We’re excited to share the incredible work our girls are doing as part of the Girls on the Run Community Impact Project! Each season our participants take the skills they've learned through running and teamwork and apply them to meaningful projects that benefit their communities.
Throughout the season, the girls work together to identify a need in their local area, plan a service project, and put their ideas into action.
From Coach Christine at Lakewood Elementary School:
After discussing how, among others, our custodial staff "moves mountains" to keep the inside of our school so clean and safe, our girls decided to pitch in and organize a clean-up for the area outside of our school.
We prepared by gathering materials to keep ourselves safe like face masks and gloves, and then we discussed some additional safety measures, like what we should and should not put our hands on and traffic in the circle. The girls took such great pride in looking for things to collect as trash!
Ultimately they collected 4 bags of garbage from the campus area surrounding our building. The school principal also announced their efforts to the whole building and asked all students to consider this inspirational act as a good example of how to be an impactful member of our school community!
From Coach Kevin and Erica at Pawling Elementary School:
The Pawling GOTR team completed this season's community impact project and it was a huge success.
The first choice: write letters and make cards for the "Be a Friend Project." This is an organization that reaches out to kids who've experienced severe bullying, and showers them with positive letters and cards from kids who want to let them know they are loved and appreciated.
The second choice: create holiday cards for children who are currently hospitalized. The girls learned about a college student named Jen Rubino who spent her childhood in and out of hospitals. Now, over the past 10 years, she has helped to send over 500,000 handmade cards to kids in hospitals with her organization.
The 3rd choice: write letters and cards to military members who will be overseas during the holidays. The girls watched a clip with former military members speaking about how meaningful it was for them to receive cards from home when they were overseas and feeling alone.
After discussing the choices, the girls got to vote. The results were close, but the winner was to make cards for hospitalized kids.
.png)
From Coach Elyse at George Grant Mason, Tuxedo:
Our Girls on the Run team (aka Tornados on the Roll) completed their Community Impact Project on November 6, 2024. They chose to express appreciation for the teachers and staff of Tuxedo schools by doing a school yard clean up. They enjoyed the activity and were happy to do something for their schools. They expected to find a lot more especially since Halloween was the previous week, and the school neighborhood attracts hundreds of trick-or-treaters. However, they discovered that the school grounds are kept very clean thanks to staff!
Whether it’s collecting donations for a local food bank, organizing a cleanup event, or supporting a charity, the Community Impact Project helps participants develop leadership skills, build confidence, and make a real difference in the world around them.
It’s an inspiring and rewarding experience for our girls, and we couldn’t be prouder of their efforts! Keep an eye out for updates on their amazing projects, and feel free to get involved in supporting these young changemakers. 💪