On October 11th, 2022, Girls Inc. of Upper Canada hosted its annual Champions for Girls Breakfast at the Brockville Convention Centre after a few years’ pause for the pandemic. Eighty guests from the community including Girls Inc. families, corporate sponsors, and community partners were in attendance to hear about the realities of girls’ lives and the impact Girls Inc. programming has for local girls and communities. Executive Director Lesley Hubbard was on hand to acknowledge the Champions for Girls in the audience including Board Chair JoAnne Sytsma and real estate broker Debra Currier. Visiting girls’ studies scholar from Glasgow Louise Coucerio, based out of York University in Toronto, presented a keynote address about the various ways that girls are constructed in popular media as both endlessly happy and carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. Calls to action from the keynote included acknowledging girls and their power – listening to them and accepting and elevating their contributions to society – while also helping to alleviate some of the pressure they feel to always be happy and to keep everyone else happy as well. Girls are a powerful force in our society but we cannot expect them to be able to navigate the conflicting messages they receive about girlhood alone.
Girls Inc. of Upper Canada is emerging from the pandemic as a stronger than ever organization according to Lesley Hubbard, with a new program team, innovative approaches to program delivery, and a project coordinator who has been hired to analyze and elevate program excellence and impact as well as evaluate and ensure organizational sustainability.
Hubbard noted, “As the leader of Girls Inc. of Upper Canada, I can tell you that I am excited about the future – of our organization, for girls and their families, and for our communities – because of the ways we are contributing to youth development in this region.”
Girls Incorporated of Upper Canada (Girls Inc.) is a community youth development charity committed to inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Through research-based programming, girls aged 6-18 gain the skills, knowledge, and self-esteem to help them reach their full potential. Girls Inc. is committed to inclusive, non-stigmatizing program delivery provided through collaborative in-school and after school formats. For more information about Girls Inc. of Upper Canada, visit http://test.girlsincuppercanada.org/
CONTACT : Lesley Hubbard, Executive Director, Girls Inc. of Upper Canada
[email protected], 613-345-3295
