The Girls on the Run-Sierras 5K events begin with fun, complete with dance warm-ups, tutus, facepaint, and smiles all around.
Studies show that by adolescence, girls’ confidence drops about twice as much as boys’. Friendships become more complicated and challenging, girls’ perception of their academic ability declines, likelihood of anxiety and depression increases, and participation in physical activity plummets — it can be tough to be a girl.
This is especially true here in Washoe County where, according to the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Assessment Survey, over 10 percent of middle school girls have attempted suicide.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Girls on the Run-Sierras, a local nonprofit organization founded in 2007, aims to counteract these unsettling statistics and to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident. Our programs, for girls in third through eighth grade, teach important life skills using running and other forms of physical activity as the medium. The programs, which meet twice a week at local elementary and middle schools, are designed to build girls’ confidence and self-worth while helping them recognize their personal strength and limitless potential.
The curriculum focuses on three themes: understanding ourselves; valuing relationships and teamwork; and understanding how we connect with and shape the world at large. Over the course of our 10-week program, girls develop and improve competence, learn to feel confident in who they are, develop strength of character, respond to oneself and others with care and compassion, and create positive connections with peers and adults.
Giving back is also an important component of the Girls on the Run curriculum. Our girls embrace a giving spirit by working together, either implementing a community impact project or incorporating small acts of kindness into their daily lives. Indeed, what might be a small act can lead to big change. Our goal is that each girl uses the skills and confidence she learned through the program to inspire even more change in her community and, ultimately, in the world. In 2016, our Girls on the Run teams organized more than 33 community impact projects to make a positive difference in our community.
Girls on the Run programs culminate with a celebratory 5K event. Completing the 5K gives the girls a tangible sense of accomplishment that comes through setting and achieving goals. In 2016, over 900 girls and their running buddies crossed the 5K finish line.
“Completing the 5K teaches the girls that anything is possible when you set your mind to it and we hope this framework will help them tackle future life obstacles,” Julie Mathews, development director of Girls on the Run-Sierras, said. “When given opportunities to learn critical life skills, adolescent girls thrive and feel confident in being their strong, authentic selves.”
Since our inception in 2007, Girls on the Run-Sierras has inspired over 2,000 girls in the Reno-Tahoe community, including 483 just this year.
We believe that all girls, regardless of financial capacity, should have access to our programs and we are committed to never turning away a girl due to her family’s inability to pay. In 2016, Girls on the Run-Sierras provided over $43,000 in financial assistance to girls in need. We invite you to invest in a future where all girls recognize their limitless potential and are free to boldly pursue their dreams.
Girls on the Run-Sierras will also be joining forces with the University of Nevada Athletics Department to host a National Girls and Women in Sports Day Celebration highlighting the power and potential of girls and women in sport. The organization invites you, your friends and your family to come out and join us for this celebration.
National Girls and Women in Sports day will feature a Sports, Family and Fitness Expo, a Shatter the Limits Reception, and a celebration of the Nevada Wolf Pack Women’s Basketball team taking on rival UNLV. This event aims to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of those who have affected change and created opportunities for women and girls in sports, as well as to celebrate Girls on the Run-Sierra’s 10th year inspiring girls of the Reno-Tahoe area to be joyful, healthy, and confident.
Please visit girlsontherunsierras.org to learn more or to donate online. Girls on the Run-Sierras is a 501(c)3 Nevada non-profit, Federal Tax ID 01-0901343.
