Local Girls Find Their ...
C By Kara Couture
an’t think of a better time to talk about school than during the summer. You read that right. This is the perfect time to talk about a very special program for girls. It’s right around the beginning of the school year—when children can feel stressful about new challenges—that this particular program, Girls on the Run (GOTR), really shines. Picture this: after-school at Pine Tree Elementary, one classroom comes alive with excited, giggling girls. They gather around a small round table to see what delicious snack was brought for them that day. The round-table gathering creates a comfortable space for informal conver-
sations and sharing before introducing the lesson of the day, which may include strategies for dealing with stress. Girls on the Run, a 10-week afterschool program, is a character-building program for girls in grades 3 to 5. The mission is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running. Girls learn to celebrate their bodies, honor their voices, recognize their gifts, and activate their personal power. The goal of this well-thought-out nonprofit isn’t to turn girls into marathon runners, but to inspire them to be joyful,
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