YWCA Girls RAP Annual Leadership Retreat

Each year, the YWCA Girls Resolution and Prevention (RAP) Program has an annual leadership retreat. The retreat is a great opportunity for Girls RAP participants to engage in activities that assist them in building positive connections with their peers, building self-esteem and self-confidence, demonstrating better self-awareness, and most of all, having fun.

High Ropes and Archery for Team-Building

This year’s retreat had 17 girls in attendance at the two-day retreat. On the first day, the girls went to the Fort Snelling Base Camp where they participated in team-building and leadership activities. A high ropes course was the first session the girls participated in, and with the help of instructors, some of them were able to overcome their fear of heights. Next, the girls participated in archery. With five stations set up, the girls were able to encourage each other on the 15-yard archery range.

Sleepover at YWCA Minneapolis

After the day’s activities came to a close at Fort Snelling Base Camp, the girls came back to YWCA Minneapolis for a sleepover. Sleep was the last thing on their minds after returning. The girls spent the evening socializing, dancing, playing team games, watching movies, polishing their nails and eating snacks. Raffle tickets were given out to all the girls for attending the retreat and additional tickets were given out for participating in the various evening activities. The night ended with the majority of the girls crashing in the Girls RAP program space.

Prizes and More

The next morning the girls had breakfast and completed evaluations. Raffle winners were picked from four different raffle drawings. Prizes included two gift cards from clothing stores and two YWCA family memberships, all of which were donated. The retreat ended with a closing session, and each girl received an L.L. Bean backpack with school supplies from a generous donor, who for the last three years has donated backpacks and supplies to our YWCA Girls Inc. programming.The girls RAP program looks forward to next year’s Leadership retreat which will take place in August of 2017.