A new group in Bonnyville aims to empower teenage girls and give them a safe place to hang out outside of school.
The Bonnyville Empowerment and Education Café, better known as the BEE Café, started up for its first full year earlier this month. Meeting every Tuesday night at the Bonnyville Boys and Girls Club, the free program is geared toward girls ages 13 to 17.
The group is a result of several local organizations coming together including the Dragonfly Centre, Boys and Girls Club, Lakeland Centre for FASD and WJS.
“We all started recognizing through our clientele and work in the community that there was a huge need for all girls youth programming and we started those conversations at the table,” explained Cheryl Bujold, executive director of the Dragonfly Centre. “Our goal is to nourish the mind, body and soul. We do intentional programming around everything that's related – health and wellness, emotional coping, and exercise and fitness.”
To test out the new initiative a pilot was ran in March, which started out with just three participants and grew to a group of 15. When they started up again at the beginning of October, nine girls came out to the BEE Café and Bujold expects more are on the way.
The program features a wide range of activities, and welcomes ideas from the girls about what they think the group should do. In the spring, a facilitator was brought in to present a smudging ceremony, they hosted a spa night, learned belly dancing, as well as worked on emotional coping skills through journaling, mindfulness, and meditation.
So far, the BEE Café initiative has been met with support from the community and enthusiasm from the participants.
“It's really fun to come to. If you have nothing to do after school you can just come here,” said 15-year-old Terria John, noting that her favourite part is when facilitators are brought in for activities like painting.
Kadence John, 11, added, “It's just fun and a good way to make new friends.”
To promote building relationships and camaraderie, each evening starts out with time for the girls to chat over a cup of hot cocoa, which Bujold explained is where the ‘café' in their name came from. After completing their activity, there is another circle time for the girls to come together before ending the evening.
“It's actually pretty awesome. I didn't even know about it, my mom told me about this group and said if I was going to do sports then I had to go to it. I said ‘okay' and now it's fun,” said Bryce Lokszyn, 16.
For 13-year-old Sara Gamblin, the BEE Café is a welcome addition to her week and something she looks forward to.
“I think it's really fun.”
“This is like my second family. My mom told me about this new youth group and asked if want to go, and I fell in love with it,” said River Cardinal, 14, who also encouraged other girls to try out the program.
“Instead of sitting at home on the couch you could be here painting.”
For this year, the girls at the BEE Café will be bringing back their art and spa nights, as well as trying out a variety of dance styles, a movie night, and fitness. While they have a few activities planned out, Bujold noted they're always looking for volunteers who feel they have something to contribute to the girls to serve as guest facilitators and speakers.
“Moving forward, all of our partners, we just want folks to know that we're here and get the word out to the young women in our community to come and join us, really grow this program. We see great things.”
The BEE Café is held every Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club in Bonnyville. Registration is free and open for any teen girl to stop by and participate. For more information on the BEE Café, contact the Dragonfly Centre or the Boys and Girls Club.
