Girls on the Run

Chatting, running, learning, laughing.  Sign me up to help promote this mission.  Girls on the Run is an organization I'm especially drawn to because it combines a few of my favorite things: kids, community involvement and running.  I wanted to share this organization with you because its mission truly inspires me, and its founder is such a strong example of how one little action with a lot of love can make a huge difference. 

Molly Wilmer Barker, who founded Girls on the Run in 1996, describes the organization as a program "designed to help girls really capture the spirit of who they are and bring that to life."  Girls on the Run does this through 2 initiatives:  Girls on the Run for 3rd-5th graders and Girls on Track for 6th-8th graders.  Both programs consists of 12 weeks of practices where the girls train for a 5k run and have lessons covering a variety of emotional, physical, social and intellectual development topics.  During their training, the girls also choose and complete a service event.  At the end of the 12 week season, the girls have the opportunity to complete a non-competitive 5K running event. This is a HUGE event for a lot of girls because it lets them see just how strong and wonderful they truly are.  (Check out this video if you want to see just how pumped the girls are after the run!)

What started as Molly Barker and 13 pre-teen girls in North Carolina has become a huge movement.  Today, Girls on the Run is offered in over 170 cities across North America with hundreds of thousands of girls involved in program.  Molly, you go girl.

I know I can't wait until the fall when I can start my first season as a Girls on the Run volunteer.  Running has always been an incredible source of strength for me, and I look forward to sharing the fun with some awesome chicas.  For those of you who are also interested about how you can get involved with a Girls on the Run group in your neck of the woods, check out the "Locations" tab at www.girlsontherun.org.