Welcome to the Entrepreneuring Show, where we strive to provide insights and stories for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, where innovation meets inspiration, led by veteran entrepreneur and tech founder. Here’s your host, Jill Button.
Jill: Hello. Today’s episode is brought to you by Girls Inc. of Durham. Girls Inc. of Durham is positioned to have the most significant and life changing impact on girls across Durham Region. They’re dedicated to empowering individual girls, supporting, mentoring, and guiding them in a safe, healthy way. affirming girls only environment.
Jill: They deliver in school and community based programs that tackle self esteem, bullying, sexual assault and healthy relationships. The research based programs goes girls the tools to lead healthy educated and independent lives Girls Inc is building the new generation of strong smart and bold leaders My guest today is Yvette Nechvatal-Drew with over 28 years of experience working in the not for profit sector And direct experience of being the executive director of Girls Inc of Durham for the past eight years 18 years.
Jill: She’s worked incredibly hard to be a strong advocate for girls and women and is known as an expert in her field. Yvette’s leadership, dedication and diligence has earned her the respect of her colleagues and her peers as she was nominated for the Women of Distinction Award and multiple years from 2007, 2013 and 2017.
Jill: Received the Friends of Health Award. Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Award, Business Professional Women’s Community Activism Award. She’s also a mother of two adult children, Natasha and Brayden, who are strong feminists and have lived in Ajax for 38 years. Welcome to the show, Yvette.
Yvette: Thank you so much for having me. It’s a great opportunity, Jill.
Jill: Great to have you. So before we get started, a reminder to our audience, if you have questions for Yvette or about Girls Inc of Durham, her journey, just pop them into the comments section on LinkedIn, YouTube, or Facebook, and we will get to those questions throughout the show.
Jill: Yvette, you and I have known each other for more than a decade. Uh, in fact, I met you when I was a new board member for Girls Inc. And even before I started Procure Pro and certainly before I started Procure Hub, it was my honor to serve on the Girls Inc. board for two terms, and I’m also honored to call you a friend.
Jill: So So happy to have you here. You know, I’m incredibly passionate about Girls Inc. Girls Inc. has always been my charity, um, both for ProcurePro as well as for ProcureHub. Um, and I’m thrilled that I get, I have an opportunity to have you on the show to talk about the incredible work that’s being done at Girls Inc.
Jill: So, Let’s dive into it. Um, so you’ve been the executive director of Girls Inc for 18 years. Is that correct?
Yvette: That is correct. I, you know, time flies by when you are really loving and passionate in what you do, but it’s an ongoing journey. I think that, um, you know, being, uh, the executive director for for 18 years.
Yvette: I have the privilege to sort of see, uh, the work and, uh, the outcomes in practice. So even right now we’re running, uh, our summer camps, uh, throughout Durham region and we have nine girls and girls that are program staff. Uh, and we have many that are in our community, um, community and leadership programming and to see that next generation of leaders from where they started from with their confidence to where they are now, uh, is a privilege and is something that continues to sort of harness my passion.
Jill: So tell us a little bit about, you know, 18 years is a long time. We know that you’re really passionate about, um, Girls Inc, uh, girls and women’s issues. What brought you to Girls Inc all those many years ago?
Yvette: You know, I think that anybody who’s ever, you know, achieved anything had sort of that circle of, um, of support of people in their background to be able to, you know, those sheroes and, and, uh, advocates that are there to, that you can rely on and.
Yvette: For me, um, you know, my family, uh, escaped the Czech Republic, uh, during a time when, uh, Russia was invading very much similar to what’s happening in the Ukraine. Uh, and they looked for countries that were accepting, um, refugees. you know, asylum seekers and that hoping to sort of start a future and landed in Canada.
Yvette: And I think that, you know, having my family not speak any English, um, you know, their German, their Russian, even some of their Polish, uh, fluency did not help them in Winnipeg in the winter. And so it was a huge, um, you know, learning experience. I’m going to talk a little bit about my own experience where my family saw the communities that they lived in as part of their external families.
Yvette: So they were never allowed to go back until after the Iron Curtain fell to see their family. So I grew up not having any grandparents or cousins or any extended family. So, you know, your close neighbors or friends of the family that my parents would work with would become your aunties and your uncles and your cousins.
Yvette: Uh, and so I think that that sort of peered in, uh, in, in helping to sort of steer that community and family is who you bring in and who you choose. And so, you know, that, that work allowed me to, to, you know, see that passion. I think as, um, as a teacher, I used to teach in a high school School, uh, non-traditional fields.
Yvette: I was in, um, chemistry and in biology and, uh, interested in stem. And what I found, even when I was at post-secondary, uh, there were very, very few women that were in the STEM fields. And a lot of it had to do with your internal voice in your dialogue. So even though, um, the world may be encouraging you, you’re, you’re.
Yvette: Uh, parents or your circle. If inside your voice is telling you you’re not good enough. Um, you’re a fraud. They’re going to discover it at any moment. You won’t put your hand up. You won’t take those sort of those opportunities. And so I was very conscious. that, um, you know, I would call upon girls that tend to be kind of quiet and reserved in the corner, uh, and encourage them to sort of give them agencies when they didn’t have agency and support for them to sort of, um, be an ally and reach their potential.
Yvette: As a young mom, when I had my Children and I was at home, that’s when my entrepreneurial role kind of came in. I wanted to see where is there a role where I could stay home with my Children? You know, do a, um, you know, close active parenting. Um, and there weren’t a lot of support and there weren’t a lot of trailblazers to kind of show you how you kind of do that.
Yvette: Um, I know that, you know, trying to navigate your careers and and a business. between like nine and three, which many women still do. And so that’s where my passion kind of comes in. When I talk to heads of CEOs and businesses and companies, and they’re like, how do we get more women interested in non traditional fields?
Yvette: I’m like, you know, when you’re building your corporation and your workforce, Where is your daycare? Where is your your elder care? Where is your pet care? Because a lot of times we as women wear all those hats, right? Worrying about everyone else. Um, yeah, and so that’s where my journey kind of led me into, um, labor, birth.
Yvette: I became a lactation consultant, helping women deliver their babies, uh, working at the Ontario Military Network to legislate. Slightly legislated here in Canada, thought it would take maybe one or two years working through a member’s bill. It took over 10, 11 years of advocate work before it became reality.
Yvette: So. Um, you know, I think that that’s one of the things of kind of looking at, you know, who are our allies? How can we work together? Uh, and what can we do? The goal for me has always been, um, not how to provide answers, um, but how to help people grow and find their own answers, right? So how can we advocate and support, uh, the next generation of leaders?
Jill: So community obviously had a real impact on your, um, your young life and your trajectory. Um, how old were you when you came to Canada? Did you say?
Yvette: Yeah, no, I was two. I was two. And so I was very fortunate, I think, in a sense that, um, you know, I don’t have an accent. My mother has, and my father, who has passed away, um, had a very, very strong accent.
Yvette: And, you know, even though they were here for many, many years, um, you know, people would, you know, sometimes have a real bias to their ability and their their ability to be able to be Canadian. And they would be people say, Well, you know, in Canada, we do it like this. My mom’s like, you know, I’ve been here longer than you’ve been on the planet.
Yvette: So I’m quite familiar. And so I think it’s, you know, empowering and giving, you know, Gaslighting, marginalizations, places where, uh, people feel invisible, generally dismissed, um, regardless of your accomplishments, regardless of their education, even though, uh, my dad was a mechanical engineer, my mom had business school, a lot of their schooling was not recognized here in Canada, um, and so how can we use our powers to lift others, to support others?
Yvette: Uh, and navigate through, uh, I think is sort of building that foundation and, and all the work that we do and your, your passion obviously, um, comes through the advocacy component, um, not just for girls, but also, you know, in your background and experience, um, You know, the midwifery, um, experience and just for those who don’t know what stem means, it’s science, technology, engineering and math.
Yvette: Um, those are programs, um, or areas of focus that are really important, especially for, for girls and women because, um, Girls learn differently and they need different support and different, um, advocacy.
Jill: Can you talk a little bit about the Girls Inc, um, programs? How are those structured? Is it, you know, um, are there intentional programs that are created for girls that’s based on, um, you know, research?
Jill: Like, how are the programs designed and how are they delivered?
Yvette: Yes, our, our programs are designed in research outcome based measurement. We look to give girls the power to, not the power over. And that’s a real big distinction, and about offering them a version to view themselves that highlight their abilities and their strengths.
Yvette: So, all of our programs are strength based. Everybody has their strengths. You know, a different strength that they may have not identified, and it’s, uh, uncovering that, right? In order, so, a lot of times we may compare somebody’s end results to our beginning, and get very frustrated and not want to sort of continue.
Yvette: And so we want to be able to sort of be there, um, to give them opportunities. The sort of the secret sauce that I see in is the people expertly trained facilitators that are there, um, to give them an opportunity in a safe space. Uh, it’s, it’s that place of a girls only environment where they do feel safe in order to feel safe.
Yvette: Uh, in order to voice their concerns and in order to fail and fail for me is very important because it’s an opportunity for us to learn to learn to see what worked, what didn’t work. You know, that’s my kind of that science background. A lot of times that hypothesis. Okay, let’s look to see what could we have done differently?
Yvette: How can we use that to become the best version of ourselves? And then there’s the programming. So those programming has been designed. Everything that we do is intentional and compensatory. So the girls, you know, even if something as simple as a coloring sheet, they may be coloring foods high in folic acid.
Yvette: They’re learning. It’s specific, whatever they’re doing has an outcome that can be measured, and that they can build upon. From that’s age appropriate, whether they’re 6 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 14 and then 15 to 18 and the beyond becoming volunteers and mentors to younger girls.
Jill: Yes. Yes. So let’s delve a little bit deeper into the types of programming that are provided.
Jill: And, and I want to start actually with why girls, so girls learn differently. Girls have, um, like you said, they need to feel safe. So talk a little bit about creating that girls only environment and why they need to have that girls only environment. And then tell us a little bit about. The types of programming that you are providing, for example, um, healthy relationships is a, is one that’s, um, comes to mind in particular.
Yvette: Yeah. So I think that one of the things that we do is, again, like I said, we meet the girls where they’re at having a pro girl environment, having an environment where a lot of times we say, if you can see it, get it. You can be it when you have posters of girls and all kinds of different types of careers and careers options when you see a sheroes when you have guest speakers that kind of come in a very similar to yourself that share their stories, they can see themselves in that light.
Yvette: And I think that there are still a lot of gender stereotypes and stereotypes that maybe we hold are in ourselves of what girls can and cannot do. So that safe environments. to, um, challenge those stereotypes, to talk them over. I think at a very, very young age, girls demonstrate. We see that through our mothers, our grandmothers, our aunts in and around us that are caretakers to everyone else.
Yvette: We model sort of that good girl is quiet, is not putting her needs forward, is taking care of everybody else’s needs. And so I think that a lot of times being able to sort of highlight and speak, that’s where girls, um, you know, we have our bill of rights, which, you know, one of them is taking pride in our success, very hard to do.
Yvette: Um, we don’t model that a lot of times when we see somebody that’s complimenting, uh, another women, uh, it’s a lot of times on their physical attributes, you know, love your hair, your outfit is amazing. So Pink really brings out your eyes. I love, you know, it’s all about, we don’t hear that from men complimenting other men a lot of times.
Yvette: And I think that, you know, they even something like birthday cards, a lot of, of the birthday cards, uh, that are gender stereotypes, show boys in, you know, taking, um, risks, climbing those mountains, being very active. Well, girls are more, you know, having the tea party, being very quiet. Quiet, submissive. Um, and so it’s talking about those types of stereotypes that we’re not maybe even familiar with, um, and the facts that how they impact us.
Yvette: So something as simple as walking into a shopper’s drug mart, you know, I may have a totally different opinion. different experience than when my husband walks into Shoppers Drug Mart, you know, 50 to 70 or more percent of that drugstore is designed to target all the flaws that I have, and the products are there as solutions, right?
Yvette: Uh, he doesn’t feel that way. He doesn’t come out with a whole bunch of projects and a cleaning, you know, um, skin care, regime and, you know, coloring of their hair and all that sort of stuff, whether, you know, as he’s balding and the impact that, you know, it may have on his self esteem. I think that those are sort of the questions that we ask as we’re kind of growing up.
Yvette: Um, and how do we use that for us to sort of quiet, not quiet, but, um, I’d say increase that inner voice that tells us, yes, you can throw your hand up, give it a go. Let’s try something. And so the girls think environment is that where girls are sort of forced to try new things that maybe they wouldn’t try on their own.
Yvette: Uh, and even if they don’t succeed, learn how to build those resiliencies. And when they’re in that safe space, then they’re going to be able to sort of recreate that when they’re out into the world. And so an example would be in, in, in our sort of our sporting chance program, where we look at girls kind of break down the, the sort of the dynamics of even throwing a ball and catching a ball.
Yvette: If you’ve never experienced that, if you did not grow up. With, um, you know, people that will throw a ball or catch a ball to you that a lot of times you don’t have the confidence to do that. And so all of a sudden it is, um, you know, Jim and we’re all going outside and we’re going to play baseball. And this is the first time you’ve ever touched a ball, let alone played a ball.
Yvette: They’re gonna take one, they’re gonna throw one, and all eyes are on you. And you throw it, and it goes behind you. And everyone is laughing. And the next thing that we do is we find that girls have a stomachache at every gym class, and would be in the locker room, and not participating. So by breaking up those dynamics, throwing like a girl ends up becoming a positive term, uh, where they feel confident to be able to do that.
Yvette: and we see that after they take their They’re, uh, those chances and those programming, they translate that into school as in and also after school, whether it’s participating in, um, after school programming on sports teams, you know, putting their hand up to be the captain of a team or intramural. Uh, and so that’s where we see that strength based outcome measurement that goes beyond, uh, the programming that they do, but it is that starting point.
Yvette: That planting that seed that is so right. Um,
Jill: so literally changing girls lives. So I’ve had the privilege of being involved with girls Inc for over a decade. Um, as I said in the, uh, the intro, I’ve, I’ve done two tours of duty, uh, on the board and it’s been my absolute honor and privilege to do so the, the, the.
Jill: The thing that is most impactful for me as a board member is hearing the stories about literally how Girls Inc is changing girls lives. I recall there was a speech given by one of our girls at, uh, the Spirit of Girls Breakfast, which happens, uh, in April of every year. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Yvette: Um, April and May, May is, um, the first week in May is Girls Rights Week.
Jill: And so we usually tie it in around then. I should know that after, after a decade of being involved, but tell us a little bit, like share with us, you know, obviously without giving away confidential information, but share with us, you know, some of the, some of the feedback, the stories from girls, um, I recall there was one specifically about a girl who just was unable to even verbalize or speak, um, you know, and her background, Through the programming, she gained this incredible encouragement and, uh, can you tell us a little bit about some of those types of stories?
Yvette: Yeah, I mean, I think that a lot of times of our programming takes on, uh, a real trauma approach, right? Um, and so again, very similar to, to families and girls who are immigrants, English as a second language, find themselves, uh, you know, in another country without those supports. And it’s seeing that sort of that metamorphosis of whether it was a personal physical sexual assault and abuse, um, that they have endured will come to our program with um, you know, again, being quiet, not being scared to be able to have an opinion or a voice or to participate.
Yvette: And it’s seeing that sort of that metamorphosis. of her, the enfoldment of finding that pride and that courage for her to be able to sort of share. Um, and parents will actually say, I don’t know what you do at that girl’s Inc, but you know, she is coming and she’s telling us about the seven steps of communication and how she, how certain comments or things make her feel and navigating and, you know, becoming, you know, seeing how, uh, she’s gaining that power, uh, giving them agency where they may have not had agency before.
Yvette: for right that support, um, that they can feel and be an advocate for themselves and also an advocate for others. And so when you see a young girl sort of transform into that, um, that will then take and, and share her experience, feels empowered to be able to share how, um, the experiences impacted her, uh, the growth that she actually had and what she has learned about herself.
Yvette: Uh, and then we’ll be that ally for someone else. And I always see that journey where we may be two or three steps ahead of someone else. So we can kind of say, you know, the path curves up ahead, right? And so I think that that’s one of the things that’s so empowering to be able to see that we had a very young girl.
Yvette: Um, you know, who was not in a healthy relationship, was one of the youngest, topless, squeegee girls, um, you know, in downtown Toronto, was, uh, in, you know, finished, um, the highest science, uh, mark in grade eight, uh, won the science award, you know, and in high school was lost and did not feel, you know, well.
Yvette: Part of any kind of group was not in in a good place mentally, as well as with her with allies or the friends that she was choosing, you know, and coming to Girls Inc to sort of find out where she was and was part of our prenatal nutrition program where we give women food, uh, fresh groceries, um, prenatal vitamins so that they can give their babies the best possible start.
Yvette: Um, and you know, I think that one of the things to sort of see her and, um, give her a role. She was an amazing young mom. She was an amazing, um, you know, breastfeeding advocate. I, uh, I gain gained, um, her gave her the skills to become a peer breastfeeding mentor. She found some income and agencies to sort of feel like, you know, I’m really good at this.
Yvette: And I remember her crying and saying that, you know, this is the first time that she ever felt that somebody had told her that she was good at something. Um, and she, She just completed, um, a few years ago, a master’s in nursing, uh, and to be able to sort of see her children, I think, uh, her eldest daughter actually is in nursing right now.
Yvette: Um, again, we say it takes a village, but we see that when we give the skills, the tools, they take care of the family, they take care of our communities, and it’s an investment Um, and I think that a lot of times it’s that independence, it’s that education, uh, and it’s that exposure that’s, that’s determining the next generation in the society that we’re creating.
Jill: So the stories of girls who are going through and recovering from trauma, Girls Inc really is changing their lives, giving them that, the skills to be resilient. to build, um, you know, leadership skills. Um, in the case of the girl that you talked about, you know, giving her a voice and the confidence to know that she has value and that she can accomplish, um, many different things.
Jill: You do have a scholarship program, which is really impressive as well. Tell us a little bit about the scholarships that have been awarded and in particular, um, I know that you’ve had many success stories for those girls who’ve gone through the program. So because the Girls Inc. program has been around for quite a while, like you said, you do have girls who’ve entered the program quite young, who’ve, you know, gone through the program throughout their early childhood through to teens, and now who have actually become volunteers or even employed at Girls Inc.,
Jill: and again, the success stories. going on to do incredible things. Tell us a little bit about those, uh, success stories.
Yvette: Yeah, I mean, we had young girls who started our program as young as six and, you know, as they go through, um, you know, their adolescent years, um, had, uh, body image issues, had bullying issues, bullying.
Yvette: Girls are amazing at bullying through exclusion. Uh, we have seen a real uptake in mental health issues. And we had a young woman who, you know, had an eating disorder. Disorder had been hospitalized a couple of times, uh, you know, in trying to sort of overcome those, um, mental health issues and, you know, that, that internal dialogue of that you’re not good enough and, um, and that, um, that the fair feel of failure.
Yvette: And I think that, you know, she on the outside looked like she had it all. You know, type A personality, um, top marks, uh, one in high school, one, the, the history, the math, um, the reading award, um, was amazing in athletics, played at a rep level, uh, was incredibly, um, you know, hardworking, um, taking care of everybody in, in her peers in her circle.
Yvette: Um, but it actually ended up. Um, you know, having a mental impact on on herself and being able to sort of step back and looking at where her strengths lies and where what it is that you wanted to do. I think the goal that we do again, and looking at helping somebody grow and find those answers. answers.
Yvette: Um, is that what is a problem that you’re going to solve when you grow up? Not what you want to be to grow up, right? And I think that a lot of times, even our leadership and community action program shows that they are the change agents. So if they have identified something in their community that needs to change.
Yvette: They don’t go, you know, someone could, you know, someone should do you, someone behind me is problem. They look in the mirror and they say, what is it that I can do to make a difference? Um, and so this young lady ended up winning a 25, 000 post secondary education scholarship. Uh, she went on to, to McGill and, uh, completed, um, you know, her degree in history and geography, and then ended up having a teaching.
Yvette: Um, degree and is now an amazing teacher, uh, in the school system and has held all kinds of, um, Groups for girls and advocacy in the community and the schools that she was at. And I think that that is again that paying it forward, having a huge impact of something that she, um, had overcome and how she was able to grow, uh, the internal strengths that she has and share that with her students and with other women that, That she comes across.
Yvette: You know, it’s very difficult to be a woman today. We demonstrate a lot of, um, and there’s been a lot of documentation around, um, you know, the sort of the woman, the superhero woman, right? Uh, and that can kind of do it all. Um, and now Supergirl dilemma in that they’re modeling and seeing that their mothers have, you know, You know, full time careers and they’re supposed to work like they have no Children, uh, and then trying to give one on one enrichment to every child like she has no job, right?
Yvette: And, uh, to be this amazing spouse and partner and, and everybody else’s needs, but her own, and you feel a little bit like a whack a mole, like you’re trying to sort of keep everything afloat, um, but feeling like a failure in all areas. Our Children are seeing that and they’re looking at that. And so that’s why it’s really important, uh, to to us to demonstrate on how we navigate that.
Yvette: And it does take a community. And so, even though, as a mom, you can be saying all the right things, um, it’s when someone else, whether it’s a coach or a teacher or a Girls Inc facilitator, highlights some of those strengths that that aha moment and that transformational change starts to happen. To work in that girl.
Yvette: So that’s why it does take a community. Mm-Hmm, . And then they, they say maybe I, maybe I am, you know, good at math. Maybe I should do, uh, uh, the, the, you know, take that as another course or look into calculus. I do enjoy it. Um, I think that a lot of times we tend to need. And studies have shown that young men need encouragement one or two times in order to take on a new role or try something new, while a young woman would need anywhere from six to eight times of encouragement.
Yvette: And I think that that’s important. It’s because we need to quiet down that internal voice that’s counteracting that, ah, no, I can’t or no, I shouldn’t, or why we, we will fail at it. So, you know, hearing it more and more often in the safe space at Girls Inc, they’re primed that when they hear it out in the outside, um, I mean, school, community, other areas.
Yvette: They’re already primed to say, okay, yeah, I’m going to give it a go. I’m going to try. And we see that demonstrated, um, all the time through, through our girls, uh, as they go through the programming.
Jill: So we’re going to take a quick break. When we get back, we’re going to talk to Yvette about leadership. So in particular, I’m very interested.
Jill: And one of the reasons why I got involved is because as a woman in business, I really wanted to support the next generation of female leaders. And I’m going to talk to Yvette when we get back about what they’re doing to help raise the next generation of female leaders. Uh, after a word from our sponsor.
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Jill: Okay, we’re back. We’re talking to Yvette Nashville Drew, Executive Director of Girls Inc Durham. So now let’s talk a little bit about leadership and the leadership programs and how you’re encouraging and building the next generation of female leaders.
Yvette: Yeah, we have an amazing program that’s called Leadership and Community Action. The program is actually geared for girls 6 to 11 and then 12 to 18. The girls that are in the 12 to 18 learn the curriculum, the hands on, minds on programming that they learn. And then in the first month and then the following month, they act as peer mentors to the younger girls.
Yvette: So they kind of teach and learn what they’ve learned. And what’s really exciting is that when you have somebody that’s six or seven that looks up at you, you know, at, at 12 or 13, they think you are amazing. I want to be you. Um, that confidence that kind of goes, what? I mean, like, wow. And they see the leaders, skills in us that a lot of times we admire and that we don’t maybe highlight for ourselves.
Yvette: And so I think the program is designed for them to sort of be able to demonstrate leadership qualities to the younger girls that they would like to see in themselves to take risks to learn how to fail. And then together they work together in being some kind of an issue. The other thing that the program does really well.
Yvette: As it plants that seed of philanthropy. So again, how can you be that agent of change? And they’ve raised all kinds of money for all kinds of other charities in Durham region that they see as an issue. It’s really, really small, uh, to something really big. We had a young girl, I think I shared a story before where she went to her grandmother’s in New Brunswick and um, they were, it was a recycling day and she’s putting the garbage out and she’s like, Where’s your green bin and your blue bin?
Yvette: And, and her Nan says, well, we don’t recycle our, our green bin and blue bin. We don’t have that. What is that? And she couldn’t believe that they did not have a recycling program for all, for their, so she wrote a letter because she knew at Girls Inc, that is what we do. We look to see who is responsible for this.
Yvette: And she wrote a letter about what we do here in Durham and how we’re recycling that she puts out and helps her parents do. And that she’s really concerned about the planet and that, you know, that that is something that the mayor should do. Well, before she even returned back home to Ontario, the mayor wrote her a letter and she was brought it in so excited to share with everybody to sort of see how her little letter turned out.
Yvette: really had a huge impact on making change. And he told her that actually they are going to be implementing a recycling program in the next few months. And thank you, uh, for her information and that will be rolling out. And she definitely, to this day, you know, it will probably be a prime minister or a CEO of some company because she can see how she impacted this transformational change and it’s planting those little seeds.
Jill: That’s incredible. And that, that confidence that you’re building in those girls to be able to feel empowered to have that voice to write that letter, not feeling like they’re bothering somebody or that it’s not their place or like you said early on, it’s Somebody else will solve this problem. That kind of leadership, um, and advocacy is so incredibly important.
Jill: And having the, those programs available to girls, I’ve always said, you know, I wish girls Inc was around when I was a girl, I struggled myself with, you know, self esteem, um, confidence. And. You know, getting older, even to this day, imposter syndrome. Do I have the skills necessary? And then, you know, looking back and going, yeah, I do.
Jill: I’m the CEO of my own company. I’m an entrepreneur. I’m doing my own show. I employ people and I’m doing good in the world. Sometimes girls need to know. That they’re doing good in the world and seeing the results of those, um, those learnings, um, having an impact, the story that just told is so critically important to build the next generation of female leaders.
Jill: Um, so let’s talk a little bit, um, more, I’m interested to know how can our listeners get involved? What can they do? We talked a little bit about some of the events that are coming up, but uh, can you tell us a little bit more, you know, do you need more board members? I had the privilege of serving on the board.
Jill: Are you looking for more board members, volunteers, events? donations. How can we help support? How can our listeners help support?
Yvette: Yeah, we’re always looking for, you know, those connectors in our community. So we’re looking for, uh, people who have time to volunteer our volunteer opportunities. Our prenatal nutrition program does weekly foods delivery.
Yvette: So if you’re able to drive in and deliver those foods or bingo volunteers, we have event committee volunteers that we’re looking for. for finance committee. And as you said, as well, board, uh, board members on there. We’re looking for, um, you know, even individuals and businesses that could be guest speakers that are programming, you know, offering people a view of themselves that highlights their their ability to be the best version of themselves.
Yvette: Girls, if they can see it, they can be it. And I think that a lot of times, and you’ve been a guest speaker as well to talk about, but the navigating of the road isn’t just straight line. There’s so many obstacles along the way of trying things and seeing, you know what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy in order to sort of reach where you are at.
Yvette: And so Um, you know, looking for companies that are interested in being sponsors at our upcoming Power of the Purse event, uh, looking for partnerships we’ve had, uh, with companies that can talk, uh, to our girls as well, or, um, we had period packing, um, uh, kits that we do for the girls in the schools, and we, we distribute to the, um, communities, so we had volunteers that are coming from companies that would like to do some philanthropy, Um, so we do a lot of volunteer work and build those kits.
Yvette: We do distribution of the United Way Backpack program as well. So getting backpacks out to families and connecting and coordinating. So there are a number of ways that you can volunteer your time, your talent and of course your treasure. Always looking for opportunities for sponsorships, donations, investing in girls and in the next generation of our leaders.
Jill: So in terms of donations, because this is an entrepreneur and show, and many of our listeners are entrepreneurs, business owners, small and medium sized business, I’d like to encourage everyone who’s listening. In fact, I’ll challenge you, um, get involved and, you know, submit a corporate donation. You actually have the ability to do a one time donation as a corporate donor, but you can also do an ongoing donation.
Jill: So please Procure Pro has been an ongoing supporter of Girls Inc. And we have sponsored, I personally donate monthly, but we’ve also sponsored events that are coming up. So if you’re a corporate entrepreneur, a corporate donor, please get involved. You open that wallet. Support girls Inc. Um, you are literally changing the lives of girls with your support, whether you’re a volunteer, but corporate donors open that wallet and we’re going to give you a link to donate in the description.
Jill: So upcoming events. So speaking of corporate donations, there’s some sponsorship opportunities coming up for one of my favorite events of all time that happens annually called Power of the Purse. Can you tell us a little bit about Power of the Purse?
Yvette: Yes, Power of the Purse is at the Audley Center this year on Friday, November the 8th.
Yvette: It is a great way to sort of see all the power of our pocketbook. So there are many silent auction and live auction items that you can see is a great time to sort of do your Christmas shopping, right? Or holiday shopping for gifts and birthdays and, uh, and Hanukkah. And I think that a lot of times, you know, getting out there, seeing our girls that are going to be guests tonight.
Yvette: speakers, as well as some of our community partners to talk and see the actual impact to the Girls Inc programming has had on their lives in our community. It’s a great way for you to sort of give back, be a part of that and have fun. Uh, the event itself is for 19 and over. Uh, so So that there is wine and alcohol as well as an amazing charcuterie board, uh, that’s there.
Yvette: Um, and so there’s so much fun and so many prizes. So if you’re interested in donating a silent auction item, or if you’re interested in, you know, advertising and having your sponsorship there as well, there are many, many levels. Uh, that you can go, uh, from a presenting sponsor all the way down to a small business sponsor, uh, which will have a huge impact on raising funds for, for our girls.
Jill: Amazing. And so having been a part of power of the Purse, it is absolutely a not to be missed event. As Yvette has said, there is a massive charcuterie board that is probably 30 feet long. Uh, every manner of goodies for you to consume. Um, not to mention cocktails or wine, beer, um, and soft drinks as well.
Jill: There’s also, um, I don’t know if you’re having it this year, but there’s a fun photo booth that you can actually take pictures with your friends. friends. There’s always local celebrities, uh, as well as officials from across term region who participate. Um, the board of directors, uh, is always in attendance as well as our amazing volunteers.
Jill: Um, who help tirelessly put on this event, uh, every year. So if you want to get involved in power of the purse, whether you want to donate, um, or silent auction items, become a sponsor, attend all of the above, um, again, link in the description for you to get involved. Um, Yvette, is there anything else that we should be knowing about girls Inc, uh, that we need to be aware of how we can support.
Yvette: Yeah, I think, you know, supporting the next generation of women leaders, um, is not just a women feminist, um, focus. We need men. Men and, and men allies, right? And I think that, you know, it’s important for us to, That to have, um, any strong dads who have daughters who have wives and aunts and, um, and mothers, you know, I think that it, it takes a community and it’s going to have a positive impact on our economy.
Yvette: We’re 51 percent of the population. Uh, we should be, uh, at least 50 percent in decision making and at the table so that when we work together and we see that view. Perspective it’s just a benefit for everyone and and I think that that’s one of the things that you know We have some amazing male allies as board members and committee members and volunteers And same thing with the power of the purse.
Yvette: It’s a power of the pocketbook. So men are encouraged and welcome and And we hope that they also come out to show their support Absolutely. Thank you for including that because that is so incredibly important for everyone to understand. This isn’t just about girls. This is about men who have wives, who have daughters, who have nieces.
Yvette: It’s, it’s not just about women. It’s about the strong men who support, uh, girls to become strong, smart, and bold. Awesome. So thank you so much, Yvette, for coming on the show, talking about Girls Inc, sharing your passion with us. It’s always a pleasure. Thank you so much. So for those of you who want to connect with you that you can follow her on LinkedIn, you can connect through Girls Inc Durham.
Jill: If you’re interested in becoming a volunteers again, we’ll put a link in the description. Um, and you can learn about any updates that are coming, or you can sign up to again, to be a one time donor or preferably an ongoing donor. Um, you can visit girls Inc at girls Inc hyphen Durham dot org. If you’d like more information about, uh, being on the show, the entrepreneur and show, or have an idea for the show, you can visit us at The Entrepreneuring Show.
Jill: com. Or you can send us an email to info at procurepro. ca. Thank you everyone for joining us today. And for entrepreneurs out there, just keep swimming.