G Day is a community-based rite of passage celebration series for girls ages 10 to 12 that emphasizes positive self-esteem and supportive peer, family and community relationships at this key “coming of age” phase. Inspired by the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” 250-300 people gather at each event to share their wisdom and experience and celebrate the girls. The G Day village also includes champions: parents, grandparents and other supportive adults, and features presentations and activities about leadership, body positivity, creativity, movement and fun!
How we helped
Funding from the Lush Charitable Giving Program helped cover production costs for two G Day events in British Columbia in the Fall 2015: G Day Victoria (September 20) and G Day Vancouver (October 23). More than just a day full of fun activities and speakers, these community-based events created a memorable experience for over 300 girls, acknowledging and celebrating the transition from childhood into adolescence.
Today’s youth, and particularly girls, are facing unprecedented challenges to the development of a healthy sense of self-esteem, body image and personal empowerment in the face of immense, technology-fuelled social pressure. There is ample academic research demonstrating the need for programs like G Day that strengthen girls’ self-esteem, body image and sense of personal empowerment.
G Day’s program creates a powerful lived experience of social-emotional learning that is highly beneficial to girls’ neurological development at this particular phase in life. In order to develop a positive sense of self-esteem, it's essential for girls to have a sense of emotional connectedness; this, in turn, directly increases their willingness and capacity to take risks. G Day focuses directly on addressing and enhancing this sense of emotional connectedness with respect to personal emotions, peer, family and community relationships.
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