There are plenty of exceptional leaders who care about the physical and mental health of young girls in Quebec. Starting with businesswoman Danièle Henkel, President and Founder of Henkel Media, Isabelle Foisy, President and Founder of Point Cardinal and Cynthia Lemme, Head of Corporate Credit, Centre and Head of Special Projects and Agriculture at BMO. As leaders of the Défi Mère/Fillactive , they are committed to becoming inspiring role models in order to allow an ever-growing number of young girls to discover the benefits of physical activity and thus reverse the trend of teenage girls abandoning sports.

We spoke with Isabelle and Cynthia about their involvement in the Active Mother/Daughter Challenge and how they are mobilizing their personal and business networks to build a supportive community that encourages teenage girls to engage in regular physical activity. Inspiring stories!

Isabelle Foisy, super woman

“I met Claudine Labelle, founding president of Fillactive, at the very beginning, when I was chairing the Governor General's Canadian Conference on Leadership in Quebec. We invited her to present her project, which was a little crazy at the time. She called me back as soon as she had set it up and I seized the opportunity to bring together my mother, my daughter and me in a cause that spans generations and that touches me personally. It must be said that when I was young, sports were a real challenge for me.”

The one who today sits on an impressive number of boards of directors, including Relief, in mental health with Martin Enault , the Quebec businesswomen's network, and Chambers of Commerce, in addition to being a coach for MBA graduates at HEC and a trainer at Centech for startups, a director of companies such as the Women President Organization or the 2-degree environmental incubator, has managed to rise to the top. Her small, piercing blue-gray eyes and her very friendly smile nevertheless give her the allure of my next-door neighbor . You would not suspect that this award-winning manager with a surprising professional stature is so down to earth: "Giving brings a lot."

She fondly remembers Mr. Parent, "who helped me so much when I started. He told me: one day, you'll see, you're the one who's going to give back. That's it. And then, it also allows me to be a better manager in my organization, to better understand young people, and to get back to the human behind the work and ultimately, to the essentials."

Cynthia Lemme, a fighter

For Cynthia, it's a bit of the same story, that of a youth that was not flourishing in sports. "When I was young, there weren't really any opportunities to be active as a girl." Today, the one who is Head, Credit to Large Companies, Center and Manager, Special Projects and Agriculture, and who has more than 30 years in the banking sector, is not afraid and admits to having devoted herself body and soul to her work. But she is also a mother, and of three daughters in addition, a 17-year-old and 14-year-old twins.

“It’s also about spending quality time with my teens and giving them a role model for community involvement. It’s an opportunity to be together in an activity that brings us together. Even through the pandemic. And since I started, they’ve challenged me to go from walking to running. We’ve challenged ourselves, and today we’re proud to say that we get up at seven o’clock on Saturdays and Sundays to go running together!”

For me, it is important that girls promote physical activity, as an integral part of a healthy lifestyle and good mental health, a balanced schedule too. I realize how much insecurities can block young girls from participating. We must help teens leave that behind them, in the locker room!

Involve their teams and families

Cynthia is in her third year as a leader of the FitSpirit Mother/Daughter Challenge. “BMO has been participating in the FitSpirit Father/Daughter Ball, the first fundraising event, for the past five years. When I arrived in 2020, it was the pandemic, but we managed to choose our routes close to home, no matter where we were across Quebec. There were ten teams at that time, then 20 in 2021 and 30 this year. We encourage all the duos or trios, each at their own pace, but all together!”

The bank's interest in this unifying event is natural, as it also offered a donation of $250,000 over five years as part of Fillactive's major fundraising campaign. BMO is sending emails to all its offices in the province and is also promoting the event on its social networks to encourage participation. The activity is free, but everyone is invited to make donations.

For her part, Isabelle solicits her family as much as her business contacts. Some make donations, encourage her team or sign up for the Challenge. “We share the information in our newsletter and on our social networks. Internally, several teams have formed, with their families at home. The cause has reached a lot of people, with children of all ages. It leads us to share something human in our work, to come closer together. It’s important to promote this group of highly competent and supportive women. What a beautiful, tightly knit network.”

When asked where this superwoman finds the time to walk or run for a third year, she simply answers: “Everything I do, I do with heart, so I don’t feel like I have more hours in a day than you! I’m not just a businesswoman. In life, there’s the authentic person with their challenges, the mother, the spouse, someone’s daughter. All of that is important too. I get involved in different causes, but Fillactive is really the one that’s closest to my heart.”

The last two years with the pandemic, we each walked on our own side, me in Gaspésie, my mother Louise in Quebec City and my daughter Camille in Boucherville. We texted each other: I'm at 8 km, and you? We were together despite everything. It's great to be able to put them forward in turn, it's not always me! "Her daughter, a new lawyer, will have big shoes to fill, but she's off to a good start...

About the Active Mother/Daughter Challenge

The Active Mother/Daughter Challenge involves running, walking or cycling a total of 20, 30 or 40 km or more as a team on August 13 and 14. The event is free and open to all mothers and daughters who want to take part in a unifying event aimed at encouraging teenage girls to be active for life.

This year, mothers and their daughters will have the opportunity to participate in the Challenge either remotely, across the country, or in person in the Greater Montreal Area and the National Capital Region. To prepare for their challenge, the Fillactive team will provide them with training programs and a weekly challenge to complete in the eight weeks leading up to the event. Participants will also have access, at all times, to the services of a nutritionist and a kinesiologist to answer their questions about nutrition and physical activity, and will have the opportunity to participate in various contests for a chance to win wonderful prizes. Registration is open until June 19.