Girls on The Run is a national program for girls ages eight through eleven that teaches the importance of wellness both physically and mentally. This program promotes this through lessons and running.  In the Spring of 2019, I became a coach for Girls on The Run. The program was previously in place on my campus but was on the verge of dismantling due to lack of coaching. Seeing the need, I decided to volunteer to coach for an activity I had little background in. As a coach my responsibilities included extensive training, hosting meetings, communicating to GOTR programming and families of runners, and conducting two weekly lessons and practices.

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        This program fosters leadership and physical wellness education to female students grades 3-5. GOTR provides students access to wellness education beyond our state mandated curriculum and helps build life-long skills such as empathy, positive self-talk, social-emotional wellness, and physical exercises. This program opens doors to students by connecting them to a nation-wide community and network of women seeking to better themselves. Girls interact with peers across the city in a final 5k celebrating their growth. Additionally, being a Title I Campus allowed my students to participate at a discounted rate and receive free running shoes. In order to ensure student participation, I led a "how to" registration and sent home informational handouts on the program.  For multiple students that participated, I sat with their parents/guardians and explained the registration and pricing process. I filled out two registration forms myself so that all students who wanted to participate could.