A national youth development program is celebrating its 10th year in the Tri-Cities this year with a very special celebration.
Girls on the Run is a national physical activity-based positive youth development program for girls in the 3rd through 8th grades. Girls on the Run was born in 1996 in Charlotte, N.C., and quickly grew to include councils across the country. The Girls on the Run Northeast Tennessee Council launched in 2007. Like the national program, the regional council has seen tremendous growth and is celebrating its “10th Birthday” this year at the Spring 5k event.
“When I heard about the Girls on the Run program 10 years ago, it immediately touched something within me. It was a program that I knew I could have benefited from when I was younger,” said Ani Boyd, Co-Director of Girls on the Run of Northeast Tennessee. “Girls on the Run is a vehicle that allows us the opportunity to help young girls better deal with some of the challenges many of us faced at their age.”
In addition to helping the girls build confidence while encouraging them to be physically fit, the program also promotes giving back to the local community. Each chapter must complete a Community Impact Project as part of the program. Last year, the chapter at Happy Valley Elementary School held a school supply collection drive to help fellow students whose families may struggle to provide them with the things they need for school while the Unaka Elementary chapter created crafting kits last year to send to patients at Niswonger Children’s Hospital.
Each year, Girls on the Run operates two seasons — one in the Spring and one in the Fall. Each season is capped off with a 5k run where all the chapters across the region come together.
Over the past decade, Girls on the Run of Northeast Tennessee has worked with a number of area schools, including several in Elizabethton and Carter County. Among the local schools participating in the program are: East Side Elementary, Happy Valley Elementary, Hampton Elementary, Harold McCormick Elementary, Keenburg Elementary, Valley Forge Elementary, West Side Elementary, and Unaka Elementary.
In its first year in the region, the organization had one team of 15 girls. This season, Girls on the Run will have 37 teams across the area.
“We are incredibly grateful to the community for embracing us, and thankful for all our volunteers who continue to support us and the young girls in our program,” Boyd said.
The Spring 2017 season officially begins the week of February 6, 2017, with the season-ending 5K held on May 6 at Southside Elementary in Johnson City.
To celebrate the milestone birthday, Girls on the Run of Northeast Tennessee is encouraging the community to join the festivities on race day.
“What we want to do is celebrate while all of our girls are there, so we’re going to have a birthday party at our big 5k event,” said Jessica Thomas, Co-Director of Girls on the Run of Northeast Tennessee. “We’re going to have vendors there, so it will be like a little festival.”
The race will be open to the public, and Thomas said the organization is encouraging community members to come out and support the girls by running or celebrating with them.
“This is the largest fundraiser we have for the year,” Thomas said. “So the more people that come out, the more money we raise and the more money we can funnel back into the program for scholarships for the girls.”
For more information on Girls on the Run Northeast Tennessee, visit their website at www.gotrnetn.org.