Community

MERRY & BRIGHT NIGHT MARKET

What better way to spend the holiday season than shopping while sipping hot cocoa with your friends and supporting neighbourhood businesses run by young people? To bring together youth-owned enterprises and highlight young innovation, EmpowHER held the Merry and Bright Night Market on December 3. The EmpowHER crew definitely made this season a fun with incredible live acts and music for over 200 people! We welcomed notable visitors such as M.P. Ruby Sahota of Brampton North, Associate Minister Hon. Charmain Williams, City Counselor Harkirat Singh, and Mayor of Brampton Patrick Brown to provide words of inspiration. Shopping sprees by families and groups of friends took place along with 20+ young vendors offering products from streetwear to henna to jewellery. Youth enterprises had the opportunity to demonstrate their fantastic goods and astound the audience with their businesses, and the room was buzzing with enthusiasm! Rappers and dancers put on incredible performances for the crowd, and we also had tons of exciting giveaways for the audience. Ages of all sorts were able to take part in this joyful night and interact with different vendors and take part in a memorable experience. It truly was a merry night!

DO YOUR PART CELEBRITY GAME

The 3rd Annual Do Your Part Celebrity Game was an event hosted by Return the Love Community Support, for the climate action initiative that empowers and educates the BIPOC community on actionable steps towards climate resiliency!

The EmpowHer Program was a proud supporter of the event and involved many of our volunteers in the process. From registration to greeters to VIP volunteers, these girls worked hard to make the event run as smoothly as possible.

Alumni of the EmpowHer Program, Nabehea Ahmed, had the opportunity to work alongside the Media Team during the event to produce social media content for Return the Love Community Support.

DIWALI WITH EMPOWHER

Diwali with EmpowHER was a culture inclusion event planned and executed by EmpowHER's Hindu and Sikh girls. It was an enjoyable celebration dedicated to educating the group about the festival of lights and bringing the group together through fun and interactive activities! The team had an amazing time dressing up in cultural clothes, participating in colourful rangoli-making, and most importantly, having an enjoyable and relaxed evening together!

BRAMPTON'S POLITICAL SHOWDOWN

The 2022 Brampton Political Showdown was a virtual debate that showcased three separate debates between the Regional and City Councillor Candidates for Wards 9 & 10, Mayor Candidates and lastly, Regional and City Councillors for Wards 1 & 5. Voting is a very important part of any democracy and by voting for leaders who represent them and their ideas, residents participate in the democratic process. Through this debate, residents of Brampton were able to learn more about the candidates running for the upcoming Municipal Elections, helping them make informed decisions. Our team provided a platform for Bramptonians to voice their opinion on what changes they want to see in their city. The goal was to give people a direct connection to understanding how the candidates can mitigate their concerns and help the city thrive. This was achieved by giving attendees a chance to learn about their views on various important topics impacting our city such as transportation, housing, taxes, immigration and more.

THE CIVIC ACTION SERIES

EmpowHER and Y2A members organized and hosted a 4-day virtual Civic Action Series to spread awareness about the importance of civic action and the three levels of government: federal, provincial, and municipal. This 4-day webinar series also provided attendees with not only knowledge about the responsibilities and duties of each government level but also how to be aware of activities we can practice as responsible citizens.

Kids Virtual Summer Tutoring Camp (July - August 2022)

The Summer Tutoring Camp was designed for students in grades 1-5 to help improve and prepare them for the new school year in core subjects such as Math, English, and Science. Two of EmpowHER members Hannah Thomas and Palvi Chahal along with our wonderful volunteers helped plan various lessons and interactive activities based on each students individual needs. They assessed and provided parents updates + used parents feedback to improve the program. All in all, the students and teaching assistants really enjoyed the experience and can’t wait for a similar tutoring camp in the near future!

Academic and Career Conference (August 18, 19, 20, and 21, 2022)

Y2A (LEaD)'s Academic Conference is a two-day event on August 18th and 19th from 12:00 pm to 4:30 pm for those who want to learn about post-secondary experiences. This opportunity is great to ask post-secondary students questions about their program, residence, tips and more!

EmpowHER's Career Conference is an online two-day event on August 20th and 21st from 12:00 pm to 4:30 pm for those struggling to choose a career. Various 1-1.5 hours panels have been organized with professionals from fields such as healthcare, law, business and more! This opportunity is excellent to ask specific questions, learn from their experiences and, most importantly, network with them!

Eid with EmpowHER (July 29, 2022)

Eid with EmpowHER was a culture inclusion event planned and executed by EmpowHER's Muslim girls. It was a laid-back social dedicated to educating the community about Islam's culture through fun and interactive activities! The team had an amazing time dressing up in cultural clothes, getting henna done, trying on hijabs and most importantly, having educational and impactful discussions on Islam.

Civic Action Spring - Provincial Townhall (April 22 - 23, 2022)

On April 23rd and 24th, EmpowHER hosted the "Civic Action Spring." a virtual Town Hall for members of the community. MPP candidates: Liberal Harinder Malhi Panel, Green Jamal Blackwood, and NDP Andria Barrett, all attended the Civic Action Spring. They answered critical questions about their party's platform and their views on important issues such as education, healthcare, the environment, and more. The EmpowHER team all worked hard to ensure the success of Civic Action Spring, and it was a success. Approximately 100 people attended the event each day to learn more about the MPP candidates in our communities. Voting is a right that has been denied to women for so many years, although there are still places in the world where women still cannot vote, we are privileged that there are no such restrictions here in Canada stopping us from voting. It is important to educate ourselves and the next generation so that we can become informed and responsible citizens. We can do this by finding the candidate that best aligns with our own personal values so that we can do our part in making a difference in our day-to-day lives. Civic Action Spring provided the community with an opportunity to learn and become more knowledgeable about the people who are running to lead our province and how these people so significantly impact our lives.

We Women Event (March 5, 2022)

In honour of International Women's Day, EmpowHER hosted the WeWomen event in order to celebrate and recognize women in our community. On March 5th, 2022, EmpowHER girls came together to increase public awareness of progress toward gender equality, remember impactful women in our history, and provide opportunities to youth who seek to pursue a successful path in their future careers. The event planning teams worked tirelessly, directed by Therese Guildon, to make this event memorable and interesting for the audience. With over 150 attendees, the event left female youth feeling empowered and motivated to push themselves and nurture their strengths. It gave women opportunities to break barriers and pursue the enormous success that they possess. EmpowHER was able to achieve its goal of empowering women to choose meaningful jobs and contribute to their country's economy through educating our community. We are stronger when we work together, and this event served as a powerful symbol of that, allowing us to consider our principles and values.

LOCAL TOWN HALL

Part of what makes EmpowHer unique are the young womxn that choose to join our team. They are intelligent, curious and goal-oriented womxn that seek to better our community in Peel Region. Avani Kalicharran is one of the many distinguished womxn in our group that saw the importance of providing accessible information to the public for the federal elections on Monday September 20th, 2021. For this reason, she led the EmpowHer team on planning and organizing a 3-day town hall event which would include Liberal MP Ruby Sahota, NDP Candidate Tejinder Singh, Peoples Party of Canada (PPC) Candidate Rahul Zia and more.

Furthermore, EmpowHer acknowledges that experiential-knowledge is a salient method of learning. For this reason, attendees had the opportunity to volunteer with candidates for the federal election. This is crucial as volunteers were able to become directly involved in our democracy, irrespective if they were ineligible to vote. Lastly, youth and newcomers had the opportunity to volunteer with all candidates to help determine which political party they best align with.

And if one was to ask, why it was important for EmpowHer to support this event we would respond as such: regardless of one's political beliefs all persons should have the right to make informed decisions for themselves and for the future of their community. we strongly adhere to a non-partisan event so that (new) voters can have the opportunity to listen to all parties and create their own decision.

CAREER EXPLORATION FAIR 2021

Regardless of where we are at in our life, we are constantly seeking ways to better ourselves.

The Career Discovery Fair allowed youth and newcomers to connect with professionals in their aspiring field so they could listen AND learn from their experiences. We want the youth in our community to envision the best possible future for themselves and that is only possible if they are aware of all the career pathways open to them.

Speakers from the fields of law, engineering, banking, healthcare, marketing, education, IT, NPOs, and government shared their experiences at the event from July 23 to July 25. With over 300 tickets sold, the Career Exploration Fair made a real impact to help the youth in our community!

ACADEMIC FAIR 2021

Caption: The Academic Fair took place from July 26 to July 27 to share post-secondary options with youth in the community! The event included major universities and colleges across Canada as well as educational opportunities for students who have completed their postsecondary journey. The event was a great success with over 200 youth signing up to attend the informative sessions!

TRUTH PROJECT

The purpose of the Truth Project is to focus on Canada's history through the eyes of minorities in an effort to unveil the impact and outcome of historical events from a new narrative. The main goal of the Truth Project is to extract the Eurocentric narrative from the reality of what has happened in our past to understand the impact of history on individuals and culture today. The volunteers of the Truth Project recognize the importance of unpacking what issues in history mean for the BIPOC community today more than ever before. They are actively working towards gathering reliable information for the public through research.

This project's dedicated volunteers include:
Kadia Dabreo (Project Lead), Navpreet Kaur, Venika Toor, Iman Nasir, Sukhnoor Riar, Alfreda Addy, and Linda Li

WELNESS 101

To start off the new year, one of our alumnae, Anahita Azadian, hosted her own workshop on health and wellness for young womxn in our community. Anahita has a biomedical science, psychology, and health policy background and is deeply committed to maintaining her mental health and overall wellbeing. The workshop offered youth an introduction to mindful movement through stretches at the beginning of each session and evidence-based information surrounding mental health. Anahita hopes to combat the stigma surrounding psychiatry and mental health by engaging youth in meaningful conversations and interactive learning during wellness workshops.

DO YOUR PART CONFERENCE

In December of 2020, the Do Your Part Virtual Conference was presented by Return the Love Community Support, in collaboration with the City of Brampton, to empower youth to take action against Climate Change. It was an opportunity to learn from Olympians, Music Artists, Social Media Influencers & Entrepreneurs, amongst our very own City Officials sharing their experiences with hopes to educate on the impact of climate change within our local community. Kadia Dabreo, one of EmpowHer's skilled alumnae, took on the role of the event community manager for this conference. She helped with outreach and communication for the event which involved getting vendors, creating polls, sending emails, managing the discussions when the event was live, and responding to questions on social media. It is incredible to see our alumnae creating change that matters to them in the community and inspiring others to do the same.

HOMEWORK CLUB

The Peel Science & Literacy Camp's Homework Club is a tutoring initiative led by Poojan Brahmbhatt and Jasmeen Ranu, who are EmpowHer alumnae. With volunteers from EmpowHer as tutors, the Homework Club has been a success with over 30 students throughout the Peel Region signing up to attend free drop-in homework help sessions that take place each Wednesday and Sunday. EmpowHer's ultimate goal is to help overcome the barriers in our community and after seeing the difficulties that young students were experiencing with online learning, the bright womxn in our program have given their time and efforts toward supporting students from Grades 4-8 with English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and French homework.

The tutors involved in this project include: Akshita Kumar, Anahita Azadian, Aima Shafiq, Sukhnoor Riar, Jasmeen Ranu, Simran Jawanda, Roseleen Ladi, Ayesha Rasool, Arushi Pundhir, Aliza Sohaib, Fiza Butt, Dasnoor Saini, Manmeet Multani, Gurleen Nizzer, Maria Perervine, Julia Hamelin, Jasnoor Nagra, Alisha Gandhi, Venika Toor, Megan Singh, Parisa Naeem, Amandeep Kaur, Humna Ashfaq, and Gurman Kaur Sahni

CUPID'S STING POSTER

The Cupid's Sting non-profit teaches women life-saving skills to protect themselves inside and outside the home. Since COVID-19, Cupid's Sting had to shift how it conducts business in-person to offering the bulk of its services online. This caused a delay in service delivery and so the founder, Laurie J. Samuel, formed a partnership with EmpowHer to continue this work in Peel Region. This partnership with EmpowHer has assisted in infusing new energy and resources into Cupid's Sting to get women the desperate help they need. Volunteers from EmpowHer are involved with developing and implementing new programming, researching and applying for grants, and creating and designing social media content. Both programs are aligned with the same values and are committed to ending gender-based violence.

Here are the talented womxn involved in this Cupid's Sting partnership:
Project Lead - Kimberly Richards
Creative Lead - Simran Patel
Creative Team Members - Dasnoor Saini, Kanisha Dabreo, Jessica Bajaj

ART SHOWCASE

Artist, Poet, and aspiring Author, Alishba expresses her passion in writing through soft and vulnerable poems of personal experiences, feminism, world issues, and mental health. She actively takes part in promoting these concepts through programs and events like Youth Lead, Empowher Peel, community open mics, school-hosted shows and Alishba's Art Showcase for Teens 2020.

Moreover, she has published countless compelling and motivational poems in Canadian Anthology books and websites; Island Tides by the Poetry Institute of Canada and Perspectives by Polar Expressions are two of her earliest successes, starting at age 10. Alishba is currently dedicating her time to write a poetry book, set to be released in her Postsecondary years. Through her art, she aspires to create a world full of hope, compassion, and love. Her long devoted passion in writing unravels itself on her Instagram page @parispoetryy. Readers often find themselves making a home out of her heart!

The Art Showcase for Youth Artists is a virtual event based for youth artists between the ages of 13-18 showcasing their artwork whether it be writing, illustrating or photography. The event also features special guest speakers relative to the art industry whom share their journey with art to the audience.

This project was a collaboration with the members of Youth LEaD, a program run under a non-profit organization called, TCET (The Centre for Education and Training).

EMP FITNESS PROJECT

Moreover, when we created EMP Fitness we were aware of the physical and social barriers that were presented during the pandemic. For instance, we quickly realized that youth and adults were not getting nearly as much exercise as they did before COVID-19, we also observed that while our community wanted to become active it was difficult for them to independently commit to a workout schedule. We also learned that many youth were losing their motivation to be socially active.The question became where do we create a (virtual) space for youth to feel like they belong and how do we keep them socially and physically active during these peculiar times? We were able to address these questions and concerns by creating weekly exercises on Instagram Live which were led by Poojan, Anjali, Kadia and Linda. Collectively, we established a routine by scheduling community workout sessions on Monday's and Friday's. Our fitness team did not only endorse a healthy lifestyle but we encouraged each other to try our best.

Our instructors' unique personalities allowed our viewers to laugh while they were working out- whether it was through Kadia's Warrior scream stretches, Poojan's clever one liner remarks during her workouts, or Linda's passion to teach our community how to dance regardless if they hold the confidence to do so. We were able to connect with our community during a time where human interaction was limited. What is more, EMP Fitness made a statement to incorporate healthy dietary snacks into our workout plans; Anjali provided us with fresh and affordable tips on how to combine fruits and vegetables into a healthy snack. For instance, her Girl Green Smoothie contained a variety of ingredients that contained antioxidants with a rich source of vitamins. In the end, EMP Fitness was a program that was vital for our current (and future) environment because we enforced routine and discipline, encouraged biological health but most importantly we stayed connected each and every week.

POLICY AND BY-LAW COMMITTEE

There are a lot of people in the community who have the drive to serve and work towards a bigger purpose through the formation of small non-profit organizations. These organizations have 5 to 15 people working towards a common goal of community service and are not formally equipped to have a written procedure to do things in place. This is where we saw a gap to have some policies in place which are easy to understand, follow, and get back to, when there are any doubts. Having formal customized policies duly vetted by a lawyer would involve a lot of cost, which might not be best suitable for these very small non-profits still in its transitioning phase. We would address this gap by formulating template policies in general and specific to the pandemic which can be used by such organizations.

Now, the value of community service and social responsibility has been highlighted more than ever due to the pandemic. New non-profit organizations are being formed or there are ideas that need a direction and a vital document for an incorporated organization is its By-Laws. This is the initiative our team took to form a template by-law which can be used by these organizations also incorporating the amendments to the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act made by Bill C-25.

The members of EmpowHer formed a group to work towards this. The proud team members are Sharan Khela, Laraib Ashfaq, Jessica Bajaj, Sidrah Jamil, Manmeet Multani, Aanchal Bajaj. The project is being led by Anjali Chauhan, who is a Foreign-trained Lawyer and a Corporate Governance Professional. She has the drive to provide Pro Bono services during this pandemic. She will be guiding the team members and making this a learning experience for all through her expertise. The proposed policies that the team would work upon include, but not limited to, Employee and Customer Safety Policy during COVID-19, Diversity and Inclusion, Returns, and refunds policy during COVID-19, Privacy Policy, Online Events Policy and Anti-Harassment Policy.

THE PEEL SCIENCE & LITERACY FREE CAMP

We are excited to announce the launch of the Virtual FREE online Peel Science and Literacy Camp (PSLC) running at the end of the August for six sessions (August 17, August 19, August 21, August 24, August 26, August, 28) with each session from 2:30 - 4:00PM. During the pandemic, there is a niche that needs to be filled. Usually, children go to summer camps, however, due to social distancing, childcare and summer camps are not widely available and will not be running as usual. This program will be developed with the hopes of filling that need for both parents and children. Camps are often the highlight of the summer for most children as they help develop their interpersonal, communication and confidence! We are launching Camp PSLC for children for FREE in middle school! Sessions will be curated to help children create a social circle and actively help them increase their knowledge. The camp will help children gain mentors and transition to school more confidently in September. Our activity filled at-home camp for August will be around the theme of science, scientific documentaries, online game learning, kahoot activities, theme days, potential speakers and more! A calendar outlining each day in detail will be sent to all parents after you sign up at aimashafiq@tcet.com.

Starting from the end of September to November, there will be free online drop in homework help for reading, math, science, english sessions weekly to help children gain assistance in courses they may struggle with, facilitated by University students and upper year highschool students. More details on this will be sent out in September.

To sign up for the Virtual Summer Camp, please e-mail aimashafiq@tcet.com. This opportunity can help children remain socially and academically active and prepared for their next year of study.

THE FRENCH CAFE

The French Cafe is a great opportunity for youth to engage with and socialize with youth close to their ages again without having to break social distancing measures or put any members of their families at risk! It is aimed at the same communities that Vision focuses on, and our program will also be 100% free!

We are hoping to bridge the gap between the opportunities that French immersion kids get in terms of practicing listening to and speaking French, and the core French taught in public schools. We will be playing interactive games and getting the participants used to speaking and hearing French. We also have a big surprise for the students during the final session! Each participant will additionally receive an achievement certificate indicating their estimated level of French-based on the CEFRL.

The dates for the cafe will be August 18, 20, 22, 24,26, and 28 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM!

280 MASKS FOR THE URBAN INDIGENOUS

Initially, after watching the news, I didn't hear much regarding the changes being made to help Indigenous peoples during the pandemic. Since I had taken a class on Aboriginal issues in Canada during this past year, I started looking through the Government of Canada website, to realize changes being made only helped homeless and Aboriginal people in highly congested areas. Since these individuals cannot afford the transportation costs to move to these communities, they cannot benefit from these services. Without the right safety equipment, we are all in danger during this pandemic. This led to me having a conversation with my mom about the steps that the government should be taking to help these people in need, resulting in the idea of mask donations coming up.

After making a budget for the amount of materials it would take me to make 300 masks, I submitted a proposal to the Rising Youth Grant for $250. Once the grant was approved my brother, mom and I made 280 masks, which were donated to the Anishnabwe Health office in Toronto. These masks will be given to any clients in need who come to their office and will be given to any homeless and less fortunate people on the streets of Toronto.

The Rising Youth Grant was what helped fund this project. However, my main inspiration was driven by my prior understanding of a "Current Aboriginal Issues in Canada" class. With help from my teacher, we decided to donate these masks to the Anishnabwe Health office in Toronto, a doctor's office for indigenous peoples in Toronto. All medicines are of the earth and with elders - no pharmaceuticals. From here on, my brother, mom and I started our journey to make these masks to help in keeping everybody safe during this time.

THE COMMUNITY SMILES PROJECT

Focus on the impact that children face during the Covid-19 pandemic has not been brought to the attention of many people. The Community Smiles Project was created to address this issue, where children can receive a birthday care package if their birthdays fall within the pandemic months. This act of kindness addresses the fact that physical distancing policies and financial constraints make it difficult for children to celebrate and understand why it is important to social distance. Venika, Jasmin, and Megan have worked together to coordinate gifts, deliveries, and promote this project throughout the summer.

Care Packages for the Homeless Community - Hygiene Drive

United For Justice is a youth council that was created by 6 individuals who are passionate about social reform in Brampton. During these difficult times with the spread of COVID-19, it was easy to see how this pandemic had affected everyone around us. However, it has been even more devastating for youth and people who may be residentially or financially challenged, creating an added stress to other worries. Hygiene is an important and basic practice, and it is essential for us to take care of ourselves and especially stay clean and healthy in times like this. With all the stress of this added pandemic, basic hygiene shouldn’t be a worry and shelters should have easy access to these products. Recognizing this issue and with the support of United For Justice, I was able to apply for a $750 grant from Rising Youth and we were able to start the Care Packages for the Homeless Community initiative.

This initiative is a hygiene drive where using the funds we have received and donations we collect, we will be buying products such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, etc, and creating care packages which will be donated to Salvation Army Queen Youth Shelter. With the coronavirus taking its toll on the world and the mental and physical health of many, we hope to take a possible stress away from the worries of many who may need it. Proper hygiene is also said to help maintain better health as keeping your body clean helps prevent illness and infection from bacteria or viruses. Being clean also helps with mental health as it causes improved moods, reduced anxiety, more self confidence, and clearer thinking. With our $750 and additional $500 we are planning to raise, we have been able to create over 50 packages which we will be donating soon!