We began working with TeenZone girls group in September 2013, when we agreed to help the group working towards fundraising $2000 for their exchange trip. We supported approximately 15 at-risk girls with budgeting, planning, fundraising, event promotion, digital, financial and entrepreneurial skills.
In light of their upcoming exchange trip, the group expressed the desire of building some kind of tool to help them coordinate activities and access important contacts in case of emergencies while on exchange: thus we helped them to build their own mobile app.
By the end of the program, the girls raised 2/3 of their fundraising goal, through multiple fundraising activities, including bottle drive, singing in the metro, coffee house, crowd funding, bake sale, bagging groceries at the local IGA, a wake-a-thon, talent shows, and more.
Meeting weekly with the girls at TeenZone, we facilitated numerous workshops aimed at helping the group keeping on track with their fundraising goal. During the course of the fundraiser, we facilitated workshops on the following skills:
Aside from focusing on fundraising for their exchange, the girls’ participation in the project affected their confidence. Even after the project ended the group more easily engaged in conversations about multiple ways to react, and reason from different perspectives.
By focusing on and fostering the group’s participation and their interests, we encouraged the participants to remember and draw from their own experiences. This enabled them to draw inspiration from different aspects of their diverse experiences.
