GLOW Bursary Fund – a Reality!

In 2006, as the Founder of GLOW, I will never forget driving up to the community centre where I was about to meet the first 8 girls registered in my GLOW (Girls Leading Others Wisely) program –a surreal experience.

 

But another dream was lurking; a dream of creating a bursary fund so that all girls, regardless of their socio-economic background, could be a part of ‘our meeting the needs of the whole girl’ program.

 

Can someone pinch me!!??  It is 6 years later and GLOW is not only still going strong but has grown!  After many parents asking, "where is the program for boys?", BAM (Boys Achieving More) was developed.  In addition, the original concept of GLOW was expanded to embrace the needs of young women via FLOW (Females Leading Others Wisely) and a specialized program for girls with LD and/or ADHD. And now, thanks to ‘Building a Legacy Challenge –Team Okotoks’, my dream of a bursary fund is reality!  Building a Legacy Challenge - Team Okotoks continues to add to the amazing $8000 plus that they have raised which will allow approximately 40 girls or boys to attend an 8 week GLOW/BAM program or summer camp.

 

Vicki Stride, captain of Team Okotoks- vibrant, hardworking, dedicated, powerful and selfless- led her team to this victory. Vicki’s strength, both internally & externally, stands as a strong role model for girls everywhere.

Similarly to the Esteemed Chic program in Vancouver BC, the Legacy Challenge Team Okotoks has prompted others in the community, and beyond, to inquire about contributing to the NEW GLOW bursary fund (Special thanks to Womentum, an anonymous donor and my father-in-law.)

 

When you make a donation of $195 to the GLOW/BAM bursary fund, a girl or boy will experience one of the following:

 

A powerful 8 week after school GLOW program focused on

-       the discussion of pre-teen/teen topics (Sample themes: Authentic Me/ Relationships/ Body images & Changes/Decision Making)

-       Healthy snack

-       40 min of exposure to a variety of fitness activities

 

GLOW Power Camp

-       GLOW Circle discussion of pre-teen/teen topics

-       Healthy snack

-       1 hour. of exposure to variety of fitness activities

-       Healthy Habitz (ie. Nutritious cooking, skin & nail care)

 

A powerful 8 week after school BAM program

-       Creation of multimedia project to reflect conversations around relevant themes using music CDs/digital stories (ie. Authentic Me/ Relationships) 

 

-       40 min exposure to a variety of fitness activities 

 

-       Preparation and discussion about healthy eating

 

BAM Power Camp

-       Creation of multimedia project to reflect conversations around relevant themes using music CDs/digital stories (ie. Authentic Me/ Relationships) 

 

-       1 hour exposure to a variety of fitness activities

 

-       Preparation and discussion about healthy eating

 

Being Pro-active!!

 

-       The average cost of a quality after school program is $1500-$2500 per child per year versus the cost of an individual being in a federal prison is $292,000 a year.

 

-       Within the past three decades the number of overweight children between the ages of 6 and 12 has doubled. Only two percent of children within this age group meet the recommended minimum number of daily servings from all five food groups.

 

(Referenced from: http://www.afterschoolallstars.org/site/ , 2011)

 

Feedback from one of our GLOW Leaders (2012)

-       only 2% of women think they are beautiful.

100% of the girls in my group said they felt beautiful.

 

-       81% of 10 year old girls say that they are afraid of being fat,

100% of my GLOW girls said their goal was to always be healthy.  

 

-       A girl is bullied every 7 minutes in the school yard, playground, stairwell, classroom, or bathroom.

 

-       Every 15 seconds a woman is battered.

 

-       Three-fourths of girls with low self-esteem engage in negative activities, such as disordered eating, bullying, smoking or drinking. 

 

Programs like GLOW give girls the tools they need to be strong, confident, independent women!  

(stats are from http://www.confidencecoalition.org/statistics-women)