Community volunteers train, mentor third- through eighth-grade students
Twice a week, all over Columbia, third- through eighth-grade girls are on the run. With the help of many dedicated volunteer coaches, these girls are participating in a 12-week after-school program that teaches them to run from the inside out.
Instead of timed workouts and pressures to compete, these girls learn how to let their inner light shine through self-esteem enhancing lessons and workouts.
Nearly 14 percent of the organization’s coaches are USC student volunteers.
While the ultimate goal is for the girls to take part in a local 5k, the program’s curriculum goes further than physical education, also nurturing the delicate spirits of soon-to-be teenage girls.
This Columbia group is just one council of the international group “Girls on the Run.”
Molly Barker, a runner in Charlotte, N.C., started Girls on the Run (GOTR) in 1996 with just 13 girls. The program has since grown to serve more than 800,000 girls in more than 170 cities across America.
In 2005, faculty members of USC’s Department of Exercise Science brought GOTR to Columbia. Last year the program had nearly 500 participants, many of whom were USC student volunteers.
“Student volunteers are great for the program because of their energy and enthusiasm. The girls can often relate well to them and look up to them as role models,” said Mary Lohman, Columbia’s GOTR council director.
Lohman said that of the 110 coaches this fall, 15 are USC students.
Hannah Reinke, a third-year physical education student, has been coaching at Dutch Fork Elementary for three seasons.
“I chose to be a volunteer because it combined two things I’m really passionate about: running and girls being healthy,” Reinke said. “It gives you a link to the community around you. You can really see the direct impact of your service.”
While the coaches get to see the girls improve their ability to run physical distances, they also see the girls develop specific life skills. Lessons range from healthy eating to defining personal values to learning how to spot and stop gossip.
The curriculum is divided so that girls first learn about themselves as individuals, then in the context of a team, then as a member of the community. It was carefully designed to ensure that girls get the exercise they need with the emotional health they deserve.
“The most important aspect of GOTR is that we recognize the importance of holistic health. We strive to empower girls to care for themselves in all aspects of their lives — physical, emotional and social,” Lohman said.
Maryevelyn “Evie” Dillard, a fifth-grader at Rosewood Elementary School, says her favorite part of the program is running but that the lessons also have a “good message for girls.”
As for the USC student coaches, Dillard is somewhat conflicted.
“It would be better if they were Clemson fans, but I like them,” she said, smiling to expose a full set of purple and orange braces.
Sidney Jenkins, also a fifth-grader, agrees about the coaches’ likability.
“They’re really nice, and they encourage you. They care,” Jenkins said.
So as the girls learn to be their best selves while running their hearts out, the coaches get to be part of a wonderful process. By participating in Girls on the Run, USC’s volunteers are poised to make a difference in girls’ lives. And making a difference is fun.
At the end of every practice, girls and coaches gather together and join in a cheer. As loud as they can, they shout, “Girls on the Run is so much fun; Girls on the Run is number one!”