More Inclusion, Less Bullying
“When you bring girls together at such a crucial age, you create a strong bond and develop unique connections that create friendships”.
Kate, our Go Girls! program coordinators had the chance to witness girls come together over her career as a volunteer mentor. She became a Go Girls mentor while in university. Having struggled herself as a young teen, she found value in the opportunity of offering the guidance to girls in need: “It’s such a tough age, connections are really important”. Through Go Girls! Kate realized the positive impact of the program on her groups: “When the girls were brought together, they didn’t know each other. They really got to know each other through the activities. I think that is the most important thing that makes the program so successful. I saw the girls build friendships over the course of 8 weeks.”
Go Girls! Uses differences to bring diversity and create safe inclusive environments.
Over her five terms, Kate was amazed to see that girls with little to no connection, upon being placed in groups, learned to accept others realities and find value in each of the stories shared.“I loved seeing the inclusion in the groups. The girls would just bypass any judgment and instantly form bonds through the fact that they were all go girls”.
Go Girls! created one common experience that established a link between each girl of the group. School buddies become go girls participants who then become caring friends. As Kate said: “it is such a tough age, but the connections they build allow them to develop trust for one another.” The natural inclusion of the group removed every opportunity of judgement or bullying.
“The kids don’t even see cultural or personal differences, all they care about is that they are go girls peers. When you learn to know someone through a common experience, you are very unlikely to judge them”.
Kate became a Go Girls! volunteer thinking she would just be – well – a mentor. However, she realized that as a go girl, “you have a great impact and leave with huge change in perspective.” One of her favourite story was when at the end of an 8 week long session, one of the participants explained that she was new to the school and struggling to make friends. “She was sweet, but also shy. She came up to my co-mentor and I on the last day, and said that one of the other Go Girls! participants had said “Hi” to her in the hallway. It was the first time she’d made a friend at the school. Her story was very cute and made me so happy, but it was her smile that said it all.”
The participants learn about acceptance, tolerance and most importantly, collaboration.
What is the Go Girls program?
Our Go Girls program runs for 8 weeks and unites groups of 8-10 girls from a same school. Through this program, the girls learn to love and respect each other.
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