Empowering Girls in the Community through Running.
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Healthy People 2020 identifies community-based programming as playing a key role in preventing disease, improving quality of life, and increasing health. Community-based programs are essential because they provide an opportunity to share health information outside of traditional health care settings.
Boston University and the City of Boston created a Fitness and Wellness Center at the Blackstone Community Center just over five years ago. Since that time, it has served the South End Community, providing access to a fitness space that did not exist before. As a graduate assistant at Blackstone Fitness and Wellness, I support the Boston Center for Youth and Families (BCYF) Blackstone mission “to enhance the quality of life for Boston residents by partnering with community center councils, agencies, and businesses to support neighborhood needs.”
This spring, the BCYF Blackstone Community Center is a Girls on the Run site. Girls on the Run was established in 1996 with the founding principle that “every girl can embrace who she is, can define who she wants to be, can rise to any challenge, can change the world.” The 10-week, evidence-based program contains a curriculum that is designed to develop and improve 3rd- through 5th-grade girls’ confidence, compassion, and connectedness with peers and adults.
Community-based programming has proven to be effective in promoting health at multiple levels: societal, interpersonal, and individual. Girls on the Run is able to make an impact at each of these levels. At the societal level, the program is designed to create a positive, connected community among the girls. In partnering with schools and other local youth organizations, Girls on the Run creates an accessible network that supports healthy living. At the interpersonal level, the girls have relationships with one another and coaches that encourage positive behavior. Families are also given a “Grown Up Guide” that provides questions and conversation starters to reinforce lessons and inspire healthy living. Individually, girls are not only taught the benefits of physical activity, but they also put this knowledge into action. They are also taught and practice essential life skills, such as empathy, friendship, compromise, and positive self-image. Running as a part of every lesson also encourages lifelong fitness and health, as well as a sense of accomplishment. At the end of the program, each girl runs a 5K with a running buddy. This year, the 5K will be held in Medford on June 1 with all the area chapters.
Recently, the #MeToo movement has emphasized how important it is for communities to come together to empower our girls to be strong, confident, and kind. Further, intervening at a young age is critical. According to the Girls on the Run Longitudinal Study, “Girls’ self-confidence begins to drop by age nine; 50 percent of girls ages 10 to 13 experience bullying, such as name-calling and exclusion; and physical activity levels decline at age 10 and continue to decrease throughout adolescence.”
My daughters both had an opportunity to participate in Girls on the Run, making this an organization that is close to my heart. Now 22 and 23 years old, they still remember the positive influence Girls on the Run had in their lives. As one of my daughters said, “Girls on the Run gave me a group of friends at a very young age that were positive and physically active. I continue to use the skills I learned, and as an adult, continue to run and make friends through running.”
To volunteer with the Blackstone Community Center’s Girls on the Run program and make a difference in these girls’ lives, please visit their website.
Kara Jeter is an MPH candidate and introduced the Girls on the Run program to the Blackstone Community Center.