Chase the Ace for Camp Courage

For 10 hours a day, teenage girls climb 75-foot ladders, shoot firearms, put out fires, learn self-defense moves, incubate mannequins and even deliver mechanical babies. It’s all part of an 80-hour camp inspiring them to pursue careers in fire, police and paramedicine.

“When I was in school I didn’t even see a female firefighter,” says career firefighter Andréa Speranza. “There was no one to say, ‘You’re just like me and I did it, so you can do it, too!’”

Speranza founded Camp Courage in 2006 when women represented just two per cent of the fire service and she rarely had the opportunity to work with another female firefighter. She wanted to be able to empower, inspire and educate young women toward the profession she loves so much.

There’s no cost to attend the camp, but teens must apply with an essay and letters of reference because there are just 24 spots. Although more than 100 professionals from the RCMP, Halifax Regional Police, Emergency Health Services and the Halifax Regional Fire Service all volunteer to work at Camp Courage, it still costs $25,000 to hold one camp every second summer.

Capitalizing on the popularity of Chase the Ace fundraisers, Speranza is running one on Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Monte’s Showbar and Grill on Waverley Rd. It started Nov. 12 and the pot is close to $1,000 — plus a 37-inch TV valued at $300.

“We’re always trying to find new ways to raise money because you can’t keep doing the same thing, so we’ll see how this goes,” says Speranza. “People like the idea that they can immediately win something for a couple of dollars, and it’s for such a good cause.”

Speranza is also organizing a three-day music event at Monte’s (March 4-6) to celebrate International Women’s Day. All of the acts will be female, with Asia and the NuGruv headlining.

She continues to work full-time as a firefighter and was recently promoted to the supervisory position of lieutenant. Speranza says 33 per cent of the camp graduates end up pursuing post-secondary education in either fire, police or paramedicine. The success rate is possibly even higher, she explains, because many attendees are still in high school and have yet to apply to these programs.

But Speranza says the camp is about much more than encouraging women to pursue non-traditional jobs.

“There’s so much pressure on young women today, so we focus on empowering them and inspiring them to be brave,” says Speranza. “Sometimes they’re petrified, but they do it — they do things their parents never thought they’d do.”

“When they accomplish something that scared them, it’s a life-changing moment. They think, ‘I can do a job interview, I can do a presentation, I can do anything.’”

“I believe everyone needs to have dreams or goals to work towards so they can have something to strive for — to look forward to — and plan for their future.”