Adult Retreat

The Adult Retreat is a great way for community members to come together and join in a weekend filled with various fun and educational activities. This year’s retreat features a resume workshop, art and mindfulness therapy session, and an amazing keynote speaker – Sarah Wun, who will touch on topics related to facial differences, motivation, and fear.

Please review the itinerary for the weekend below and use the registration link to sign up!

Registration for the retreat is now closed.

November 4

7pm EST – Resume Workshop

Peter and Christopher hold 15 years of combined experience managing the James Innes Group of resume writing companies. Over this time, as well as the company’s extended history since 1998, the primary goal has been to uphold a standard of excellence in resume writing spanning the technical to the traditional.

Peter’s technical background has afforded them the ability to make great strides in understanding the inner workings of applicant tracking systems, enabling an approach to resume writing akin to search engine optimisation in its keyword-orientedness, ensuring that any resume written by the James Innes Group is ultimately parseable and gamed as effectively as possible toward the sort of language a recruiter may use when shortlisting.

Christopher’s take on personal branding within the realm of social media and the wider public internet has enabled the James Innes Group to expand its reach further, in helping clients ensure that their web footprint speaks to their academic and career accolades, and that roving recruiters form a unified perception of a candidate based on traditional and online profiles both professional and personal.

Peter and Christopher can’t wait to meet you and talk about all things resume, LinkedIn, ATS bots and more to provide you with actionable information to help you improve your chances of making it to the next destination on your career journey.

9pm EST – Games Night led by the AboutFace Team
Come out to an evening game of trivia to test your general knowledge on a variety of topics! Are you up for the challenge?

 

November 5

11am EST – Keynote: In Conversation with Sarah Wun
Sarah Wun was born in Ontario, Canada with a unilateral cleft lip and palate. She was a patient at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto until her late teens. Sarah is an actress and educator who has been teaching overseas for the past 10 years. When Sarah moved to Hong Kong in August 2020, she took a break from teaching and decided to take an advanced acting class. This intimidating experience of acting on camera and exploring highly emotional scenes not only challenged her to open up completely, but also led to many opportunities that she never could have dreamed of.

When everything went virtual in 2020, Sarah discovered the power of social media in bringing her closer to cleft communities around the world. With the help of some extremely confident, proud, and powerful cleft affected individuals, she worked up the courage to edit and produce a short film called Best Smile in the World, a film about quite literally staring at what makes you uncomfortable and embracing it.

On this day, Sarah will discuss how being on camera helped her to embrace her cleft and not shy away from her “cleft side”. She will talk about the making of her film and how, with motivation and support, she gathered up enough confidence and courage to share it with the world.

1pm EST – Art Therapy with Rapinder Kaur
In our ever-increasing sensory overloaded world, it can be even more challenging to find quality time to connect with ourselves and those around us. Join Registered Psychotherapist & Art Therapist, Rapinder Kaur for an engaging and interactive workshop, where she will lead you through simple creative prompts, providing welcome relief from everyday stresses. Stress reducing strategies will be provided. Art making experience is not necessary to participate.

2:15pm EST – Mindfulness Workshop with Mindfulness Everyday
In this workshop we will investigate together, ways to tap into your inner resources to manage stress and handle difficult emotions with greater ease in your professional and personal life. Through a practical and interactive approach, you will learn about the importance of self-compassion and how to practice it in daily life. You will have the opportunity to participate in mindfulness-based practices and guided meditations, mindful movement, reflective practice, and an opportunity to share experience.

3:30pm EST – Train with Sukhi
Sukhi completed her BSc Kinesiology at Brock University with an extensive curriculum in biomechanics, human growth, anatomy, neurology, and sports injuries. She had the opportunity to work as a personal trainer with individuals who had spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, amputations, and unique needs, providing personalized exercise programs that focused on their health and functional goals. After University, Sukhi completed her diploma in osteopathic manual practice from the National Academy of Osteopathy in Toronto and her Doctor of Osteopathy (DO, Spain).

The session will consist of:
-Active warm up: 5 minutes to warm up joints and muscles. Increasing range of mobility, while decreasing risk of injuries.
-Workout: Will target whole body! The workout consists of body weight exercises to help activate, condition, and strengthen muscles while encouraging proper form. Participants will be introduced to modified versions of each exercise.
-Cool down: Stretching and releasing tension in the body. Participants will be educated on what muscles they are releasing with guided breathwork.

4:45pm EST – Creative Writing with Sophia
Sophia Apostol is a facilitator and coach for Firefly Creative Writing. She brings a mama bear warmth and a passion to her work and especially likes holding safer spaces for people who are feeling nervous about writing. Sophia is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Certified Neuroscience Coach (CNTC), so she likes to geek out about the creative process, our motivators, and our resistances. In her writing she uses her past to make sense of her present. More information about Sophia clicking the link here.

This creative writing workshop is designed to help you pause, reflect, and connect to your own story. We’ll use short, fun guided writing exercises to move your story onto the page so you can see it come to life. You’ll be able to share what you write if you choose, and you’ll receive positive, loving reflections on your writing in this safe, cozy session.

6pm EST – Conversation and Coffee with Namrit
Grab a cup of coffee and let’s discuss our favorite part of the retreat and share ideas on how to make the future retreats even better! Connect directly with Namrit, AboutFace’s Program Manager, Peer & Community Support.