great program: Building Female Leaders for the Future

With funding received from the Hunter Family Foundation, Making Changes Association is excited to pilot a new program! Provided at no cost for participants, Girls' Resilience, Empowerment and Transformation (GREAT) Program - Building Female Leaders for the Future – will have a transformative impact for teen girls ages 14-16 from marginalized, racialized, and low-income communities.

The GREAT program will address the barriers girls often face, i.e. low self-confidence, navigating family/community trauma, and other factors that increase the likelihood of dropping out of school, by focusing on leadership development, social-emotional skill building, and resilience through a strengths-based learning approach.

Who can join the great program?

  • Girls aged 14 – 16 years old

  • Based in Calgary

  • Able to attend programming at Making Changes Association (6516 1A Street SW). Bus tickets provided.

  • Teen girls’ self-esteem and perceived mental well-being are crucial indicators of their overall mental health. Statistics on the mental health of girls in Canada report that in Grade 6, 36% of girls say they are self-confident, but by Grade 10 this plummet to only 14%. Confidence, skills, and resilience tools increase mental health, help keep girls in school and set them up for success as they look to build a career and future – ultimately living with purpose and financial independence.

  • Making Changes’ GREAT program provides a unique environment specifically for teen girls. Leveraging the Impact Society’s HEROES® curriculum, GREAT is based on the neuroscience of change that addresses four essential dimensions of learning: feeling, thought, experience, and conviction.

    This cohort-based, in-person program will provide girls with a boost in self-confidence, reduced harmful behaviours, and an increase in the ability to experience long-term purpose. Girls will build their leadership skills – supporting their future educational and employment goals. They’ll also build their support network with other girls experiencing similar challenges. Group size will be limited to maximize the experience for the girls.

    Program is no cost and includes:

    • HEROES© File Assessment tool

    • Workshop materials

    • Personal journals

    • Bus tickets to assist with transportation costs

    • Session with My Best Friend’s Closet to support clothing and accessory needs for school, extra-curricular activities, and part-time work.

    • Plenty of snacks & fun activities

    • Graduation gifts

  • There will be four program dates in 2025 for you to join. Registration is not yet open, but will be once dates are announced.

    Spring 2025

    • 8 weeks (exact dates TBD)

    • Wednesdays from 5pm – 6:30pm

    • Maximum group size: 10 girls

    July 2025

    • 1 week (exact dates TBD)

    • Monday – Friday from 10am – 2pm

    • Maximum group size: 15 girls

    August 2025

    • 1 week (exact dates TBD)

    • Monday – Friday from 10am – 2pm

    • Maximum 15 girls

    Fall 2025

    • 8 weeks (exact dates TBD)

    • Wednesday’s from 5pm – 6:30pm

    • Maximum group size: 10 girls

Get in touch

Have questions? Want to get notified when we launch dates this spring? Email Lori James - Executive Director today!

 
 

All persons welcome at making changes

Making Changes acknowledges the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy which includes the Siksika, Piikani, Kainai, the Tsuut’ina Nation and Stoney Nakoda Nations of Chiniki, Bearspaw and Wesley and the Metis people of Alberta, Regions 5 & 6. We honour the hardships that were endured by the peoples on this land to allow us to be in this space to do the work that we do in our community. We respect the culture of the peoples who walk through our doors and we strive to provide space for them. We acknowledge that Indigenous peoples continue to experience hardships and our agency will be champions for change in our daily service to community. Making Changes is committed to inclusivity and recognition of all peoples who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.