.png)
Leimary Llopiz, YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts
Leimary Llopiz has a big heart and a passion for serving others. A member of the New Bedford community for over 20 years, Leimary currently serves as Advocacy Assistant at the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts. In this role, she works on campaigns that address topics such as menstrual access, voter registration, and census outreach. Leimary first became involved with advocacy work at the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts as an intern while also pursuing her associate's degree in Human Services at Bristol Community College. Now serving as the Advocacy Assistant and Youth Service Instructor at the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts, Leimary is most proud of the menstrual access campaign that she has helped facilitate. The menstrual access campaign consists of several components, including a menstrual hygiene products drive and legislative advocacy to support the passage of the I AM bill in Massachusetts. If passed, the I AM bill would increase access to menstrual hygiene products in schools, homeless shelters, and prisons. When she first began working on this campaign, Leimary found that the need for menstrual hygiene products in New Bedford was more significant than expected. Not having access to menstrual hygiene products negatively impacts one’s confidence and ability to attend work or school regularly. Leimary can't help but feel inspired by how much the campaign has grown. She is proud to have worked on a campaign that helps improve lives by providing people with the products they need.
Leimary's passion for serving others began at a very young age. She has lived in low-income communities for most of her life, and this has fueled her commitment to helping others in need. She can empathize with people in low-income situations because she understands what it feels like to be in their position. The YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts has provided Leimary with ample professional development opportunities such as webinars, workshops, and more. She hopes to continue to learn as much as possible so that she can utilize her newfound knowledge to give back to her community. The staff at the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts works as a team to learn, grow, and experience new things together, and Leimary expressed how important it is to be a part of a team that supports, encourages, and trusts one another. She is grateful to be a part of a team that embodies all of these qualities at the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts.One of the things Leimary loves about the New Bedford community is that there are so many programs that offer services that help people in need. She points out that, if one organization is unable to directly provide the help that someone needs, they can easily find another organization that does. Similarly, Leimary loves being a part of the Womxn's Alliance because it is a diverse collaboration of womxn with a mission to support one another and pool the resources that their organizations provide to the New Bedford region.
During our interview, Leimary said that she aspires to be a good person and continue helping her community. Leimary's love for the New Bedford community and her desire to help those in need is both admirable and incredibly inspiring. She is truly an asset to the Womxn’s Alliance and the New Bedford community.