Girl Power Summer Camp

The Cause

The Women\'s Centre plans to offer Girl Power Camps this summer to mentor girls (ages 10-12) and promote basic values of equality, self-determination and empowerment. Since the majority of the women and children we serve are living in poverty, we offer these camps free of charge. The camps are one week in duration, and participant expenses such as curriculum, bus tickets, snacks and supplies are all covered by the Centre.

We know that girls are often faced with a unique set of circumstances based on their gender, ethnicity, age and socioeconomic status. Through our Girl Power Camps, we strive to create a safe space for girls to explore issues that impact their lives like identity and language, media and body image, healthy relationships, self-esteem, gender roles, and oppression.

Through a variety of fun and engaging activities like art shows, belly dancing, puppet performances, street activism and self-defense, girls in the camps will have opportunities to be leaders, and learn from their peers and mentors in a safe, inclusive and supportive environment. Curriculum developed for the Girl Power program changes from year to year based on feedback we receive from parents and girls who attend the camps. Girl Power was started at the request of many mothers and grandmothers who access our services.

Girls are the next generation of women and we believe that engaging them through fun and meaningful experiences such as Girl Power plays an important role in their well-being.

Who Will it Benefit?

Girls (ages 10-12) will benefit from this program. The overall goal of Girl Power is to provide a safe and empowering environment for girls to develop their critical thinking skills and increase confidence in their decision-making abilities, relationships and leadership skills. Parents, families and communities also benefit from the empowerment of girls.

We measure the impact of our program by asking girls to write letters to themselves at the end of the camp. We ask them to write about what they have learned, their favourite and least favourite parts of camp, and what they are going to do with what they have learned. We also give parents/guardians evaluation forms asking for their feedback.

Some feedback from girls who have attended past camps includes:

-\"I learned to make a friend you have to be a friend.\"
-\"Everybody, including me, has a story to tell, and I\'m proud everyone is here is confident in sharing who they are.\"
-\"I\'ve learned that every girl is beautiful and that we are all special.\"
-“I learned that being a girl is a great thing.”

Some feedback from parents and guardians of girls who have attended past camps includes:

-\"I would recommend [the camp] for families who are interested in building confidence of girls.\"
-\"Having an opportunity to spend \'girl time\' with a group of peers gave her more opportunity to share her gifts.\"