Thanks to Mother Daughter Empower, empowering girls and women is as easy as filling out a form.
Mother-daughter duo Tara Filteau and Sophia Ghafoori founded Mother Daughter Empower (MDE) in 2019 when Ghafoori was just seven years old. In its second year as a registered charity, the fifth Mother Daughter Empower Conference and Awards will take place on March 9. Anyone can nominate girls and young women — ages seven to 19 — for the 2025 Empower Girl Award until Jan. 31.
Filteau said that, though only one person will be named 2025 Empower Girl of the Year — winning prizes valued at over $1,000 — the co-founders and board members look forward to naming up to 10 finalists.
She noted they have had categories to recognize environmental activism and achievement in sports in the past, but they want to recognize all kinds of achievement.
“We really want you to take a look at, you know, your daughter and just celebrate all the things that she's doing. So, sometimes, that could look like a daughter that's really stepping up in her home to help out and making … a real difference for her family,” said Filteau, who is a registered social service worker (RSSW) as well as executive director of MDE. “We (want to) celebrate all of those wins.
“We typically have an idea of the different categories, but essentially, once we start receiving those nominations we tend to tweak them a little bit because it's really, really nice to have … a tailored approach,” she said.
She noted that anyone can nominate individuals, and people can also nominate multiple candidates.
When asked about the charity’s work, Filteau explained MDE provides workshops as well as one-on-one mentorship, coaching, and counselling. While other companies or charities may offer a limited number of sessions to individuals, MDE supports individuals for a 12-month period.
“We're in a mental-health crisis; there's such a need for supportive services and unfortunately, for those that don't have access to private insurance, it's really challenging to put ... your mental health and your personal development on the forefront,” she said.
Ghafoori said the organization allows her to "nurture and strengthen the special bond between me and my mom."
“What inspires me the most is seeing the incredible creativity and leadership demonstrated by these wonderful girls. Their stories of pursuing (their) goals and making a positive impact in their communities truly motivates me to continue to reach my goals and passions and empower others,” she said.
Perhaps that’s why the MDE conference is so important.
“It's an inter-generational empowerment event … we have not heard of any other organization that does that,” Filteau said, noting grandmothers, mothers, and daughters attended last year, but you do not need to fall into one of those categories to participate.
In addition to the awards, a diverse panel will convene at the event and 25 girl-boss and women vendors will be featured at the conference, including 2023's award recipient, Lyla Hill.
“I was so surprised and honoured to win the Empower Girl award last year," she said. "I was nervous to speak in front of a crowd, and after listening to all the other girls share their experiences, I (honestly) wasn’t expecting to win. But when they announced my name as the award winner, my jaw hit the ground. I was so happy.
"Winning gave me the confidence to work even harder towards my slime business and landed me on the cover of Owl Magazine only a few short months after," Hill said.
Hill's mother, Sonia Porretta, nominated her for the award.
When asked about her business, Hill explained she started selling slime to family and friends during the COVID-19 pandemic, donating all profits to children’s charities.
"Everyone loved the slime because it wasn’t messy like typical gooey slime," Hill said. "We started advertising on Instagram and offering slime workshops over Zoom."
Almost five years later, she's sold thousands of jars of slime and slime kits, run hundreds of workshops and raised over $6,000 for organizations including the Hospital for Sick Children, Ronald McDonald House and Jumpstart.
“My favourite part (of last year's MDE conference) was listening to all the girls make their speeches on stage," Hill said. "I was amazed by their accomplishments. Some girls were elite athletes, some activists, others business owners; there was a beauty pageant winner and more. I look forward to being part of this year’s speaker panel and passing the torch on to the next winner.”
Nominations will support future generations with their "thoughts, goals and dreams,” said MDE board of directors president and long-time social services worker Dawn Knuff.
“MDE's mission is so important as the young generations are being influenced so much by social media and we need to continue to nurture their individual needs and experiences and that is what MDE is all about,” Knuff said. “Encouraging young people to go for their dreams and goals while being themselves ... will help create our future business owners, professionals and leaders.”
Filteau says support from the Innisfil Community Foundation allowed 11 women and girls from the community to access one-on-one support as well as attend this year's conference and awards. Dozens of others will have access to three-part educational community workshops this year.
She says that, since launching in 2019, MDE has mentored "thousands of women and girls through our various programs and services," and it currently has more than 1,400 registered members.
Last year, more than 60 people registered for MDE workshops. This year's are titled, Goal-Digger, Generation Social Media, and Follow the Leader. Tickets for the conference are $27 each.
“To the people that are thinking of starting a business or charity, I'd say have a clear vision, stay passionate about your goal, embrace every challenge as an opportunity to grow, and don't hesitate to lean on your community for support,” Ghafoori said.
Learn more about the conference and access the Empower Girl nominee form until Jan. 31 by clicking here.
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