Girls On The Run Raises The Bar
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer
Thumbing through one of the largest publications in health, wellness, beauty and style (SELF MAGAZINE), I ran across an insert to the magazine which introduced an amazing initiative for young girls.
GIRLS ON THE RUN INTERNATIONAL will mark one of its landmark anniversaries this year, hitting 20 years of providing pre-adolescent girls with all the necessary tools they need to embrace their individual strengths and move eagerly and enthusiastically into adventurous life experiences.
Beginning small as an experiment, it has proven to be a non-profit organization like none other. Young girls with no idea of how much they can achieve became curious and ready to accept the challenge, never looking back and becoming more than they could ever imagine. GIRLS ON THE RUN INTERNATIONAL has gone from a group of 13 girls, willing to experiment, to a present day count of 168,000 girls. The goodness of the organization spans over 225+ cities nationwide with exposure in such high-profile media publications as Running Times, Parenting, Self Magazine, Runner’s World, Shape and many more.
It has not been too difficult to attract volunteers who will gain instant gratification by assisting girls transform their lives forever. In addition to the 120,000 individual volunteers that can be found on a global level, some of the national partners of GIRLS ON THE RUN INTERNATIONAL include Athleta, LEGO, Cigna, Gamma Phi Beta, Vibram and SmartWool.
Meeting twice a week in small teams of 8-20 girls, volunteers for the organization teach life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons and running games. The 24-lesson curriculum is taught by certified Girls on the Run coaches and includes three parts: understanding ourselves, valuing relationships and teamwork and understanding how we connect with and shape the world at large. Running is the main method used to inspire and motivate girls, encourage lifelong health and fitness, and build confidence through accomplishment. Important social, psychological, and physical skills and abilities are developed and reinforced throughout the program. At each season’s conclusion, the girls and their running buddies complete a 5k running event which gives them a tangible sense of achievement as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals. The result—making the seemingly impossible, possible, and teaching girls that they can.
These are our leaders of tomorrow, our visionaries of the future. The girls can be empowered to make crucial decisions that will affect the world in the future, embrace the differences of others rather than scorning the weaknesses of others, bond and connect with friends and foes alike, treat others with dignity and respect and in return will gain the respect of others, nuture, be compassionate and open-hearted and stand up for themselves with this instilled magical confidence.
Fundraising partners include Cigna, General Mills, The Coca Cola Foundation and American Express.
The bottom line is that each girl opening this newly discovered door immediately becomes an integral part of the program, not only living out her dreams, but going above and beyond what she considered as her true potential. The motto of GIRLS ON THE RUN INTERNATIONAL of “Learn, Dream, Live and Run”takes on a much wider meaning.
Remember that new volunteers and donations are always welcomed. It is time to gain self-satisfaction in a rewarding organization, giving back to ambitious girls needing a mentor to look up to.
