Get to know… Becky Kurtz (GV 51)
Hi I’m Becky Kurtz from GV 51- the newest round of GV graduates through the global pandemic.
I am a Life Skills & Empowerment Coach and the founder of Aspire Community & Developmental Services. We offer life skills coaching and empowerment programs to youth and young adults with disabilities and autism.
We also offer parent & caregiver support and education through workshops and consultation. We empower the growth and personal development of young people as they begin or continue their transition into adulthood.
We are a new business that has spent the majority of our time navigating our forever changing world. 2020 brought a fair share of challenges but also some positive pivots for Aspire Services. We pivoted and began offering life skills coaching in a virtual environment. We now offer both in person and virtual life skills coaching and group programs to young people. We have also developed a number of workshops for parents and caregivers that have been presented widely across the province. We have been working with young people to help them build confidence, learn new skills and see their own potential to accomplish their personal goals.
What are life skills??
These are the skills that we need to learn or want to learn to become as independent as possible. This can include skills such as personal hygiene like showering, brushing our teeth and doing our own laundry. Kitchen skills such as kitchen safety, cooking simple meals and meal planning. Employment skills like writing a resume, applying for a job and interview skills. As well as community skills such as road safety, grocery shopping and using public transit. There are many skills that need to be learned prior to living independently or in supported living, pursuing post-secondary education or applying to the workforce. We support our participants by breaking these skills down into smaller, more achievable steps so their goals are within reach and learning the new skills doesn’t seem so daunting. We empower young people to build on current skills and develop new skills in a positive and supportive environment.
We work with young people to develop strategies to help them learn the best way they can. Every person has a different way of learning, and we at Aspire Services meet them where they are and help them grow and rise to their fullest potential.
“If they can’t learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn”- Dr. O. Ivar Lovaas
Patricia is the Business Mentor and owner of Grow Vantage and a Past President of the Barrie Chamber of Commerce. She applies over 30 years of business experience (from start-up to corporate) to mentor entrepreneurs. Since 2011, she has held over 6,500 coaching and training sessions in-person and online. Through Ask For Directions Training, her entrepreneurial training program (and parent company Grow Vantage), and as a business coach, she works with start-ups who are new (or who have lost traction) to design, launch and grow their businesses. Along with 20 other expert instructors she teaches strategies in marketing, sales, communications, and finance, as well as practical techniques to increase productivity, and manage their businesses. In other words, everything entrepreneurs need to learn to grow and run their businesses successfully, and avoid the costly mistakes they can't even see coming - that lead to delays in growth and getting stuck.