Girls Inc. Limestone held their Girls Summit on June 30 in Kingston and saw a 60 per cent increase in participants.

This year’s summit is the second of its kind, with the first summit occurring in 2019 before being on hiatus due to COVID-19. Registration for this year's event filled in just one week, with a 60 per cent increase in registration compared to the pre-pandemic summit. This year’s summit welcomed 125 girls with a full day of skill-building and empowering activities at the St. Lawrence College Event and Banquet Centre.

Girls Inc. Limestone is a non-profit organization that provides programming and resources to equip girls with important skills and experience. They develop research-based curricula delivered by trained professionals to help girls navigate gender, economic, and social barriers.

Girls Ed Programming Manager Justine Marchand spoke to the increase in registration numbers this year and its relation to COVID-19.

“That tells us that everything that we've learned during COVID, which is that the issues of equity and access that girls and women face not only continue, but they have gotten worse during COVID. We're seeing that with all of the families we serve that there's more struggles economically, more struggles socially, and more struggles with mental health. We're seeing that in all of our groups and and I think the fact that we had such a strong turnout again this year. So quickly it confirms that these programs are really needed and I think we're out here doing the right thing.”

Girls participated in activities run by workshop leaders from Canadian Black Belt Centres, Maltby Centre and Sherlock’s Escapes. These workshops covered healthy physical activity, creative problem-solving, and interpersonal relationships, mirroring the pillars of Girls Inc.; Strong, Smart, and Bold. With the help of individual donations and community sponsors, there was no cost for girls to attend.

Listen to the full story below, featuring an interview with Girls Ed Programming Manager Justine Marchand: