The Circle Education Pass it On Girls program has received a $20.000 Community Board grant from TELUS Friendly Future Foundation® and TELUS’ Vancouver and Coastal Community Board. This program, which is going into its fifteenth year in September 2024, is an after-school cross-peer group mentorship program that supports self-awareness and healthy relationships by creating a safe and trusted space for sharing, learning, and practicing important life skills.
With the donation of $20,000 from the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, The Circle Education can provide 40 participants between ages 13 and 18 with 108 hours of free programming in the area of mental well-being and social-emotional learning. The program addresses youth in transition stages and helps them with the challenges they’re facing, like body image and self-esteem, social media use, friendship stressors, and mental health.
“We are thrilled for the support of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation,” says Janine Fernandes-Hayden, Executive Director at The Circle Education. “The impact of this grant is significant. In a rural community where young girls face additional barriers, such as a lack of resources, social networks and isolation, this funding is extremely powerful.”
Pass it On Girls started fifteen years ago after a student at the high school noticed that middle school girls engaged in risky behaviour. She became vocal in expressing concern for younger girls around issues of drugs alcohol misuse and sexual exploitation. She recognized the value that a ‘big sister’ kind of relationship with a positive high school role model could have in addressing these kinds of issues. As support and interest in the idea grew, girls engaged in The Circle Education school programs, were appealing for more time outside the timetable. It was clear from these requests that girls and young women were seeking to work together to deepen their understanding of issues they faced in the Salt Spring Island community and across BC.
The Circle Education acknowledged this need and wheels began to turn for what now is the Pass it On Girls program. Pass it On Girls works to overcome all barriers by providing girls and young women with the support and information required to thrive, by helping them to uncover their own internal capacities, and by providing strong role modeling to show them what they can achieve. Through a program like Pass It On, the simple act of meeting weekly, sharing deeply, and supporting others has a notable impact on all program participants.
TELUS Friendly Future Foundation
TELUS Friendly Future Foundation is a Canadian registered charity that believes all youth, regardless of circumstance, deserve an equal opportunity to reach their full potential. That is why we’re committed to giving youth the opportunity to belong. By funding more than 500 charities each year that provide education and health programs, many enabled by technology, along with providing educational bursaries, TELUS Friendly Future Foundation is helping more than two million youth in communities across Canada build skills, confidence and feel a sense of belonging. In 2023 alone, TELUS Friendly Future Foundation provided more than $9 million in grants to 550+ charitable programs across Canada, and close to $2 million in bursaries to 400+ post-secondary students experiencing financial need and who are committed to making a difference in their communities. For more information on TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, visit friendlyfuture.com
