0:00:02 - Briar
There we are. We are live. Hello everyone, welcome. I am Briar Harvey. This is the Neurodiversity Media Network, and today I am here with the fabulous Margaret Dennis and Lea Moffatt. We're going to be talking about their coaching program for teenage girls, and I want to. It's very local, in the way of these sorts of in-person programs, so I want to make sure that we save lots of time for figuring out how to build it yourself, if you would like, and or find a program like it in your area. So let's start at the top please, hello.
0:00:57 - Margaret
Thanks so much for having us, Briar. We are very, very honored and appreciative of being here today. My name is Margaret Dennis. I am the founder and CEO of Evolve Coaching and I'm a women's life empowerment and grief coach, but, more importantly, i am the co-founder of Unshakable Me, which is a summer day camp for teenage girls where our vision is to empower teenage girls to take on the world, and we are super excited to do this. This is our inaugural year And, yeah, i'm going to pass it over to Lea and then we'll chat more about the camp as we go through.
0:01:36 - Lea
Awesome. Thanks, margaret. So, equally echoing what Margaret said, we are honored and very excited about the opportunity to speak here. My name is Lea. I am just starting my own business. I like to just kind of work with my creativity and empower others to work with their creativity. My passion is play at any age and, just you know, reconnecting with your inner child. As a teacher trained as a teacher And I am also a life coach with a tool set that is based in phototherapy, so I'm just so excited to bring all of this to the girls and to just help them not lose that. You know, creative creativity and play that they naturally have. That's about the time we start to lose it, so I'm so excited to bring that to the camp.
0:02:23 - Briar
So start with where did this idea come from?
0:02:29 - Margaret
Okay, so back in February I did an online speech called from fear to empowerment, and it was for a different summit. That happened back in February And it was recorded and I told my friend you cannot watch it while I do this, you have to be out of the room. So he watched it afterwards And he looked at me and he said you should be talking to teenage girls. And I was like, oh, light bulb moment. Yes, teenage girls need to hear this. And then I was a couple weeks later at our camp that we go to, soulful camp, which is the most amazing women's retreat, and Lea and I were both leaders there And we were there, we were teaching, and I happened to be talking to one of the one of the co founders of soulful camp. I asked them. I said do you have camps for teenage girls Or are you thinking about doing it? And she's like Oh, we're asked all the time but no, we're not, we're just sticking with women. And so, as I was talking, the way I remember it, Lea had overheard and she approached me and said Are you thinking about doing camps for teenage girls? Because I would love to help? And this was March of this year And I think March 3rd, right, Lea, like it was like the beginning of March, and I said, sure, that would be great.
And within six weeks we had decided to run two camps. Originally we were just going to run one. We decided to do one up near where I live, near Ottawa, ontario, and one down near where Lea lives, which is close to Oshawa, ontario, and so we have a camp now running in July and August for teenage girls And we literally created it this year And we are so excited And the amount of support is incredible. So it just came out of comments that we heard from other people that twigged an idea, that started the passion and just a conversation between Lea and I, and the more we started talking about it, the more it built and it became it's just.
This is passion that I don't think either one of us realized we had inside of us till we started talking about it And then it was like, yes, we have to do this, and both of us are moms to teenage girls. I have a 14 year old and Lea has a 13 year old And we've seen firsthand what it's like for these girls these days and add in the last two to three years of COVID and the isolation and the lack of socialization. Our girls need the support, really, really need the support.
0:04:49 - Briar
Really really need the support. So let's talk about that aspect a little. Your girls' stories are their own And we like to let them tell their own stories, but you're also mothers with teenage girls. My oldest is 20. Oh crap, she's 22 now. Like it's wild And it's a. It's a rough time for girls right now, so where did this need come from, Lea? let's start with you.
0:05:27 - Lea
So for me I have a neurodivergent to neurodivergent teenagers We're all about the emotions. We are a neurodivergent household And I kind of approached that that the kind of strategies and things that we use when we're dealing with our emotion are helpful for everyone. And my strategy is always leaning in, because that's where growth happens and pain happens when we don't lean in. So my kind of vision with these camps and the need comes from that. I see so many people women that we work with at the camps, other girls that my daughter is friends with avoiding their emotions and shoving them way deep down And they come up later. I happened for myself. I had a depressive episode a couple of years ago And it all came from that, just not embracing my emotions. So the growth that I learned from that I want to be able to use the strategies and the things that worked for me and that I continue to empower my family with to. You know, give those strategies to the girls at camp and to their mothers and you know, ripples happen from that.
0:06:36 - Briar
Margaret.
0:06:39 - Margaret
Okay, so can you repeat the question, because I was so excited listening to Lea.
0:06:48 - Briar
What is going on in the world for your daughters that makes this so urgent right now?
0:07:00 - Margaret
Oh, 100% echo what Lea said. Right, there's no dealing with emotions. I think we're seeing the higher, highest levels we've ever seen of girls suffering from anxiety, depression, addictions, even right, addictions to their phone, addictions to drugs, addictions to all kinds of things And they're not connecting with one another on a real level. Right, they're connecting through their phones. We get a group of teenagers together and they're all sitting on their phones and sometimes they're texting each other beside each other, like there's no connection. And I think for a lot of our girls we're seeing more and more diagnoses of ADHD and these social challenges that they're having And a lot of it.
We're not talking about emotions. We're not talking about the reality of emotions. We're not teaching our girls how to deal with emotions. We're not teaching our girls how to interact. We're not teaching our girls about the difference between belonging and fitting in and what happens about bullying. And we've all been teenage girls. You could not pay me enough to go back to be a teenage girl again. So add on all of our own experiences plus what's been going on in the world. These girls are struggling. They are really, really struggling, and so we design these camps to really focus on helping these girls look within and see who they are Right.
I don't think the girls know who they are. They've never been given the opportunity to say what do I really like, what's really important to me, what are my best qualities? Either people have put them down about it or they're afraid to show them, or they don't even know they exist. Right, and then top on the emotions that go along with that and all the influence of social media and all the influencers that are out there. I have to be this, i have to be that, and it's far worse than it ever was when we were kids, because it's constant. It's 24, seven, and so for us, the camps are providing these girls with a safe space away from social media, away from the external world that is constantly saying you have to look like this and be like this and act like this, and you know we like you, we don't like you, and we're just going to send you a text because we're not, you know, bold enough to say it to your face. We're giving them a space to explore who they are And we're also teaching them some tools that they can then take forward with them that when they come up against those challenges and when they come up against the bullying and they come up against the I didn't get the job or I didn't pass the exam, or, you know, things aren't going well at home that they don't take it on like there's something wrong with them. It's. It's changing that perspective because for me, one of the motivating factors about creating these camps is as a life coach and I work with women all the time, 99.9% of the time.
When we're dealing with issues that they're dealing with now and I work with women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s We end up back in their childhood and teenage years around issues That they didn't know know how to deal with back then, that have impacted them so deeply and so greatly. It has affected the trajectory of their life and now, at this age, as an adult, now We're digging into it, now We're dealing with it. So I know for both Lea and I, a big factor was if we can start at the source Right. Let's go back to where the girls are growing and being influenced and give them some tools So that when they go out into the world, when they go back to school, when they go back into their family and their friend groups, they've got the tools to support themselves, and they don't always have to be relying on the external world To tell them who they are and who they should be, because they can turn inward and figure that out for themselves and know who they are.
0:10:53 - Briar
You know, i think the first question and there are many, but the first that comes up here is Why is this not already something that's being taught to them structurally?
0:11:08 - Margaret
Don't know. I think I know, Lea, you got that.
0:11:12 - Lea
Do. The first thing that popped into my head is fear. I mean, emotions are scary and I think I'm only still learning to navigate my own emotions and we aren't taught that. It's not even a skill to be considered, but it's been so empowering for me going to these women's retreats. I've been lucky enough to have amazing coaches in my life to help me navigate those things. But I didn't even have the words for emotions when I was younger. It wasn't a thing and I don't know. I think it's fear. I think it's people are scared of what might come up, but I think we just need to Showcase that and show you know we go through hard things, we deal with them, we navigate through them, we embrace them, we learn from them, we grow from them and That's growth. So yeah, we, i tackle fear head-on.
0:12:05 - Briar
And I think the follow-up there is How do we emphasize the importance of emotional health to our overall development?
0:12:22 - Margaret
Yeah, with that one, i think there's it's becoming more and more of I don't say a buzzword around emotional intelligence within the corporate world. They're talking about identifying emotions relating to people on an emotional way, having that emotional intelligence when you're communicating with people. So I think it's really kind of suggests that we do need to go back into the teenage years, even younger, to teach kids about emotional intelligence, to teach kids about emotions and how to identify them and how to see them and other people right, how to relate to themselves, how to relate to others, and Giving them the opportunity to figure out. What does that actually feel like to you when you feel sad? How does that show up in your body? How can you recognize it within yourself? You know we may see someone crying and know that they're crying and they're sad. But are they sad? Maybe they're mad, maybe they're frustrated and it's coming out as tears and it looks like crying.
So really teaching the girls about emotions Helps them not only to recognize other emotions and other people that will help them navigate those relationships and interactions as they grow, but also let's focus on how it shows up for you, because every emotion comes with a physical response, right, and If you can identify that within yourself, then you're so much further ahead and being able to Understand what's going on for you, so that what you can not let it overtake you and impact how you're responding and interacting with other people, like if you know, this is really triggered me. I'm really upset right now. Okay, i'm gonna take five and I'll come back to you when I've had a chance to calm down Whether, instead of you just upset me and now it's your fault, right, it's you upset me rather than I got upset by what you said.
0:14:18 - Briar
It's a different perspective, and so I think teaching girls that is so important well, in addition to an increase in diagnoses and addiction, suicide rates are at an all-time high, mental health, long-term inpatient stays are at an all-time high, and general isolation from our peers seems to be endemic. What, then, are we hoping for when it comes to better here? We're obviously giving them emotional skills to be able to manage these things and not Have it be the end of the world. And also, the teenage years are wildly emotional times, right? So what's the end result here?
0:15:23 - Lea
My first and always answer is play. I'm not losing that play And I think you know we can get so bogged down with how hard things are And you start getting responsibilities at that age where you are responsible for bringing your textbook to school, You are responsible for I guess now it's a charter for your laptop, And those responsibilities pile on and pile on and they you lose that play. And there's so much satisfaction in that that I try to find you know, where can we put that in? Like I like feeling this emotion. What do I do that causes me to feel that emotion? Where can I fit that in?
And it's not a matter of I'm having responsibilities and then I'm playing. It's how can I play with the responsibilities that I have. And that's one of the tools that I want to be able to give the girls is identifying not just the uncomfortable emotions that are really really hard, but also, you know, what are the emotions we like to feel, What causes us to have those emotions And how do I put that into my everyday life? So, maybe I don't have a job that I love, Maybe I have to clean the house, and I don't love cleaning the house, But can I put music on while I do it, Do I enjoy doing that? Now I enjoy cleaning because I enjoy putting the music on. So just like looking for little ways of putting that in. For me it's just daily life, making it that much more enjoyable.
0:16:40 - Margaret
And I think I want to add to that, Lea, that another big goal for us is to teach girls that everything that they feel, every emotion that they have, is valid and it's allowed. Because how many girls are told stop crying, don't you know, don't be talking back? So they're, they're hushed, they said you know, basically told you, don't have a voice. You're not allowed to feel that way, because when we show emotions, it makes other people feel uncomfortable, right, and so then the messaging coming back to them is that emotion is wrong or you shouldn't feel that way, and then the girls push it down And the worst thing you can do is push it down.
So I think a lot of what we want to do is teach girls that every feeling is valid, every single feeling is valid. So how do we deal with that? Right, it's okay to be angry, it's okay to be sad, it's okay to be happy, it's okay to be goofy and fun and all these things. But how do you, how do you acknowledge that within yourself and how do you allow it to be there in a positive way so that it doesn't hurt anybody else?
0:17:46 - Briar
Certainly one of the things I have learned as an adult on my own healing journey is the importance of having boundaries and guardrails around my emotional state, and if I can't articulate that for myself, i cannot articulate that for anyone else either. So let's talk a little bit about the curriculum. It's five day day camps, correct? You're together for five days, so beautiful. Tell us what's happening, what are we doing?
0:18:25 - Margaret
Well, we have themed out the days and.
I actually think I have them here. So we've themed out each of the days so that we are creating activities around that that reflect what we're doing. And so for the first day, we're doing things like the theme is I am enough, and so in those days, we're going to be doing activities that are building up self esteem, self worth, self confidence, that are all through activities that celebrate the girls unique qualities. On the second day, we are theme is being myself. So we're going to explore the aspects that make these girls unique and the importance of staying true to themselves, and so I think that's great. If they love to write or they love to run or they love to you know, ride horses, what is it about them that they love? that makes them unique, that they can still continue to put their effort and energy.
Into the third day, we're looking at riding the emotional roller coaster and we know, as teenagers and past teenagers and myself, now, on the other end of things, riding the emotional roller coaster, we're looking at it heavily throughout their, throughout their whole lives, right like our whole menstrual cycle is all about emotions And we've got happy days and sad days and angry days and days where we get triggered, and so we have a day focused on how do you embrace and accept these emotions, how do you work with them, how do you track when it might be a time where you may not want to be doing a whole bunch of things. How do you do that? What we've got is friends and enemies, where we're going to be diving into what it means to belong And how do you deal with bullies. So we're really going to focus on what the difference between belonging and fitting in, because they're two different, different things and how do you figure that out for yourself, where you belong and where you're trying to fit in. And then you know again how do you deal with bullies, because all of us are either bullies or being bullied, or or somewhere out in the middle, and so I think most of us can say that we've experienced it or witnessed it through our lifetime, especially in school.
And the last thing that we're doing on the Friday before the kids are done is we're focusing on who they want to be. Who do they want to be? they've done all this work this week And so they're going. We're going to be doing a lot of stuff through art and imaging that they can then create this piece of art, and so we're focusing on vision boards that they can then create and take with them to remind themselves just how amazing they are. And so we build on the themes and we're just so excited that we've got sort of this trajectory for them to to ride this, this really cool wave of learning about themselves.
0:21:14 - Lea
We're just going to add. We're also trying to add it to the curriculum. Like emotions can feel heavy, play, play. Some of the really fun activities that we're specifically choosing for teenage girls that maybe younger kids couldn't handle but that are really exciting for them. To kind of sprinkle those activities in throughout the week as well. That also empowers them to try new things. One of the things I'm excited about is toy hacking, which is actually just cutting up a whole bunch of toys and sticking them back together in a different way. You can get a remote control car and put a doll head on top of it and let it drive around the room. So just that, like experimenting play. What do I like? How does it make me feel? And you know we're going to play with bubbles, giant bubbles. I don't care who you are, bubbles are fun, so we're going to be adding those in as well.
0:22:06 - Margaret
Yeah, the week is not meant to be super, super heavy. Right, it's meant to be. Let's do a bit of work, let's have some fun. Let's do a little bit of work, let's have some fun. Let the things digest, let it, let it percolate for a little bit.
0:22:21 - Briar
I think one of the problems that we deal with in North America in particular, but in a lot of cultures, is that we have to grow up so much earlier. Anyone who is socialized female learns to prioritize everyone else first and herself last And truly. by early adolescence this message is really soaked in. So I like that you're making time for them to play. I like that we're getting to explore who we are as people. How do we build on that? So this is five days and it's amazing. And what happens next?
0:23:29 - Margaret
Oh, Lea, tell them what happens next.
0:23:34 - Lea
We also thought about that and we thought about the whole picture, and empowering teenage girls isn't just about empowering the girls. There's so much more to it than that, and both of us, as moms working with moms, we know how important that relationship is And we also want to empower that relationship moving forward. So we're also building out a brand that we're calling Unchakable Us to empower teenage moms and their daughters to work together to build safety, to be vulnerable with each other, to talk about difficult things and difficult emotions, and so we're building some online programming that we're also going to have in place to support the girls as they move on and the ripple effect beyond just supporting them, but supporting the people around them as well.
0:24:29 - Margaret
And we're also talking about creating retreats for moms and daughters as well, under that Unchakable Us brand, where we can bring them together in person and do mini retreats, or I don't know. I think our big goal is to make sure they're there for the whole week too, to have a week for moms and daughters to come together and build on what their daughters have already started learning about themselves.
0:24:56 - Briar
I think so many parents are really missing this tool set right, because we certainly weren't raised this way and it is, it's a stretch, right to be able to approach our daughters differently than how we were raised. What advice do you have for moms of teenage girls?
0:25:34 - Margaret
How them the opportunity to talk to you without judgment. Give them the space, do whatever you can to make them feel safe to talk to you. Understand that your daughters are human too, that they have a brain, they have a heart, they have a say, and that they may be bringing things to the table that you may not agree with or want to hear. But to foster that relationship and that connection, allow them the chance to say what it is they need to say and truly listen. You don't have to agree with it, but listening, allowing the girls to be heard And, in the same token, teaching the girls to listen to moms, because moms will have things to say too And creating that safe environment for the two of them to share.
And it's not easy. And if you've never done it before, well, you can come and see Liana, because we are actually teaching workshops on that right now. But it's really important to foster that safety and that communication I know with my daughter it's. I've always told her you can come and tell me anything. I may not be happy about it, i might get angry and I might get upset, but I would rather hear it from you and I would rather you be honest with me and tell me anything you need to tell me whether you think I'm going to be upset or not, then not talk to me about it And I find out. You know, way down the line, something that I should we could have easily addressed earlier on.
0:27:16 - Lea
I think for me, it's take your own ego out of the situation. We have human moments as moms as well, and what I want my daughter to learn is it's okay to have a human moment where you lose your patience, where you get frustrated, where you get angry. These are all emotions that are okay, and if I'm demonstrating that to her, that means I embrace those emotions and I talk about that And I apologize If I make a mistake and I know that I've made a mistake I will be the first one to go to her and say I am sorry for what I said or what I did. I was frustrated because of this, because when I demonstrate that, then that gives her permission to do the same thing And she can trust that if she has a human moment, i'm going to recognize that she's having a human moment as well.
Talking about emotional roller coasters it's a thing, and pretending it's not a thing isn't helpful for anyone. So we often have conversations like that, particularly certain times of the month. But we're human And that's what it is. That's the biggest thing that I can advise mothers working with teenage daughters Be human, let them be human.
0:28:23 - Briar
So, as you move forward, what would you like to have happen, not just with what you're growing and developing here, but how would you like to see this evolve?
0:28:38 - Margaret
We have big plans. We're with the camps. I think we want to see the camps grow. We want to see them go worldwide. We would love to get to the point where we're hosting them all over Same with the mothers and daughters. We want to build up that program. We want to be the go-to for mothers and daughters in healing their relationships and creating that communication between the two of them. And I think, ultimately, we want to get into the schools as well. Get into the school system, start teaching the girls at school And have the programs available for the parents too at the school. Let's start working in the school system. We can try and make it part of the curriculum. Even in their health class or their English class or something, there's a chapter or a section or a segment and they're learning that, they're learning about all of these things. Wouldn't that be amazing that we could have that opportunity to reach them at?
0:29:45 - Briar
that level. It's wild to me that, in the year of our Lord 2023, we're still not teaching our kids personal development. We're still not teaching our kids personal finance. We're not actually teaching them many of the meaningful skills that they need to go out into the world and be successful adults. We're teaching them trig, though, and let me tell you I can count on absolutely no fingers the number of times I have needed to know trigonometry as an adult.
0:30:24 - Margaret
And that is a whole conversation outside of the scope of today, for sure, But it's true. We're not teaching the kids what they really need to know to survive the world. We're teaching them how to be good little workers, We're not teaching them how to be good little humans And we're not teaching them about how to be themselves. We're not giving them the opportunity to explore who they really are. Our school system has changed significantly over the years around what we're teaching our kids and what they're expected to learn, And every child is different. Every child is unique and wonderful and amazing in their own particular ways. But we don't have a system I hate the word system but we don't have a platform out there right now that's supporting that.
0:31:14 - Lea
It's like you just put into the boxes.
Yeah, For me. I also see a ripple effect And I know for myself that when I am doing my personal development, when my mental health as well, my family's mental health as well, is reflective of that, And I kind of see my mood in my family. So I think it is so important because I think that's typical of moms and families, And I know we open this conversation with girls putting themselves last, moms putting themselves last. But what's the real big effect of that? It's so much deeper than just being able to understand the emotions. So what I'm hoping for is, when we do this, empowering moms, empowering women, we empower the world and we empower the men around us.
And I'll share a small anecdote conversation with my five year old the other day where we were talking about emotions and we were having emotional moments and he was like but we're going to be unshakable mommy. And so we've been talking about with my five year old son what does it mean to be unshakable? He's a little literal right now but he understands the idea of being able to kind of weather the storm, of having the tools that we need. We can be angry, but we can take a minute to take a breath and evaluate the situation before we act out. And that ripple effect to me is just so powerful, Yeah.
0:32:33 - Briar
I mean, humans don't have a whole lot of control over that first reaction, but we have a lot of control over the second And our ability to choose differently really needs to be cultivated. How are we using the girls to go out and build this in their world?
0:33:05 - Margaret
I think by bringing them together, especially if they come from similar schools or similar families, they can stay connected outside of the camps as well. But I think, similar to what Lea said, that ripple effect you're getting a girl that's being placed back into her family and that went out place, but she's going back home at the end of the day and at the end of camp And then she's going to whatever other activities she's doing And she's becoming a role model for what she's been learning and she's demonstrating it. I've watched my daughter go out and support other girls who are having a hard time, like she'll get in the car and we'll have a conversation. She's like mom. This girl was really having a hard time So I gave her this and I suggested this and I sat and I listened to her.
And by modeling what we're doing, by teaching these girls and giving them the vocabulary, giving them the tools these are not difficult tools to share or to do. These are things they can actually teach their family members to do, teach their friends to do, and when they can start modeling that behavior and having that piece within themselves and know a more like being more sure in themselves, that is going to have our ripple effect because we always respond to the environment around us and the people around us. So if you're now the girl who's in, you know not 100% control over your emotions, but you're a girl who understands your emotions and understands how to look after herself when she's in, that it's going to impact the people around her because her interactions with them will be different And we tend to model what we see, especially in that age group.
0:34:47 - Briar
Yeah, and I think that's key. Having an actual role model for the behavior that we wish to have is important here, and girls are not given many opportunities to develop those relationships, especially outside of school 100%.
0:35:08 - Margaret
their role models are coming off of social media and TV and technology and VR and all these things. I would hazard that a lot of their influence is not actual people, tv shows and actors and it's not reality, and so they're striving to be someone that they're totally unrelated to.
0:35:37 - Lea
I think also having that role model of women who prioritize themselves is equally important to them. And I know Margaret and I have talked a lot about the camps that we go to, where we're leaders and we're leading women who are just giving themselves for the first time permission To heal or even realizing that they have something to heal from, or even realizing that they can feel their own emotions. And we didn't see that growing up. Personally. I mean, i saw super moms all around me working full time, running around doing their own activities, taking us to our activities. We didn't have anyone really who was just taking that time to reflect on themselves, to see a therapist, to see a life coach, to journal, to find other women, to build each other up. It feels fairly new to me, even though it's not, it's ancient. Bring that to the forefront for the girls.
0:36:35 - Margaret
They can see that and that's where I really feel passionate about the unshakable us So that we did that to the world 100%, i agree, and I think a big thing that we've we've seen with the women that we teach at camp to is this guilt factor of putting themselves first. Right, they've come away for two 48 hours I think it's 48 hours from beginning to end And there's a huge sense of being feeling guilty about spending the money to come, being away from their family, you know, and and putting themselves first because they don't feel worthy enough to do that. They don't feel like they deserve it. And, yeah, the mother the unshakable us side of things where we can help women see that it's so important to fill up your own cup and do things for yourself.
I modeled up for my daughter on a regular basis And I encourage her to do things for herself on a regular basis, right, and so she has those practices in place. So when she does leave home and go out into the world, get into relationships, get married, have a family, she knows how important it is to look after herself, to Yeah, i'll never shut up about the fact that it's been 150 years since we used to build actual communities of support.
0:37:57 - Briar
It's been less than four generations and we've lost this entire structure around how we used to culturally be with each other when things got bad. And we just don't do it. We don't cultivate it, we don't practice it, we don't know what to do. So how do we build communities of care for each other?
0:38:36 - Lea
I can talk over to you. Yeah, go ahead. This is a little bit of a murky vision for us. I see that community build and really inspired by the women that have come together, and I see those connections happening not just with myself and Margaret but with other women in that community.
I see different women leaving than who came and I see that ripple effect when they go home and when they come back to camps. And I want that community for our unchaquable us where it's mothers and daughters building each other up So mothers have that connection with other mothers of girls in the same age bracket, so that we have that community where they can lean on each other. Maybe now it looks a little bit different, maybe they're farther away, maybe they have virtual connections, but that connection is still so important for them to have in those times of trouble to say, hey, i'm having a really hard time, can someone help me? I have something really exciting, does anyone want to join me? Both are equally important. So I see that community building.
0:39:49 - Margaret
I agree, i agree And I think, building it right now with the parents and the girls that are coming to camp, giving them the opportunity to connect virtually and then building it up so that we are bringing them together. We are bringing them together in the retreats where they get that face to face, because I find that is what really builds the connection with soulful camp with when we go to soulful camp Right, it's the we get to know these women on a one to one basis, a personal basis. So if we can provide an environment for these women and daughters to come together and get to know each other too, then when they do leave they feel like they're not alone in this anymore, that they are connected to other women who get it, who understand, who are going through the same things, and then providing them with opportunities to connect virtually or in person after the events, and then again that'll ripple out and we're going to build it bigger and bigger and bigger.
0:40:43 - Briar
So let's start at this first stone in the pond. How do people get involved?
0:40:52 - Margaret
Well, there's a few different ways that people can get involved. We do have a sponsors page on our website And people. We've had people come through and donated items to go into this swag bags for the girls. We've had some of the people that we know that are experts in their field who volunteered their time to participate and teach the girls what they know. And we also have a program called send a girl to camp, because we believe that every girl deserves to go to camp, but not every girl can afford to go to camp. So we have people who are finding giving us financial donations to help support a girl to go to camp, and there is nomination forms on our website. But if you know a girl that you think deserves to go to camp, nominate her, and we can't guarantee all of the girls can go.
We have limited spaces this year. Eventually we will have unlimited spaces, but this year we have limited spaces and we have had such a tremendous amount of support from our communities that are just so excited about what we're doing And they want to be involved. They want to be involved. So that's how we're putting it out there right now And we're very happy to support and advertise and promote all the people who are supporting us as well, putting them on our website, putting them on our swag. We'll help you get your message out just as much as you can help us put our message out as well. Very reciprocal.
0:42:19 - Briar
Collaborative media, y'all This is the way it works. We build up together, we do the things together, we support the growth and the sustainability and the work together. What are you needing Be helpful to you right now?
0:42:41 - Margaret
I think the more we can let people know what we're doing, the better. Just getting the word out, spreading the word that this is happening, that the camps are available and that this is a movement that's happening. Because it is a movement Lea and I have talked about the unshakable movement. It's coming But I think right now what can be really helpful is just getting the word out and then anyone who's looking to sponsor in any capacity. We're really trying to send some girls to camp. There's a list of a few girls that want to go to camp that can't, And we have some sponsorships, but any sponsorship is welcome as well.
0:43:18 - Briar
And then tell me more about the worldwide vision. Are you looking to collaborate with other folks in their localities? What does that look like to you?
0:43:32 - Margaret
Go ahead, Lea.
0:43:34 - Lea
I think we're pretty open right now. We have a solid vision for what we want to see. But I've learned about solid visions that sometimes opportunities come up. They kind of light, a spark. It's why my business is called Rise and Sparkle. I want everyone to wake up and sparkle. So we're open to collaborate. We're open if someone wants to take our ideas and run with them somewhere else. So we're still kind of looking for what's out there.
0:44:07 - Briar
Yeah, omaha, nebraska, is not exactly a small town. There is half a million people here and there is really nothing quite like this. I know of several programs through a local charity, girls Incorporated, and they do have some programs Omaha has long had for more than 100 years now, i think Boys Town, which is for adolescent boys who are struggling in a mental health capacity, and they place them in group homes And it's a whole thing, and also, once again, we're the girls. So I think it's really important to get this out there and get people involved. Where can people find you?
0:45:11 - Margaret
You can find us on our website, wwwunshakeable-mecom. They can find us there and all our contact information is on the website.
0:45:28 - Briar
What do you hope to accomplish this year?
0:45:33 - Margaret
This year we are looking at sold out camps with a wait list, and so this year is like I said, it's our inaugural year. We are looking to fill the camps, we are looking to create the course, the workshops for the mothers, the unshakable us, and I think we're also looking at the retreat in the fall for mothers and daughters. That's where we're working this year, but I think the planning for next year will be starting very shortly so that we can start getting the word out and taking registrations now for next year, if they can't get in the share, starting to look at where that is going. But every year I see exponential growth with what we're doing, just based on the response that we've had in our communities, the support and the need.
0:46:25 - Briar
Yeah, unfortunately, there is real need. That's not going away anytime soon, and the societal and social issues that are affecting our girls right now aren't getting any better. So building them something where they have a soft place to land is, i think, at this point essential.
0:46:50 - Margaret
I agree 100%, and that's part of the driving force behind what we and I do.
0:46:55 - Lea
I think even in you know we put a lot of thought into the name unshakable. And what does it mean to be unshakable? To think about? you know what does it mean to be unshakable To feel comfortable talking about your emotions, like to know that you are not ever going to be able to avoid going through difficult things. Life is hard. We can go through those things and we don't need to completely fall apart because of those things. We can build up those tools, those communities, those supports so that you know eventually we can be and can look back and see that we were unshakable. You know we went through storms, we went through difficult times but we got through them and we grew from them and we leaned in every time so that we could grow.
0:47:47 - Briar
To your continued growth. Ladies, this is such a delightful program and I'm really happy we could talk about it today. Any final thoughts that you would like to leave my audience with?
0:48:07 - Margaret
Those are big ones. Final thoughts I say this for my women and I'll say it for the girls every girl is worth it. Every single girl is worth it.
0:48:22 - Lea
I think you know we can't avoid going through those hard things. but we can find support, we can find tools, we can learn, we can grow, we can heal, and we just have to start. So three, two, one go That's my little saying. Three, two, one go.
0:48:40 - Briar
Yeah, i think that's delightful. Two of you are a real blessing on the world, and I hope that this goes exactly as far as you would like it to. Thank you so much for being here today. Y'all, thank you for watching. As always, this is the kind of stuff that we're doing over here at the Neurodiversity Media Network. We are building a network full of people who are doing incredible things in the world, because it's long past time for us to be able to talk about this stuff and support each other in meaningful and sustainable ways. So if you would like to get involved, please find Lea and Margaret That's unshakable-mecom or you can join us here at the Neurodiversity Media Network, neurodiversitymedianetworkcom, and we will see you all again next time. Thank you so much for being here. Bye, y'all.
Transcribed by https://podium.page
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