I have some exciting (and bittersweet) news to share! I am leaving my role as Girls Group Coordinator at the Comox Valley Transition Society, after 25 years!
Yes, you heard that correctly – Girls Group is 25 years old this month. My colleague Paula Purcell and I started the first group in 1999.
We are holding a hybrid celebratory event – both in person and via Zoom.
Being part of Girls Group has been incredibly rewarding. It has been an honour to be accepted into the lives of so many self-identified girls and young women and non-binary youth. My passion for the work has always come from the participants themselves, who have constantly inspired me with their courage, vulnerability, community activism, resilience, and leadership. My goal has been ‘to be the person I needed when I was younger’ and to help amplify voices so often unheard. Our facilitation team over the years has been stellar in their work, and they too have inspired me with all they do.
Some of the many highlights over the years include the development of the Peer Facilitation training, participation in gender-based research with the BC Women’s Health Centre, involvement with the Girls Action Foundation, participation on the BC Women’s Health Centre’s advisory team that developed the ‘Girls Speak Out’ curriculum, the online Leadership Dialogue project (with gender equity in leadership as its focus), numerous arts-based projects, and collaborative projects with community groups such as Comox Valley Arts, the Youth Media Project, SD71, the Drug Strategy Committee, and other community partners over the years. Intersectional feminism and relational-cultural theory have been important foundations of the work – building strength through connection, and resisting against systems of oppression.
There have been heavy times, supporting group participants through losses and challenging times. Through it all, we have created a circle of support that often has continued beyond the completion of group, which has been the best outcome of all. It’s been wonderful staying in touch with many group alumni.
If you were previously involved in or connected to Girls Group over the years and would be willing to say a few words about your experience, please email wjbmorin@gmail.com. You could also submit words to be read on your behalf. We will have a keynote speaker, food, video presentation, and display of projects from over the years.
Girls Group is continuing on! We have hired a new coordinator, ready to take on this vital and rewarding work.
We give heartfelt thanks to our many funders over the years (we’ll have a complete list at the event), including the Girls Action Foundation, Vancouver Foundation, United Way, Canadian Women’s Foundation, Soroptimists, Home Depot Orange Door Project, Legion Foundation, Lobstick Foundation, Alexandra Foundation, etc.
Follow the link to reserve your free ticket to the event:
https://lnkd.in/g2i2E8qt