The Moose Jaw Health Foundation (MJHF) teamed up with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) recently to host a wellness camp for young women to build them into better leaders and communicators.
The Providing Opportunities Where Everyone Rises (POWER) camp took place from Feb. 21 to 23 in The Friendly City. Based on a concept developed in Saskatchewan, the POWER camp used sport, drama and art to build participants — girls in grades 4 to 8 — into confident leaders and capable communicators while teaching positive self-talk to improve their mental health.
The camp was designed to be a positive experience for students and to help them foster skills that allowed them to find their path, voice and confidence. It also prepared the young women to support their families, friends and community.
This year’s camp featured Bree Burgess, a University of Regina basketball alumni, as one of the directors and coaches.
Burgess was part of a Cougars’ team that won conference titles in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and a national title in ’01. She is one of only three Regina women’s basketball players to appear in the national championship tournament in all five seasons with the team.
“Bree loves sports, but her real passion comes from developing leaders and supporting youth in recognizing and reaching their full potential,” the SHA said.
An all-female staff of teachers led the three-day camp, while a selection committee nominated the participants. The committee comprised superintendents from Prairie South School Division and Holy Trinity Catholic School Division and managers from SHA’s mental health and addictions services team.
It’s important to reach people at a young age with the information they need to look after their mental wellness, while the POWER camp is a great opportunity for young girls in the Moose Jaw area, said Michael Seiferling, SHA’s director of mental health and addictions services.
“This is an opportunity for kids to build the skills they need for healthy mental wellness in a way that’s fun and enjoyable,” he added. “The camp will increase their awareness of their mental health and provide them with the tools and competencies needed to help ensure their future well-being.”
A participant at the previous POWER camp in Regina reflected on her experience by saying she learned valuable lessons in courage, power and resilience and now does her best to live by those words.
“At the POWER camp, they taught me to go outside my comfort zone and be a better leader. I think every girl should have an experience like this,” the participant added.
The SHA said it was pleased to work with the MJHF to foster innovation, while it recognizes that initiatives such as the POWER camp are important to develop future leaders.
