November 20th marks National Day of the Child, a time to recognize the voices, rights, and potential of young people everywhere. At YWCA Toronto, we believe in creating spaces where girls and gender diverse youth can lead, learn, and thrive.
Through our Girls’, Youth, and Family department, programs like the Girls’ Council empower youth to share their ideas, build leadership skills, and create meaningful change in their communities.
Our Girls’ Centre also has significant impact. See first hand in a virtual tour of the centre by watching this short video.
Since the Girls’ Council began their fall programming in September, it has already influenced the lives of our participants. Here are some highlights shared by youth program participants. From inspiring events to team-building activities, these moments reflect the creativity, resilience, and leadership of youth.
Kick-Off Event: Building Our Year Together
As members of the Girls’ Council, we decided to come together as a team and talk about our goals for the year. We discussed and shared ideas of what we want to gain and experience from the council program. We also spoke with a crisis outreach worker named Kavi about ways that she can collaborate with us to help us reach our goals, like planning team-building events. At the kick-off event, we also enjoyed a free breakfast and we received gifts. We got to better know our peers and learned to work effectively as a team during the activities. I left the event feeling connected with the other Council participants. This event helped solidify the bond of our Council members.
~ Amina*, Girls’ Council Participant
During the Kick-Off Event, Council participants identified the following as their mission, goals and ideas for the year:
Mission Statement: We, as diverse community leaders, work together to bring awareness to social issues, empower girls and gender diverse folks to create safe spaces.
Key Goals:
- Leadership development: public speaking, collaboration, and taking initiative
- Outreach expansion: social media, school engagement, and community events to grow participation
- Priority issues: homelessness, food insecurity, and eliminating violence against women
Ideas Sparked at the Kickoff:
- Food drives and awareness campaigns
- Workshops supporting girls and women in the community
- Establishing annual traditions such as seasonal festivals and cultural celebrations
Girls Take Flight at Billy Bishop Airport
We attended the Girls Take Flight event, hosted at Billy Bishop Airport. Hundreds of people were there! It was a wonderful experience! Myself, and other youth had the opportunity to meet and talk with women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, including pilots, emergency responders, and engineers. We got to experience a flight simulation, tour a plane, and have flight attendants walk us through what they do during a flight. Myself, and other youth thoroughly enjoyed all the activities including quizzes about flight knowledge, as well as the opportunity to talk one-on-one with the women, learn about their careers, and get answers to our questions. Overall, the experience was an incredible one, full of opportunities and great memories!
~ Leila*, Youth Participant
FriYay Fun: Our First Social Event
Just when we thought Fridays could not get any better, the Girls’ Council hosted their very first ever FriYay event on October 10th. This event was the highlight of our week – it was about connecting our Girls’ Council members with other girls and gender diverse youth in our community. We started our event with some simple ice breakers and games which helped our participants open up and feel comfortable in our space.
Once everyone was acquainted, we got into the fun stuff! Our next activity was a mummy wrapping contest. We divided our contestants into groups of five, where they got to use some reusable fabric to wrap their chosen candidate into the most fashionable mummy ever. This activity encouraged the Girls’ Council members, as well as contestants, to work together, creating an environment of fun and anticipation. Once every group was finished, we held our own fashion show, where every group got to walk across a stage and show off their mummy. After voting on the best mummy, everyone was ready to wind down and watch a movie.
We also hosted a raffle for a prize basket that contained Halloween-inspired goods. The participant who ended up winning the raffle was overjoyed. Also, everyone left in a good mood. We ended the day feeling connected, and excited for what is next!
~ Sofia*, Girls’ Council Participant
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*For privacy and confidentiality, all youth names mentioned in this blog have been changed.