The Queen Alexandra (QA) Foundation works to support children, youth and families in communities throughout Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.  Laurie Fisher, QA Foundation North Island Community Relations, works out of the Comox Valley and helps to provide a connection between Central and North Island communities and the QA Foundation.  Laurie can be reached by email at  lauriefc@telus.net, or by phone at 250-339-9576.

Up Island Update ~ Spring 2008
Build It and They Will Come!

By Laurie Fisher, QA Foundation North Island Community Relations

A couple of summers ago, I attended the graduation ceremonies of the Comox Valley Girls Empowerment Project, a peer mentoring and support program for girls in the Comox Valley that received funding through the Queen Alexandra (QA) Foundation.  I thought I would follow up to see what happens after a project's funding has finished.

Wendy Morin, Project Coordinator, was excited to bring me up to speed on the Girls Empowerment Project.  "The QA Foundation's funding allowed us to grow the program," explains Wendy.  "The funding helped with the coordination piece of the project.  There's only so much you can ask the community to do for free."  Having access to funds for resources and materials meant a third more of Wendy's time became available to support the girls in the program, and being able to fund transportation removed a barrier to participation that is often created in smaller communities by limited bus service.

ABOVE:  Girls involved in the Comox Valley
Girls Empowerment Project celebrate completion
of their peer facilitation training.

"The really exciting thing that came out of QA Foundation's funding is the training model we've been able to implement," says Wendy.  "Girls are taking these skills off to college and their jobs.  The training model has given our community a pool of peer facilitators to keep it going."

Before the QA Foundation offered funding to support the project, Wendy felt compelled to address the pressing needs of the older girls in the program, meaning the younger girls sometimes lost out.  The project is now able to offer continuous groups throughout the school year, as well as summer training sessions for peer facilitators, encompassing girls 11 to 18 years of age.  Last year, the program was able to develop some of their materials in Braille for one of their participants who is now a mentor to other young women who live with a disability.

Community partners have grown as well.  "The QA Foundation allowed us to run more groups and serve more girls which meant we grew in terms of our space needs too!  When we had to change locations, we had built such a great reputation with the QA that people wanted to partner with us!"  Having this initial funding allowed the program to achieve a balance between being a new initiative and demonstrating experience, a requirement of other funding partners who have now come on board.

This year the focus of the Comox Valley Girls Empowerment Project is violence prevention.  Co-facilitated by trained adults and junior mentors, the format of the girls groups is interactive and integrates discussion, art journaling and skills practice with the wisdom of community guest speakers on topics that are relevant to the group members.  In a safe, non-judgmental, educational form, girls learn critical thinking and communication skills to help maintain authentic, healthy relationships free of violence.

About the program, participant Jessica shared, "I think it's a really wonderful opportunity for girls and young women.  So many don't really know what the challenges are in the real world."