When Tara Filteau ran for Innisfil council last year, her young daughter always wanted to tag along to campaign events.
“I started seeing some changes in her just from being on the campaign trail,” she said, pointing to her now-eight year old daughter Sophia’s confidence and desire to make a difference.
Despite Filteau’s loss in the municipal election, the experience inspired her to launch Mother Daughter Empower, a social enterprise aimed at boosting young girls’ leadership and empowerment, and creating mother-daughter bonding experiences.
Filteau, who co-created the organization with Sophia, will host its first mother-daughter all-inclusive retreat at Horseshoe Resort in Barrie from Aug. 23-25.
“Up to eight years old, (boys’ and girls’) confidence is pretty much the same. Then it declines for girls,” Filteau said, adding she wants girls to be confident in their own skin and be who they want to be.
Before creating Mother Daughter Empower, she said she had trouble finding female-empowerment events for girls younger than 13 years old.
Her new group is geared toward girls ages seven to 12 and their mothers, but Filteau said there is no age restriction if someone feels the event would be appropriate for someone slightly older.
The retreat is also open to siblings and grandmothers, she added.
The three-day event will include activities such as yoga, meditation, hiking, obstacle courses, scavenger hunt, and free time.
It has been wonderful creating the organization with her daughter and doing everything together, from deciding on business cards to selecting programming.
“She’s just really, really excited. How empowering is it for her to be eight years old and be a business co-founder?” Filteau said, who worked in the non-profit sector for 15 years. “Hopefully she’ll still be interested in a few years down the line.”
Sophia, a Grade 3 student, said she learned a lot from her mom during the municipal election.
“Even if you don’t win, never give up,” she said.
Sophia said she is most looking forward to spending time with her mom at the upcoming retreat.
“It feels really good (to help create this organization), and it’s nice to make kids get to be what they want,” she said.
Filteau wants to host the retreats four times a year, and she is also working on organizing a national mother-daughter conference in fall 2020, possibly in the Vaughan area.
As well, she is starting an “online collective” on the Mother Daughter Empower Facebook page, where moms can interact and get advice on how to inspire their daughters, with plans to expand the collective into monthly events featuring speakers.
For now, Filteau said she is excited to share these experiences with her daughter and help other mom-daughter duos.
“It’s very empowering, even as a mom, to see that interest in your daughter,” she said. “Our main focus is to give back as much as we can.”
