ABOUT US

Empowering women and girls

In Northern Ireland

GLOW is a registered charity that currently operates in Belfast empowering women and girls with life skills to increase confidence and self-esteem. Established in 2011, GLOW was developed from a common desire of women in our local community to address issues facing their peers such as low self-esteem & confidence, mental health, isolation and a lack of purpose.

As an inter-generational organisation, we challenge the status quo in order to break the vicious cycle of these issues by equipping women and young girls with tools and techniques to build their confidence, self-esteem, resilience and life skills. This will help them set positive, realistic steps in achieving their goals, enabling them to live happy fulfilled lives.

GLOW believes that all women and girls are created with purpose and so our unique programmes create an atmosphere and opportunity for women and girls to discover their true self. This has a knock on effect allowing participants to make a positive impact on their family and community, especially setting young girls up with confidence and life skills to have a successful future.

MISSION STATEMENT

To empower women and girls in Northern Ireland (and beyond) to discover their true identity and purpose so they can achieve their full potential.

Meet the dreamers behind glow

Chara Clarke

Founder and CEO

Chara’s heart for women and girls is apparent through her 10 years of volunteer experience within the local church. Paired with certificates in Life Coaching and Leadership & Management, she has held leadership roles within women’s ministry and is highly respected for her love of people. More recently Chara received her Advanced Diploma in Social Enterprise from University of Ulster.

In 20o8 a group of women started to do social events to bring women from the Shankill and Falls communities together. During these events Chara recognised these women had low self esteem issues and other mental health problems that seem to lead them further into isolation. This sparked something in Chara to help these women! As a result, our unique women’s programme came to be developed with the help of a few others.

As the programme developed and more people heard the testimonies, GLOW experienced a snowball effect and funders began to support the project.

chara.clarke@glowni.com

Maxine

Women’s Project Worker

Maxine joined Team Glow at the start of 2019. She is full of passion for supporting and encouraging women, singing and all things crafts! Within her new role, you can expect to find Maxine leading our women’s Drop-In on Fridays, providing one to one support for women, facilitating “The Real Me” programme and of course bringing creativity and flair to the whole organisation.

“I have plans to create a hub for all women to come together and learn from one another in a safe environment. I envision women sharing their skills with each other and forming lasting friendships like the ones I got from Glow.”

maxine.mcbay@glowni.com

Kellie

Office Manager

Kellie joined our team in 2017 and has kept the operations and office running smoothly. She has experience in office and administration work, interned in life coaching and has obtained a Level 2 OCN in Mentoring. Kellie benefited from personal development as a teenager and saw the impact it had on her life. This experience encouraged her to be apart of Glow to support and care for other women and girls in difficult situations.

As our office manager, Kellie oversees our finance and helps in any way to support the overall projects of Glow by assisting Chara in business development.

kellie.forbes@glowni.com

Paula

Fundraising & Events Assistant

Paula is full of encouragement and loves to help out in any way she can. Coming through “The Real Me” programme in 2018, Paula continued to be involved with other programmes at GLOW. She came on board as a volunteer initially and was a huge asset to the staff. Paula is happily married and a proud mum of three boys but she still found time to achieve a Level 3 qualification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing! We could not be more thankful for all she has done for GLOW and we are so proud to have her as part of the GLOW team!

paula@glowni.com

Lauren

Youth Worker

Lauren joined the team in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and made sure all of our current girls were receiving support. She arranged home packs, group workshops and zoom calls to make sure everyone stayed connected. Lauren has achieved an OCN Level 2 in Youth Practice and has experience from working with other youth groups as a therapeutic mentor. Lauren is passionate about creating a fun, safe environment for girls to build their confidence and develop lasting relationships.

lauren.martin@glowni.com

Nikkita

Events & Marketing Officer

Nikkita joined the GLOW team in 2020 as our Events and Marketing Officer. After graduating from QUB in 2012 with a BA (hons) in Film Studies, Nikkita worked in the entertainment and wedding industry for over six years and has gained a wealth of experience in marketing, promotion and event management. In 2018 Nikkita decided to further her education with the Chartered Institution of Marketing, achieving her Level 3 and an additional certificate in the RACE Digital Marketing framework. Nikkita is happily married to Simon and she looks after her own mental health by regularly hiking in the Mourne Mountains. Nikkita is looking forward to helping raise awareness of GLOW and their mission in supporting women and young girls in Northern Ireland.

nikkita.heywood@glowni.com