space to speak freely, listen deeply, and connect. Whether you’re navigating fresh loss or carrying old grief, you’re not alone. Let’s talk about it.

1:45pm – 2:35pm
Life of a GLOWgirl: Self-Care Session and Facial Bar Experience with Marcella Hammer (Advocate for Bold Living) & Octavia Maxwell (CEO, Skin Deep Naturals): The Life of a GLOWgirl Self-Care Session and Facial Bar Experience is here to show you that self care isn’t about little treats and lattes—it’s about sustaining your whole being. In this interactive workshop, you’ll experience the nourishment of a guided facial bar ritual while also exploring the deeper practices that protect your energy, prevent burnout, and strengthen your life force. Together, we’ll move beyond quick fixes and discover how to build real, lasting resilience—inside and out.

2:35pm
Bar, food station & outdoor area opens
Grilled cheese bar, falafel/hummus, Mediterranean spread, chocolate bark bar & more!
Free drink ticket included for all attendees.
Tarot card readings, music, networking, shopping tables and enjoying the space at your leisure

3:00pm
Burn ceremony, networking & closing statements

4:00pm
Event ends, raffle winners announced
All attendees welcome to stay and hang out at the winery afterward!

Ticket Scholarship Program:
By purchasing a Ticket + Scholarship, you’re helping fund another woman’s ability to attend.

Interested in receiving a scholarship?
Contact Lauren Trunko, Chief Development Officer at ltrunko@ywca-neny.org for more information.

Come for the empowerment, stay for the connection.