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Published on January 28, 2015Jennifer Vardy Little

NEW MINAS - Ava Nichols’ best friend is a student from Acadia.“Getting to see my buddy each week is the best part of the week,” said thenine-year-old White Rock girl. “Her name is Kali, and she’s really nice. Wedo lots of fun stuff together.”

© Jennifer Vardy LittleGirls Night Out, a program offered everyFriday night for girls, combines physicalactivity and friendship. Organized by Acadiaeducation student Kellie Shillington, left, andEmily Cunningham, right, the programmatches girls aged seven to 11 with Acadiastudents. Here, seven-year-old ElizabethSwindell gets a hug from her buddy, Acadiastudent Alexia Hakey-Noble, while nine-year-old Ava Nichols gets a hug from her buddy,Acadia student Kali Creaser, during a

Nichols is one of more than 120 young girls inKings County who participate in Girls Night Out.Open to girls in Grade 3 to 5, the thirdinstallment of the program recently gotunderway at Evangeline Middle School. EachFriday night, about 60 young women fromAcadia hop in cabs and make their way to theschool to hang out with the younger girls one-on-one.

The project is the brainchild of Kellie Shillington,an Acadia education student with a passion forkids.

“I have a passion for getting children active andthis is both a social and a physical activity,” shesaid. “It also gives these girls role models,someone they can look up to through theprogram. And it’s good for the Acadia girls, too.They can spend time with these younger girlsand they really enjoy it.”

Combining physical activity and friendship, theprogram has quickly become very popular with

Acadia students become rolemodels for Kings County girlsthrough Girls Night Out program

Hawaiian-themed night. local kids. With a different theme each week,the girls have tried activities like yoga andZumba, dressed in themed costumes for

Hawaiian night and challenged themselves in Survivor and Amazing Race evenings.

“My favourite was probably the 90s night,” said Nichols. “There was a bouncy house andwe got to dress like it was the 90s – kind of shabby and kind of dressed up.”

Bria Woods, one of the Acadia students who spends her Friday nights volunteering with theprogram, said the combination of physical activity and mentoring appealed to her.

“I thought this would be a good opportunity to get involved with the community,” sheexplained. “I love physical activity and it’s cool that they kind of intertwine the two. I knowhow excited my buddy gets…knowing she wakes up on a Monday morning and has this tolook forward to, and knowing the difference it makes in her week, really makes me feelgood.”

Acadia students must be very dedicated to participate and be willing to devote two hourseach Friday night to spend at Girls Night Out.

“It’s more than just giving up your Friday night – we share our time with them and we giveback to the community,” Woods added. “Getting involved with these kids as they grow up isvery important. We learn just as much from them as we teach them.”

Emily Cunningham, who helps organize Girls Night Out, says the program has the sameconcept as Acadia’s SMILE program.

“They always have the same buddy unless someone’s sick. Some of them have the samebuddies as last term. Seeing how that friendship is growing is fantastic,” she said.

The program is something Cunningham looks forward to every week.

“I love kids and I love helping out with this. I like getting them excited and laughing,” sheadded.

“It’s good for their self-esteem as well. When they’re around older girls and girls their ownage, there’s nothing else to worry about except having fun.”

The program is the highlight of the week for many of the girls, Shillington said, who oftenwrite in their journals at school about what they do each Friday night.

“It makes me feel special, like I’m making a difference in their week,” Shillington said.

That’s true for Hannah Griffiths of Canaan, who has participated in Girls Night Out since thebeginning.

“I’m always very excited to come, I always look forward to it all week. I’m always asking,‘Can it be Friday yet?’ I love coming here and seeing my buddy,” she said.

The program, which launched in January 2014, has grown in popularity every semester it’sbeen offered. In the fall, New Minas gave the program a $500 grant, Shillington said, whichallowed organizers to bring the girls bowling one night and bring in a bouncy house on

another evening.

“It’s free for the girls – we fundraise ourselves, ask for donations, do bake sales, whateverwe can to make it work,” Shillington said.

Anyone who would like to make a donation to the program can contact John Ansara at NewMinas Recreation.