“The LEAD summer camps that Shelley MacDonald and Melanie McDuff have been running for youth in Nova Scotia make my heart happy. Their young people’s smiles say it all. The impact is evident. The many volunteer hours that were put in to make this happen have paid off. You can see that these kids have been transformed by having a safe, creative place to be. youthLEADarts has given them a summer to remember!
Congratulations on this beautiful, ground breaking program…its ripple effect can be felt coast to coast and heart to heart. Please read the impact report below and donate if you can to the youthLEADarts matching funds campaign which runs until August 31st. Any funds donated from now until then will be matched by an anonymous donor up to $1000. All funds go directly to support youth across Canada.” Lori Sherritt-Fleming, President, youthLEADarts Inc
Little Harbour Nova Scotia Summer Program July 14th-18th 2025 Final Report:
Learning Outcomes Achieved: Through creative expression and collaboration, participants developed their communication, problem-solving, and teamwork skills in a supportive environment while applying the LEAD values of Listen, Empathize, Act and Drive to their artistic process.
Day 1 Listen: Who am I? What do I care about?
Melanie and I welcomed 11 kids aged 7-12 to our Little Harbour Leadership circle and together we introduced the theme of the day and the LEAD values. Some of our participants worked with us through the school year at our monthly leadership program and some were new to the program. It was great to see some of our former participants making new friends, tour our first time participants around the space and help to make them comfortable. In our closing circle, one of our participants expressed how it is hard for them to make new friends and today they made 3 new friends. Another participant shared that they felt like they were part of the team.
Day 2 Empathize: ‘E’ IS FOR EMPATHIZE
Youth explored why empathy is critical to being a leader and then engaged in how to empathize with others who have different views and experiences from their own while participating in a Storytelling Through Photography Workshop that inspired the youth to see photography as a powerful storytelling tool, learn basic photography skills, and start exploring themes of mood, emotion, and identity with Guest ARTIST Roy Mulder. The kids were completely engaged in this activity and worked through their break times. They were excited to work in teams and share their work. Some of our quieter kids used their voices more in our closing circle, and were quite animated and proud to share their favourite photos with guest artist Roy and the rest of the group.
Day 3 Action: ‘A’ IS FOR ACT: Youth explored why action is critical to being a leader and then engaged in collectively working with others to be brave and use their voice to story tell and share ideas with the group. LEAD teacher Shelley introduced theatre and improv games to help boost the kid’s confidence. In between the theatre and improv workshops, something magical happened. Melanie and Shelley noticed that the kids were spending more and more of their break time engaging with the other participants and going to the art inspiration table to make more art to add to their studio tables. They were self-directing and helping each other formulate their ideas as well as sharing some techniques that might help some of their sculptures, paintings stand out more. This was truly a day where we saw LEADership and TEAMwork in ACTION.
Day 4 DRIVE: ‘D’ IS FOR Drive
Youth explored why drive is critical to being a leader and then engaged in collectively working with others to finish their art projects to completion. Guest Artist, Roy Mulder returned and worked with the kids in the am to help choose their favourite photos that they wanted to frame and add to their studio table. LEAD teacher Shelley took part of the morning off from Little Harbour to have a meeting at our other site in Nova Scotia, Lismore and meet with their leadership team and volunteers. Melanie Drove the day. She led the opening circle/icebreaker, worked collaboratively with Roy to help the kids choose their photos and led the event planning workshop in the afternoon where the kids decorated cupcakes and created the schedule for our open studio on Friday. When Shelley arrived, she just went where she was needed and was inspired by Melanie’s leadership.
Day 5: OPEN STUDIO:
Youth reflected on their LEAD journey together:
“I feel more confident!”
“Painting was my favourite activity. It helps to relax me when I feel hyper.”
“I have a new community of friends.”
“I feel proud today of everything I have done this week.”
“I was scared to start but now I feel great!”
In the morning, youth honed their skills as they put together the final details for their open studio. In the afternoon, they presented their creative work at their individual studio tables to their parents, friends and community. There was an exciting buzz in the air as our audience members were entertained, served delicious cupcakes with ice cream cones, and learned about the kids’ artistic journey through the week.