Since I now work in the non-profit sector, I get a lot of emails and tweets about supporting this or that person in their fundraising aims. It's always a pleasure to pass on the message to friends, but today I read a tweet which introduced me to a whole organisation I had never before heard of.
Clicking on the half-marathon fundraising page, I ended up discovering Girls on the Run. GOTR, as it's also known, trains girls between the ages of eight and 12 for a 3.1 mile / 5km run (or walk), but it does a lot more than that besides. The emphasis on the group events is to underpin self-esteem, talk about nutrition and give girls pride in their achievements.
One mother's testimonial on the site explains how her daughter, always picked last in sport, literally cried with joy when she ran a mile for the first time (and I know how she feels, although I'd be crying in pain and probably having a coronary). The mother emphasises:
"We, of course, tried to reinforce with [her] that it does not matter how fast you, run just that you are trying and doing it! [She] ran a mile today, after which she literally burst into tears and exclaimed, "This is the best day of my life!" She was not kidding; this is truly how she felt."
This is not about losing weight, but about tackling eating disorders. It's not about being picked first, but being confident in your own range of abilities and activities. The group, ambitiously, aims to help reduce teen suicide and even tackle teen pregnancy rates by encouraging young women to understand that they are worthy, capable members of society.
Sounds good to me.
Looking further at the 'curriculum', between training sessions there are discussions on the physiological and psychological effects of drug taking, the need for quiet time and reflection and the dangers of gossip alongside sessions reflecting on media portrayals of women and the "individual spirit" each girl has brought to her group. The discussions are age-appropriate, however, and some of them might not be conducted with younger groups, or at least be considerably more vague.
Although the GOTR site is labelled "International", it's largely a US-based organisation. If it really is as positive and successful as it appears to, this charity which was set up to help girls climb out of the "Girl Box" should go truly international.
I wish it luck. Do you have any familiarity with the organisation or have you benefited from it? I'd be interested to learn more about it.
Alexandra Roumbas is an unfit writer and editor. She thinks she'd have benefitted from something like this 15 years ago.