Girls on the Run participants from Westover Hills Elementary School support their teammate as she crosses the finish line at the nonprofit’s 5K in May.
“I really like to run, and it’s fun to stretch,” says Sydnei Lee, a third grade student in Chesterfield.
This may sound like a review of her school’s phys ed program, but Lee is referring to something much bigger. She is involved with the Greater Richmond chapter of Girls on the Run, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in October.
Girls on the Run, a nonprofit organization with more than 12,000 locations across North America, is committed to helping young girls in third through eighth grades build self-confidence and valuable life skills through a 10-week after-school program. Volunteer coaches lead meetings, held twice a week for an hour and a half during the schools’ fall and spring semesters. Students learn themed lessons, such as understanding oneself and others, teamwork, communication skills, and healthy relationships. They also participate in community service work and journaling prompts, all within a couch-to-5K-style exercise program culminating in a 5K run.
“Girls on the Run is about helping [girls] learn confidence and achieve big goals and social and emotional health,” says Catherine Estevez, executive director of Girls on the Run Greater Richmond. “It’s not about competition. It’s about personal goals, being the best you can be, and having the support, strategy and mindsets to achieve those goals.”
A Girls on the Run group from Longdale Elementary School in Glen Allen
Sydnei’s mother, Zakia Lee, appreciates these aspects of the program and more. She says she likes that her daughter is involved in Girls on the Run because the students get to “have girl time, talk to each other about different things and understand different perspectives,” all while being active. She hopes to see Sydnei continue with the program for years to come.
“We’ve seen significant demand for the program,” says Lauren Sweeney, a member of the nonprofit’s board of directors. This can be seen in the chapter’s growth over the past decade. When Girls on the Run Greater Richmond began in 2013, it served 13 girls between two elementary schools; in 2023 the program has served 801 girls across 50 sites.
Sweeney and Estevez think this growth may be related to an increased emphasis placed on mental health for kids and teens. Estevez adds that girls’ self-confidence begins to drop around age 8, which is also the time when their physical activity tends to decline. Girls on the Run was designed to address these issues. Through the program, the organization says, studies show “97% of participants learned critical life skills, including managing emotions, resolving conflict, helping others or making intentional decisions” — all skills that can help improve girls’ and young women’s self-confidence.
The students aren’t the only ones benefiting from the Girls on the Run program; volunteers and coaches find it beneficial as well.
“It’s healing my inner child in a sense,” says Julia Funovitz, a third grade teacher at Chesterfield’s Beulah Elementary School, former Girls on the Run participant and current Girls on the Run coach. “I grew up with not the best childhood. I was a victim of childhood bullying and had such low confidence. To see girls grow back their confidence they’ve lost is super special to me.”
Similarly, Westover Hills Elementary School teacher Aliyah Hoye “wanted to be the person [she] needed when [she] was younger in school” and sees her impact among the girls she coaches through the program now. “It resonates with me that the things I’m telling them, they’re saying back to me. Even girls not in Girls on the Run know what star power is and that feelings matter,” she said during a panel at the anniversary event.
Girls on the Run participants, families and community members begin their 5K this spring.
This impact speaks to the work Girls on the Run Greater Richmond has done over the past decade, but what will the next 10 years look like?
Estevez says they’re “just scratching the surface on the number of kids served,” and she hopes to see that number grow, noting that there are over 200 elementary schools in the greater Richmond region and Girls on the Run is currently serving only a portion of them. She also hopes to continue supporting participants and engaging program alumni in meaningful ways.
Sweeney hopes to grow the number of volunteers participating in Girls on the Run. “We need help running the 5Ks. We could use support, and we’d love people to get involved if their passions align with the organization,” she says.
To learn more about Girls on the Run, starting a team or becoming a coach, visit gotrrichmond.org.
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