Youth Empowerment & Strength - Pilar Bradshaw, Founder & Fitness Trainer
Pilar Bradshaw
Building confidence and a place to belong. Her story of creating YES a local non-profit society providing free fitness and strength training to at-risk youth.
To many of you in the Steveston Village community, she’s a familiar face. It’s Pilar Bradshaw!
Pilar is a well-known figure in this community because she’s been working locally as a fitness trainer for many years. I’ve literally lost count of how many times I’ve heard the response, “Oh yeah, I know Pilar!” when I tell friends or neighbors that I’m working on this blog article about her.
Recently Pilar has ventured into opening up her own training studio called Balanced Body Fitness in the heart of Steveston Village. This facility is also home to her incredible non-profit society—Youth Empowerment and Strength (YES).
Founded in 2022, YES is where at-risk youth can access free fitness and strength training. In a nutshell (straight off the YES home page), this is what they do:
We provide a safe, inclusive, positive and healthy space for struggling youths between the ages of 13-17 by teaching the basics of weight training and nutrition planning, free from financial barriers.
This article is adapted from a wonderful in-person conversation I had with Pilar inside her training studio. It’s divided into three parts where Pilar tells us about her experience of running this unique service for local at-risk youth:
Part 1: The needs of youth and the impact of YES
Part 2: Behind the scenes of YES
Part 3: Advice for non-profit societies that are just starting out
Part 1: The needs of local youth and the impact of YES
Filling the gaps and creating lifelong opportunities
Pilar: There are some incredible youth programs in Richmond, but there's nothing that offers this sort of one-on-one personal training or small group personal training, so that’s where YES comes in—to fill the current gap in local youth resource programs.
Also, fitness is something that the youth in my program can carry with them through their whole lives. One of the problems with some of the existing programs is that the youth eventually age out of those programs and can no longer get access to them, or they lose interest.
With YES, they might grow into adults and then decide that they want to keep working with me or volunteer here. Maybe they decide to become fitness instructors. I can be here for them throughout that journey. YES is an additional resource for youth that widens their opportunities and options for the long term.
Building confidence in local youth
Pilar: When our youth come in the door, we don’t just give them a weight or put them on a treadmill. We really build up their confidence. That’s one of the biggest things that we strive to do here at YES.
We make the youth feel really confident about themselves and do things that they haven't done before.
The impact of YES on individuals
Pilar: One of the highest risk youth in my program has faced a lot of adversity. He was sort of absent for a couple of months because he had been into some trouble and couldn't participate. But as soon as he was able to be back with me, he reached out and said, 'I want to come back.' And he's been back regularly twice a week, working with me. That was a really big success for me and for him too. YES is something that he connects with. It’s something that he looks forward to—which is not part of his daily struggles.
As for another example of impact, one of the young people in my program struggles with a lot of mental health challenges. Because she feels that being here is so integral to her healing, she comes regularly. She does not miss a beat because she knows that this helps her to stay healthy both mentally and physically.
Feedback that fuels the work
Pilar: When people tell me that what I’m doing is important, it makes me think, 'Okay, I can keep doing this.' As tired as I get, as frustrated as I get, as broke as I get, I can keep going. It is worth it to see the youth come in the door to a place where they can feel supported.
A foster parent said to me, 'What you're doing is just amazing.' I've trained three of his foster kids, and to hear that from him was truly meaningful.
So often people reach out and say, 'I’ve got this kid…Can you come to our meeting? Can you come and tell my group about your program?' I’ve come to realize how great the need is for this type of program. And if I don’t do this—who will?
Being a source of consistency
Pilar: It takes a lot of energy to train teenagers. There are days when I wake up and think, 'Maybe I can just cancel today.' But what if this was the one thing in their day that they were looking forward to? I don’t know what’s going on in their lives, so I need to show up.
Training always comes first, while other tasks like administration can be scaled down on days when I’m low on energy. I want my team of trainers and I to be a source of consistency in the lives of the teens who come through the door.
Part 2: Behind the scenes of YES
Time devoted to YES
Pilar: Currently we train the kids in YES between 8 to 12 hours a week, and I spend 5 to 8 hours a week on administrative tasks which includes filling out paperwork, meetings and networking. I have a really capable woman that helps me with a lot of my social media and administrative tasks—if it weren't for her, I would not be able to do a lot of it because it doesn't come naturally to me.
There's just not enough time in the day to reach everybody and do all the things I need to do. So I have gotten really quite good at delegating and asking for help. I can't do it all by myself, nor do I want to be this one-person show. I welcome people that are interested in giving their time.
The challenge of finding money
Pilar: Finding money is always a challenge. Anybody that runs a non-profit or a charity can probably attest to that.
Aside from applying for as many grants as possible, so far we’ve had a couple ticketed fundraising events. We even did a silent auction event at The Buck & Ear with raffle prizes and lots of giveaways. Those events were successful and a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. I've been in Steveson for a long time and know a lot of people, so it was really nice to see all those people come to support the cause.
In addition to asking people to donate via the website, I usually suggest making a donation to YES during my birthday or celebrations where people might want to buy me a gift. During my going away party at my former workplace, people were so generous. They passed a jar around and it was just such a lovely grassroots donation situation.
Part 3: Advice for non-profit societies that are just starting out
Seek help from people who have more knowledge and experience
Pilar: My biggest piece of advice is to find out who knows more than you do, and don’t be afraid to ask them for help.
When I was doing my personal training certification, one of my trainers (who was quite a character) would always say, 'Always walk into the room knowing that you are not the smartest person in the room. Because the second you think you know more than everybody else, you're going to fall behind or fail.'
Everyone brings something invaluable and through this process, I discovered a brand new community that I didn't really know before.
Build the right board of directors
Pilar: Another piece of advice is to make sure you have a good board of directors that you can count on. My board has been such a source of information and support.
For example, there was a delicate situation with one of the youth in my program and I didn't know how to handle it because it was new to me. One of my board members said, 'What you need to do is call an emergency board meeting.' So I did. It was a Friday night at 5 o 'clock, and no questions asked—they all jumped on the call and helped me to navigate the situation.
Take care of the small details when establishing a nonprofit
Pilar: It's fine to have this big idea, and it’s normal to want to jump in and do all these big things, but you need to take care of the small details along the way so that nothing gets missed.
For example, setting up the board and following the Societies Act to have my rules and regulations in place are all very straightforward, but it’s easy to skip it and think, 'I’ll just come back to those later.' I find that doing important things in the moment makes it so much easier in the long run.
Be open to change and pivot as needed
Pilar: The mission of YES is ‘to provide barrier free strength and fitness training, empowering at-risk youth to improve their physical and mental health.’
When I first thought of creating this nonprofit, my mission statement was different. As I started talking to people and building my board, that mission statement evolved into what it is now.
I've learned that it is okay to change as you go. It’s okay to pivot a little bit as you go while still sticking to your vision.
The desire to leave a legacy
I hope this article has given you a greater understanding of how Youth Empowerment and Strength truly helps at-risk youth in this community to build their confidence and feel a sense of belonging. Let’s close with one final thought from the founder:
Pilar: I want YES to have longevity. This isn't just a side gig, or just a six-week program and then off you go to something else. I know this is something that I and the people who work with me feel strongly about. We want to leave this legacy.
Connect with Pilar
Now that you got an inside look into the work of Pilar and her YES team—perhaps you’re itching to get involved too! Here’s how you can learn more and get involved:
Youth Empowerment & Strength Links:
Website: https://www.societyforyes.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/societyforyes
Email: pilar@societyforyes.com
You can also find Pilar at her personal training studio, Balanced Body Fitness in Steveston Village, Richmond BC.
