Merida Miller from Project Fearless: I love when girls are like “oh shit, I didn’t think I had this in me – and now look at me”.
Changemaker and Nike Community Impact Fund grantee Merida Miller (33) decided to leave the US and build her dream in the Netherlands. That dream? Getting young kids into sports and other group activities with the goal of them becoming great team players in life, surrounding them with strong female role models and letting them discover their passions and voices on their own terms.
More concrete: Merida sets up sports programs, mentor workshops, jam sessions, coding workshops and much more for girls and non-binary kids between the ages of 9 and 14. Parents are welcome as well and everything is free of charge. Her goal? ‘Something that mothers wish they’d had when they were growing up and that fathers want for their daughters.’ Project Fearless had to be a place where kids can shed who they think they ‘should be’ and let them figure it out themselves instead.
Merida classifies herself as a problem solver. Growing up she worked at the local ski mountain in Virginia, teaching kids with disabilities how to ski and snowboard. It was then and there that she started to understand what sports and exercise can do for a person. ‘The falling and getting back up, is really important for people’s confidence’.
‘The falling and getting back up, is really important for people’s confidence’.
‘Project Fearless is a space that embodies just that: falling and getting back up. Our after school projects focus on girls and non-binary youth between the age of 9 and 14. I started this project 3 years ago and it’s so much more than just sports now. We do anything ranging from arts, science, activism, leadership, entrepreneurism and of course mainly our sports programs. Think skateboarding, run club, kickboxing, football - it’s all about the team environment. Even if you are a scientist, getting that feeling of what it’s like to be on a team, and what it’s like to celebrate each other’s wins and break each other’s falls - is so important. The best part for the kids and parents? It’s all free of charge.’ Important detail: Project Fearless truly wants to be a safe space for every kid ‘so we ask every participant to share their pronouns at the start of each course’
It’s sometimes very obvious just how much safe and open initiatives like Project Fearless are needed, seeing as it’s mostly boys playing football on all boys teams. Where are the girls and non-binary kids? ‘Our sports program in Nieuw-West takes place at Sportpark de Eendracht and if you just walk around there, it’s boys, boys, boys exercising wherever you look. That can be intimidating for girls or non-binary kids.’ And that’s exactly the change she’s trying to make. There’s no lack of girls wanting to enroll, it’s just that they’d feel much more comfortable in a safe, girls only space with female role models. ‘That’s why we started very lowkey, it was basically us roaming through the neighborhood saying: “come hang with us, it’s just us and four girls and you can bring your parents too!”’ Because I totally get parents being protective and not just wanting to send your daughter somewhere for two hours once a week, without seeing for yourselves. It’s super important to include families.’
It’s all growth from there, for Project Fearless. Merida is especially proud of the fact that there’s even a group of moms involved that have their own workshops now. Especially since her mission is to ‘equip [girls] with the tools to succeed in any aspect of their lives by surrounding them with strong, dynamic female role models who are all pursuing their own definition of success.’ And guess what most moms are? The moms in Nieuw-West got in touch with her through their kids, saw how much their daughters were enjoying the programs and got infatuated with Millers enthusiasm and asked her if they could join. ‘That’s exactly what you want. Once people get into our project, we let them take it, take over.’ Social cohesion at it’s finest, one would say. “Being able to start the Mother-program was so cool and huge for Project Fearless. At first we thought we would solely focus on the kids but mothers play a key important part in this story. And mothers should have their own community and empowerment so their daughters can see how it should be: strong female role models will inspire strong young females. Without the grant we wouldn’t have been able to do all this. And to be completely honest: that’s just so cool. We’re booming!’
At first we thought we would solely focus on the kids but mothers play a key part in this story.
But why did Merida choose sports as a way to reach girls and non-binary kids? ‘Of course there are the well known positive aspects of sports like being on a team, to be supported and having shared experiences like wins and fails. But also, when you are on a team, every type of personality gets to shine. So, even when you’re not really the person that’s super outspoken, loud and that likes to be the extravert – an introvert can still be part of the team and still feel the power of that physical accomplishment and know that they contributed to the overall win of the team. Besides that: I love when girls are like “oh shit, I didn’t think I had this in me – and now look at me”. It’s so rewarding to see their confidence go through the roof.’
Since Project Fearless is still very new to the game and relatively young, Miller is full of future goals. She’d love to branch out to more cities, continue growing and eventually create sister cities all over the world. ‘Something that’s definitely on my to do list is to stop being the only paid person within Project Fearless. I’m surrounded by a group of incredible volunteers but I would love to bring somebody on that I could pay so we can really establish ourselves as a company.’
Merida Miller and girls from Project Fearless looking into the camera (by Coco Olakunle)
“I love when girls are like “oh shit, I didn’t think I had this in me – and now look at me”. It’s so rewarding to see their confidence go through the roof.”
Of course, when you’re in the line of work that Miller finds herself in – money can and will make or break you and your initiative. The Nike Community Impact Fund made it possible to branch out within Amsterdam. Before receiving the grant, Project Fearless was only operating in Centrum. Now kids in Zuid Oost and Nieuw West can join in on the fun, at a location near them. ‘If not for the grant we wouldn’t be as big as we are now. Nieuw West is our biggest subproject at the moment. It’s exploding and there’s even a waitlist right now. The grant meant we could keep everything totally free, cover our costs and not go into the red zone. It enabled us to really grow while staying authentic. We hosted our first open sports day for girls in Nieuw-West in July and eight girls showed up. From there we were able to host two girl programs in Autumn: kickboxing and touch football and one kickboxing and self-defense workshop for the mothers.
The Nike fund helped us to really build trust with this group of women and girls, so now this spring we are excited to say that all of our spring programs are full and because of the enthusiasm we are also adding additional courses.”
Merida laughs out loud while reflecting on these past months, which were hectic but successful. It’s been a ride. ‘Money isn’t everything but it helps. It creates space to fail, to seek out help and to experiment. It gives you time, breathing space and the possibility to try something else.’ Someone once said: ‘The only people that are telling you money doesn’t buy you the important stuff in life, are probably people that are swimming in it.’ That must be resonating for anyone in a non-profit.
Miller does have one very important tip for future impact makers that are contemplating setting up their own project: ‘Get ready to fail.’ When asked what her latest fail was Merida tells us about her really doing everything to find a location, a workspace for Project Fearless. She couldn’t find the right space, things were way to expensive and then Covid happened and the thought dawned on her: thank god she didn’t have to pay rent for an unused workspace at Amsterdam prices in the middle of a pandemic now. Sometimes when you think you’re failing, you’re just not seeing the bigger picture yet.
“Definitely learn to ask for things. I know, it’s horrible and you have your pride, but ask for help, ask for funds, ask for time.”
‘Sure, failure is such a harsh word, but be ready for that. You really need to have a growth mindset, meaning you can look at your failures and say:”Okay, so this did not go as planned but here’s what I learned from it.” Because 9 out of 10 things won’t go as planned. Be flexible, know your value, know who you are, but within that try to be flexible. It’s that part that will create growth. Oh, and always remind yourself why your idea is good. Sure, be flexible, be ready to tweak and add minor changes, but stand behind what got you here in the first place. Even if it will cause you and your journey minor hiccups. And definitely learn to ask for things. I know, it’s horrible and you have your pride, but ask for help, ask for funds, ask for time.‘
The Nike Community Impact Fund (NCIF) benefits communities where employees live, work and play. These employee-led grants support local, grassroots organizations that get kids moving, because Nike knows that active kids do better. And when kids have an opportunity to fall in love with play and sport, they’re more likely to reach their full potential both on — and off — the court. Apply for a grant in The Netherlands by February 28th. Check it out, here.
Images: Coco Olakunle