When I was growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, it seemed there were very few female athletes. My mom’s generation didn’t have a lot of opportunity to play recreational sports when they were young, so the only women athletes I was aware of were famous athletes like tennis stars Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova and skaters like Dorothy Hamill. When my friends and I discovered sports, our mostly male coaches were great, but as we matured we didn’t have many female role models to help us understand how to train our changing bodies, how to eat to maximize performance, and even just to model how fabulous a female athlete could be. Don’t get me wrong—we had a blast, but in hindsight, I would have loved to have someone take me under their wing and help me understand how to train my body and why eating a bunch of donuts for breakfast at 5am on the way to a softball tournament wasn’t necessarily a great idea (not that we did that, of course).

It wasn’t until I was in my late twenties that I began to understand food as fuel, how to appreciate my muscles (and the curves that covered them) and to understand the relationship between what I ate, how I trained, and how I felt during a run or any other athletic event. I grew to view my body as a source of strength and power, not as an object that wasn’t skinny enough or tall enough. You’ll still catch me and my friends griping about how many tortilla chips we had last night or complaining about the extra five pounds that crept on during the winter, but I’m generally happy with myself and love what my body is able to accomplish. I’m also a mom of an eight year-old girl and I work hard to make sure that she doesn’t have to wait until she’s grown up to develop the self-confidence that I now have.

This is why I love Girls on the Run (GOTR). Formed in 1996, GOTR is a non-profit organization designed to encourage pre-teen girls to “develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running”. Their curriculum addresses girls’ physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual well-being. Their fabulous motto is “Educating and preparing girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living”.

The program is fantastic, focusing on lessons, training, running games, and culminating with a hugely fun Lollipop 5k run. There are 24 lessons, broken into three groups:

• The first eight lessons are centered on the girls getting to know themselves; examining their values, their likes and dislikes, and who they envision themselves to be.
• The next eight lessons concentrate on team building, being supportive, learning to listen and cooperate, etc. This section includes “standing up to peer pressure”, “gossiping hurts everyone” and “it’s okay to choose my friends.”
• The last eight lessons relate to the world at large. This includes making a contribution to your community and learning to recognize and deal with the negative messages we often receive from the world (media awareness, negative peer pressure, etc.).

I’ve volunteered with GOTR a few different ways. I’ve raised funds through Team Tiara (now SoleMates) to help support their programs. I help promote GOTR in my area by passing out promotional postcards at local events. The most fun I had, however, was volunteering at the Lollipop 5k run last spring. Seeing these girls cross the finish line, and watching their coaches and families cheering them on was unbelievably exciting. (OK, I cried… just a little bit.) They were so excited to have met their goals, and I knew that their lives had been changed forever.

So, if you’re looking for a fun, rewarding volunteer opportunity, please look into your local chapter of Girls on the Run. There are a number of options for volunteering, from coaching to fundraising to volunteering at a single event. Start with GirlsOnTheRun.org and you’ll be on your way.

ANDREA SMALLING is a runner, personal trainer and group fitness instructor who recently left a successful career to start her own business, fueled by her passion for athletics. Her company, Fitness Advantage, focuses on personal and small group training for women… {more}

Related Chi: IC Kettlebell Girls on Top of the World ICKB Girls Continue Their Winning Streak Girls On the Run