If you believe in the potential of young parent families and the value of investing in brighter futures, we invite you to get involved.
At Terra, our specialized team tailors programs and services to meet the needs of each teen parent. Always safe, never judgemental. Learn more about what we have to offer our young families.
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Important dates:
Drop-In Painting Dates
This fall, Terra Centre for Teen Parents is bringing our community together in a colourful celebration of connection, belonging and opportunity AND we would love for local artists and creatives to be part of it.
As part of our Community Creates Opportunity end-of-year campaign, many hundreds (goal of 700+) of small wooden peg dolls will come together to form a growing community art installation at Terra.
Each doll will be different. Each will represent an individual connected to, or inspired by our work.
Young parents and their children, Terra alumni, volunteers, donors, staff, community partners and local artists will all help create the installation, which will reflect the many people who make opportunity possible for young families.
For more than 55 years, Terra has empowered teen parents to succeed.
Throughout that history, we are proud to share that we have never done this work alone.
Opportunity is often created through relationships, like through someone offering encouragement, sharing a resource, opening a door, making a connection or simply believing in what is possible.
Our Community Creates Opportunity campaign celebrates the people who have helped build Terra’s community and invites even more Edmontonians to become part of it.
From November 4 through December 31, 2026, we will be raising funds to strengthen the programs, relationships and practical supports young families can count on as they build strong futures for themselves and their children.
Artists help us see community differently.
Through colour, storytelling, imagination and personal expression, artists can turn something as simple as a wooden peg doll into a reflection of identity, connection and belonging.
That is exactly what we hope this installation becomes.
We are inviting artists from across Edmonton to contribute their creativity and their perspective to the project. There is no set style and no expectation that the dolls look alike.
We want this community to look like a community: colourful, individual, creative and wonderfully varied.
There are a couple of ways to take part.
Pick up dolls to create on your own
Artists are welcome to collect one or more wooden peg dolls from Terra, take them back to their studio or creative space, and return them once complete. These are the dolls we are using for the campaign (for your reference – sizes).
Join us for a painting session at Terra
We will also host opportunities for artists and members of our community to paint together at Terra. Come create with us, meet some of the people behind the campaign and add your work directly to the growing installation.
We will provide the wooden dolls and some basic supplies at our painting sessions. Artists are welcome to use their own preferred paints, materials and techniques.
Along with your artwork, we would love to hear a little about what inspired you to participate.
We may ask you to share a few thoughts about:
What does “Community Creates Opportunity” mean to you?
Why did you choose to be part of this project?
Words of encouragement to our teen parent families.
Your words may be shared alongside your artwork through Terra’s website, social media and campaign communications, helping us tell the larger story of what can happen when a community comes together.
The installation will officially come to life on November 4, 2026, when Terra launches the Community Creates Opportunity campaign.
We would love participating artists to join us.
The launch will bring together young families, alumni, volunteers, supporters and friends of Terra to celebrate the community that has surrounded teen parent families for more than five decades, and the community we are continuing to build.
Participating artists will be welcome to see the installation, meet other contributors and help us kick off the campaign. Please note we will be inviting media and capturing photos and video during the event
Throughout November and December, we hope to introduce our community to some of the artists who helped bring the installation to life.
With your permission, Terra would love to share your artwork, your reflections and your involvement through our social media channels. We would also be grateful if participating artists chose to share the project with their own communities.
Every post, conversation and introduction helps more people discover Terra and understand the role community can play in creating opportunity for young families.
We would love to have you.
Let us know how you would like to participate:
Thank you for adding your creativity to our community.
Together, hundreds of individual pieces will become one collective expression of what Terra has believed for more than 55 years:
Participating artists include:
If you have any questions, feel free to email us at terra@terracentre.ca. We're here to help.