Girls on the Run is not a running club. Or a track team. With a unique curriculum that utilizes movement to cultivate confidence, critical thinking skills, and healthy mental and physical habits, the nonprofit’s afterschool program for third through eighth grade girls is much more than its name implies, and it fills a critical niche.
Studies show time and again that when girls reach third grade, three things happen: First - their participation in physical activity steeply declines in comparison to their male peers, Second - girls begin to struggle with body image issues and practice restrictive eating habits, and Third - girl drama’ increases in marked frequency and intensity. The rise of social media and screen time, and the social isolation and resulting decrease in mental health fostered by the COVID-19 pandemic have only exacerbated these issues. Girls on the Run tackles all of this head on, and with stunning effectiveness. Girls who were least active at the start of the program consistently demonstrate a 40% increase in physical activity by the end of the season, 85% of girls report an increase in self confidence and sense of self worth, and 97% of participants report learning critical life skills including resolving conflict, helping others, and making intentional decisions.
Girls on the Run was founded in 1996 by Molly Barker, an educator and triathlete inspired by her struggle with addiction to create a program for girls that would instill healthy mental and physical habits. Jill Henwood, the Founding Executive Director of Girls on the Run’s Western Colorado Council, started the program in Grand Junction in 2000 w/ 45 girls. The program has since grown to serve girls from Frisco to Farmington to Moab- over 1200 girls across 80+ schools per year. Girls on the Run Western Colorado operates in both the spring and fall. The spring season focuses on high desert sites, while the fall season focuses on mountain towns under snow during the spring season. This fall season, which just came to a close, marks 25 years of Girls on the Run Western Colorado. Over that quarter century, the program has served an estimated 36,000 girls.
What most do not realize is that in empowering 36,000 young women over the last quarter century, Girls on the Run of Western Colorado has effectively empowered an entire generation of women in Western Colorado. Foreign aid research conducted in various cultural contexts continues to demonstrate that programs focused on empowering women and girls directly fuel community investment by increasing financial contributions. Empowered women are more likely to reinvest a significant portion of their income- up to 90%- back into their families and communities, creating a powerful multiplier effect. As such, in empowering an entire generation of women, Girls on the Run Western Colorado has indirectly invested back into our community and served as a catalyst for economic growth. Foreign aid research also consistently links women' s empowerment and resulting multiplier effect to increased economic and political stability.
In short, Girls on the Run is truly much more than its name implies. I can attest. I may be the program’s new Executive Director, but I was a program participant first- back in 2001 in Grand Junction. Girls on the Run genuinely inspired me to pursue a life defined not by limiting societal standards for women, but on my own terms. I’m one of 36,000. Imagine what 36,000 confident women investing back into this beloved community can achieve.
After third grade- "girl drama’ increases in marked frequency and intensity."
"Girls on the Run tackles this with stunning effectiveness."