- What is your program?
- Girls on the Run is a non-competitive, curriculum-based program designed to build self-esteem in girls in third through eighth grades and educate them about issues affecting girls every day. The girls play fun games to encourage physical movement and each lesson is centered on a theme, such as Healthy Nutrition, Gossiping, Bullying, and How to Stand up for Yourself. The girls complete a community-service project and participate in a non-competitive 5k race, the culminating event for the program.
- Do girls need to like running to sign up for the program?
- No, we are not a typical track program. We encourage our girls to run, walk, hop, skip and jump throughout practice and all the way to the finish line. The focus is not on speed or winning, but on achieving your personal best. Girls of all shapes, sizes, and abilities are encouraged to join our program.
- How long is your program?
- Our season is 10 weeks long; we meet twice a week, typically for 90 minutes. We have a fall season that runs from mid-September through Thanksgiving. The spring season begins in mid-March and finishes in early June.
- Do you have a summer program?
- No, at the moment we do not offer a summer program.
- Where are your programs?
- We are licensed to serve Lehigh County, with our largest concentration of programs in the City of Allentown. Most of our programs are organized through after-school programs in public, private, and charter schools, but we also partner with other community-based organizations to bring the program to their sites.
- Whom do you serve?
- We serve girls who are 8 to 13 years old and who come from a variety of backgrounds. A large number of our programs are in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
- What times do your programs meet?
- Most of our programs take place in the after-school hours between 2:30 and 5 p.m. on school days.
- What age do girls need to be to participate?
- Girls need to be in the third through eighth grades. The Girls on the Run curriculum is for girls in third through fifth grades, while the Girls on Track curriculum, which we hope to pilot in 2009, is for girls in sixth through eighth grades.
- Is it safe for young girls to run the 5K (3.1-mile) distance?
- "Children's bodies are well suited for endurance exercise, and numerous studies have shown that children show many positive physiological adaptations to endurance exercise training. The keys are gradual progression and common-sense adult supervision. If those conditions are met, running 3 miles is a reasonable goal for most young people." - Russell R. Pate, Ph.D., Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina.
- Do you have a boys program?
- Girls on the Run International piloted a boys program within their Charlotte, N.C., Council for several years. In early 2005, they made the difficult decision to discontinue the pilot program when it was not seeing the same results as the girls’ program was. We hope that the support needed to have a successful program will present itself in the future. Girls on the Run International will continue to have the development of a successful Boys on the Run curriculum in its long-range plan. It is our wish that one day we will have a program equally as effective for boys as we have for girls.
- What does it cost?
- Thanks to generous donor support, we are able to offer the program for $50 per girl, with a liberal sliding-scale to ensure that every girl who wishes to participate can do so, regardless of her family’s economic situation.
- What does the registration fee include?
- Girls receive 10 weeks of lessons twice a week from trained Girls on the Run coaches. In addition to the materials to participate in the program, each girl is given a Girls on the Run water bottle, a healthy snack at each practice, a Girls on the Run t-shirt, free entry into the season-end 5k, and participation in an end-of-season team celebration event for the girls and their families.
- Can my daughter participate if there isn't a Girls on the Run program at her school?
- Yes, we currently offer one program that has limited slots open to all girls in the third through fifth grades. Based at the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley, Allentown, this program meets on Mondays and Thursdays. See our Program Locations page for details.
- Can my daughter participate in the program again?
- Absolutely! Many of our girls repeat the program season after season. Individual program sites with a high demand for participation have the discretion of giving priority to first-timers so that all girls have an opportunity to experience Girls on the Run.
- Who are the coaches?
- All of our coaches are volunteers who want to share their passion for leading a healthy, active lifestyle. Many of our coaches wish there had been a Girls on the Run program when they were growing up and want to help foster self-confidence in girls at an early age. Our coaches are a diverse group of active women; many working professionals, parents, or college students.
- What is involved with starting a new Girls on the Run program?
- Girls on the Run provides the curriculum, program materials, and coach-training sessions. Program locations need to provide a site liaison who is responsible for working with the program coordinator to determine program details and manage the program at the site. For more information about what is needed to start a program, see this document.
- Do I have to be a runner to get involved with Girls on the Run?
- Absolutely not. While each site certainly needs at least one experienced runner to share her expertise, each team of coaches (at least three per site) brings diverse talents and skills to the leadership of the group. The discussion facilitation, participant affirmation, and team building are just as important to teach as the running skills.
- How can I volunteer?
- Girls on the Run relies completely on volunteers to work directly with our girls and coach our programs. In addition to coaching, we have several other volunteer opportunities including: substitute coaching, Running Buddies to run with the girls in the 5k, non-running race day event volunteers, office support volunteers, etc. See our How You Can Help page for more information on various volunteer roles.
- What is the coaching commitment?
- Coaches must commit to coaching the entire 10-week program twice a week (certain once-a-week coaching positions also are available). All coaches must provide or be willing to apply for Pennsylvania Child Abuse History and Criminal History Clearances, provide documentation of or receive CPR/first aid training, and attend an eight-hour coach training session. Coaches are assigned to a program site (based on preference and availability) with a team of at least three other coaches, and lead the 12 to 15 girls through the program. Coaches do not need to be runners or have previous coaching experience; they receive coach training and are given the curriculum and all materials needed to deliver the program. Currently, all program begin between 2:45 and 3:30 p.m. and end between 4:15 and 5 p.m.
- Are you a local or national organization?
- Girls on the Run of Lehigh County is one of many programs of Diakon Family Life Services, a part of Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit social ministry organization providing a wide range of social and community services to more than thousands of individuals throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. Girls on the Run of Lehigh County is the local chapter of a national organization, Girls on the Run International. The national organization has more than 160 chapters across the U.S. and Canada. Diakon also sponsors a Girls on the Run chapter in Lycoming County, Pa.
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