No Girl Left Behind Empowers Toronto Girls and Women

On September 14, No Girl Left Behind hosted a one-of-a-kind gathering for women and girls in Toronto. No Girl Left Behind Empowerment Event offers women and young girls (ages 9+), unique events that equip them with lifelong knowledge, tools and skills to help them thrive, boost their confidence and most importantly, feel empowered.

This year’s event made stops in Grande Prairie and Edmonton. The Toronto event was themed around relationships. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities, workshops and discussions, designed to help them tackle hardships, like breaking out of toxic cycles, communicating effectively and empowering women to use their voices.

“It’s no secret, women and young girls have more and more pressure placed upon them, so our mission with No Girl Left Behind Empowerment Event is to teach women and girls, all the tools they need to navigate society’s expectations and pressures by making the connection between the mind and body,” says, Kiki Rozema, Founder of No Girl Left Behind Empowerment Event. “Everyone wants women to feel empowered but we are ensuring that at the end of the day, all participants know the various ways of how they can fuel their empowerment from within.”

Rozema founded the No Girl Left Behind Event because of the urgency for female empowerment. She tells us, “too many girls and women feel less than and have no idea how much value they bring to the world. I wanted to teach them how to be empowered, so they could have the skills and tools required to unlearn all the untruths they’ve been fed for generations”

When asked what positivity No Girl Left Behind has led to, Rozema shares it’s seeing girls and women reaching new heights for their dreams. “They are applying for more leadership positions, stepping out and stepping up, using their voice and taking a stand on gender inequality.”
As No Girl Left Behind continues to go city to city, touring Edmonton, Grande Prairie and now Toronto, each event continues to get better. The Toronto event focus on relationships was chosen as Rozema tells us to become empowered, you must have a strong relationship with self which is the most important relationship of all. “The majority of girls and women are so busy trying to fit into what society thinks they should be that they have forgotten who they truly are. And women carry generational wounds and belief systems from their mothers, who have the most influence on them. The relationship between mother and daughter is the most complicated.”

Rozema says that girls transformed throughout the day with the impact being profound. “You just never know the impact that you have on people – this event was life-changing for me. You saw moms and daughters connecting with each other in ways that you could not imagine,” says, Aletha Crimmins, presenter at No Girl Left Behind Empowerment Event. “I loved being a part of this event and the impact it had on me and that I witnessed it had on other people was incomparable.”

Sessions during the event were hosted by professionals with backgrounds in education, psychology, reiki, yoga, trauma healing and more. Sessions included learning how to date yourself, embracing uniqueness, body image, a mirror workshop, exploring authenticity, and the power of positive affirmations.

To learn more about No Girl Left Behind, click here.

Hillary LeBlanc

Hillary LeBlanc

Hillary is an Acadian-Senegalese queer woman passionate about sharing stories relating to the Black community, fashion, beauty and sustainability.
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