C.A.R.D. was founded in 2018 by two high school students, Makayla Hastings and Chloe Pretchuk, who were frustrated by the toxic consent culture in their school and community. They noticed that there was inadequate education on the nuances of consent in school. They decided that if they wanted comprehensive consent education, they would have to create the program themselves.

Over the next five years, Chloe and Makayla reached out to mentors, teachers, counselors, and young people across the Lower Mainland of Vancouver to try and address the injustices they were noticing. The passion was extraordinary and infectious. By the time Chloe and Makayla entered university, they had developed a curriculum that put high school seniors in the driver’s seat and allowed them to take leadership in their community.

Unlike a traditional sex education program, C.A.R.D. was not a third-party program, a teacher, or a nurse. The program was embedded within the school and run by the student body. The students were not only the audience but also the instructors. The team of students was trained by sexual health professionals and worked in collaboration with Shift Education to deliver comprehensive and accurate information. The leaders actively learned alongside the students, creating rich and mutually satisfying conversations among peers.

The C.A.R.D. curriculum departs from typical lecture-based education. It offers conversation-style lessons where leaders present a mix of facts, questions, and discussion topics for the group to explore together. By working through challenging topics with peers, students reported feeling more comfortable asking questions and engaging in conversations compared to other sexual education programs.

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Chloe and Makayla focused on their bachelor’s degrees while navigating what it meant to be a recent high school graduate and university freshman in the midst of a pandemic. This also meant many projects were scrapped or postponed as they were no longer feasible. A major one was Chloe’s efforts to bring a version of the high school program to elementary schools so teenagers from the local high school could show younger students in their community what healthy friendships and online safety look like.

What emerged from the pandemic was a monthly online discussion group for 18-22 year olds in the community to talk about topics that were too nuanced or advanced to be taught in schools. For over a year, the group met and discussed how to be better allies to marginalized communities, how to foster better relationships with ex-partners, and how the political landscape was impacting our understanding of consent. These meetings built and strengthened friendships during a time when it would not have been possible otherwise.

As the world reopened, Chloe and Makayla had an exciting opportunity to collaborate with Shift Education to pilot the program on the Sunshine Coast. Starting with Elphinstone Secondary and expanding to all three schools on the coast, C.A.R.D. gained real-world experience to determine if it could succeed in schools.

This was one of the most rewarding experiences. Chloe and Makayla got to meet so many amazing people who shared their passion and wanted to see if this could work. Over the two pilots, more than 30 seniors completed a full day of training and then spent the rest of the week discussing the ages of consent with their younger peers.

There were many takeaways from the pilot program. Largely, teenagers are curious but often feel there are no safe spaces to discuss their questions. They have many questions and face difficult challenges they are not always equipped to handle. Navigating friendships and having sex for the first time are already intimidating, but in the age of Instagram, Snapchat, and the online porn industry, it is even more confusing.

Consent and Respect Discussions is at its core a place to explore the grey areas of consent and relationships. To talk and listen to determine for ourselves what feels good and what feels uncomfortable. It is also a sign that if you are passionate about something, it is never too early to start. As teenagers, it often felt like we had no power and there were so many adults making decisions about what we should be doing or learning. CARD is the product of two teenagers who wanted a say in how and what was being taught.

As of January 2026, Chloe and Makayla are navigating what it means to be in their mid-twenties. Their lives are filled with graduate degrees, big-girl jobs, and healthy relationships. When sitting down to discuss the next steps for CARD, Chloe and Makayla felt that the passion and energy once devoted to this program would now be better served elsewhere.