She Connects Closing Announcement
She Connects began in 2019 when four Daughters of the Vote delegates – Emily Haugen, Avneet Sandhu, Meghan Dunn, and Leena Parhar – came together with a shared vision: to create the kind of mentorship opportunity they wished they’d had while navigating high school. With support from the Rosemary Spears Leadership Grant, She Connects was launched as a volunteer-led initiative to connect young women, girls, and gender non-conforming youth with mentors in their 20s.
Over the past six years, She Connects has brought together mentees and mentors from across Canada to build trusting relationships, foster honest conversations, and support youth through a pivotal stage of life. Together, we built an online community where young people could ask questions, explore their goals, and feel seen, heard, and supported.
As a grassroots, volunteer-run nonprofit, She Connects has always relied on limited funding and a great deal of donated time, care, and energy. Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to secure the long-term, sustainable funding needed to continue the program. For this reason, we have made the very difficult decision to wind down operations and officially close She Connects as of November 2025.
We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to:
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The mentors who generously gave their time, wisdom, and lived experience
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The mentees who trusted us and showed up with courage and curiosity
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The volunteers, advisors, and supporters who shaped our programs
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Our past board members who upheld the mission and helped build this community
You can be proud of your involvement with She Connects. We encourage all mentors, volunteers, and former board members who contributed to the growth and integrity of the program* to continue listing She Connects on their résumés and LinkedIn profiles.
If you are a hiring manager or organization and would like to verify or better understand someone’s involvement with She Connects, please feel free to contact us at info@sheconnects.ca. We are more than happy to provide a character reference or clarification regarding roles and responsibilities held within the organization.
For young people looking for mentorship opportunities going forward, we encourage you to explore programs offered by organizations such as the YWCA or Minerva in your region.
From the bottom of our hearts: thank you for being part of She Connects. The community we built together will continue to ripple outward in the lives of those who participated.
— The She Connects Founders
*Note on Representation of Involvement*
She Connects has been supported over the years by many dedicated mentors, volunteers, and board members whose integrity and commitment made this program possible. We encourage those individuals to continue listing their involvement with confidence.
However, it is important to clarify that a small number of individuals on the final Board of Directors did not uphold their fiduciary responsibilities, which directly contributed to the organization’s closure. In the interest of transparency and to protect the integrity of our volunteers and program alumni, we do not endorse the use of She Connects on the résumés or professional profiles of individuals whose actions or inaction compromised the organization’s operations.
If you are a hiring manager or organization and wish to verify someone’s involvement or clarify their role, please contact info@sheconnects.ca. We are committed to providing accurate and honest information regarding any individual’s contributions or conduct.
Mentorship Guidebook
We created a comprehensive guidebook to support both mentors and mentees throughout the She Connects program, and we are pleased to make this resource available for continued use.
Attribution
If your organization would like to use, adapt, or incorporate any part of this guidebook, please include the following acknowledgement:
“This guidebook was developed in part using the original She Connects Mentorship Guidebook created by Emily Haugen, Avneet Sandhu, Meghan Dunn, and Leena Parhar.”