In the summer of 2024, something quiet yet remarkable began happening in a downtown Windsor park. A small group of newcomer young women—most from Afghanistan and Syria—began gathering regularly, carving out a space of belonging and safety amidst the immense challenges of starting a new life in Canada. Fleeing war, persecution, gender-based violence, and years of disrupted education, these young women carried stories marked by both trauma and hope. What they longed for was simple but profound: community, opportunity, and a chance to build a future.
From these early park conversations, W.I.N.G.S.—Windsor Intercultural Neighbourhood Girls—was born.
With the mentorship of Ruth Rodas, a newcomer herself from Guatemala, the young women began exploring how they could use their own gifts and strengths to respond to the barriers they faced. Ruth had recently launched Full Bloom Coffee, a social enterprise supporting educational access for Indigenous and Mestizo girls in rural Guatemala. As the girls shared their own dreams and frustrations—especially around employment—they began imagining something bold: a holistic employment and mentorship internship created by newcomer young women, for newcomer young women.
Thanks to support from NewGround’s Youth Justice Grant, that bold idea came to life in 2025.
A First Job—and a First Taste of Dignity
The WINGS team designed a 10-week summer internship that combined small-business training, social-enterprise experience, and meaningful paid work. In partnership with the Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative (DWCC), a Spirit-led community development ministry committed to renewal, justice, and neighbour-to-neighbour hospitality, the young women were given access to the Good Hood Community Kitchen. There, they developed what became the WINGS Café: a monthly pop-up featuring Afghani dishes, baked goods, and direct-trade Guatemalan coffee.
NewGround and Diaconal Ministries’ staff saw the impact of WINGS during a visit to Windsor in July 2025. It was evident the internship had become much more than job experience. It challenged discrimination, created space for leadership, and nurtured cross-cultural friendships among newcomer youth. It also offered the girls a surprising sense of welcome; several admitted they never imagined Christians would support Muslim newcomers in this way. The trust formed through this initiative created healing, dignity, and fresh confidence.
From Pilot to Long-Term Ministry
The impact of the summer internship was so significant that by August, more newcomer young women were asking how they could join WINGS. Families began inviting friends. Older newcomer women expressed longing for a place to practice English and find companionship. The WINGS Café had become more than a café—it was becoming a community hub.
Seeing this momentum during a second visit in August, Amy Baarda, NewGround’s coordinator, encouraged the WINGS young women to apply for a multi-year NewGround partnership to further dream what might be possible in their community. Along with Ruth, the WINGS leaders, and DWCC discerned, they began shaping a long-term vision: Holistic Employment Mentorship – Stage 2, a two-year, sustainable employment and leadership development pathway for newcomer young women.
To bring this vision to life, the group—supported by Ambassador Christian Reformed Church—applied for a NewGround Community Ministry Grant.
This partnership will:
- Double the number of young women involved in the WINGS Café
- Create a rhythm of paid hosts and volunteer apprentices, offering ongoing pathways from volunteerism to employment
- Provide weekly mentorship, spiritual support, and leadership formation
- Open the café as an affordable, welcoming gathering space for newcomer women across the neighbourhood
- Offer monthly English conversation circles
- Grow WINGS’ capacity for catering, entrepreneurship, and social-enterprise development
- Develop community impact and evaluation practices rooted in dignity, stories, and lived experience
This initiative is deeply aligned with NewGround’s call to justice-rooted, asset-based community development. It builds on the gifts already present: the young women’s culinary creativity, their determination, DWCC’s relational presence, Ambassador CRC’s hospitality, Good Hood Kitchen’s generosity, and the solidarity between newcomer teens in Windsor and Indigenous girls in Guatemala.
A Community Becoming a Place of Belonging
Downtown Windsor is often dismissed as a place of poverty, decline, or danger. But as Jesus reminds us, the Kingdom often grows where few expect it. Through WINGS, the neighbourhood is witnessing glimpses of renewal—teen girls using their gifts, newcomers becoming leaders, cross-cultural friendships taking root, and a café that embodies Micah’s call to justice, mercy, and humble presence.
From a park gathering to a thriving café, from a Youth Justice grant to a multi-year Community Ministry partnership, WINGS Windsor embodies what becomes possible when God’s people step into places of vulnerability with trust, courage, and hope.
With the help of the NewGround program and local partners, new ground is being broken—ground where dignity takes root, belonging grows, and the Kingdom of God becomes visible in the everyday lives of neighbours.
Our 2026 NewGround Campaign has begun!
WINGS Windsor is our featured ministry for our 2026 NewGround Campaign. Churches can find resources to promote their NewGround Offering which includes our Campaign video. A special mailing—with a poster and brochures—will also be sent in the coming weeks.
