*My apologies to Kelsey – there are no pictures today*
Hey everyone! Guess what today is!?!? My first day of school!!!
My friend asked me what I planned on wearing today… seeing as I have 1 class for an hour, I’m thinking workout clothes?! Haha, first day of school is so different by your 3rd year of law school!
Anyhoo, I had a MUCH more exciting day on Saturday! I had coaches training for Girls on the Run!!! As you all know, I’m running as a solemate for the Chicago Marathon, which means that I’m fundraising for their organization here in the Chicagoland area.
(source)
Girls on the Run actually has 2 programs: Girls on the Run, which is for 3rd – 5th grade, and then Girls on Track, which is for 6th-8th grade. Here is the idea behind Girls on the Run from their website:
Over a period of 10-12 weeks, girls in the 3rd through 5th grade participate in an after-school program like no other. Designed to allow every girl to recognize her inner strength, the Girls on the Run curriculum inspires girls to define their lives on their own terms. Throughout the season, the girls make new friends, build their inner confidence and celebrate all that makes them unique.
We had our coach training at a local library that was actually more difficult for me to get to than I anticipated, it took an hour to get there and I was a few minutes late! haha I’m not a fan of being late! It was fine though, the group was much larger than I’d anticipated! There are tons of sites all throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, so women working in all those areas were at training.
It started out with a video of Molly Barker, who founded Girls on the Run. It was actually very inspirational and I was definitely tearing up listening to her story. We spent the rest of the morning listening to our leaders as they went through how Girls on the Run lessons work and important information for coaches. Then we broke for lunch, they’d ordered some delicious looking pizza! Luckily they warned us ahead of time that there would be pizza for lunch, so I brought along a salad with salsa, avocado and black beans. Simple, but it worked.
After lunch was the fun part – we actually got to practice giving a lesson! I was intimated just doing it WITH my whole group of 5 to another group, haha it made me nervous for when I’ll actually be going through the lessons with real 8-10 year old girls staring back at me! Training got me very excited and a little nervous to be a coach – it’s really happening!
I haven’t been assigned to my site yet (several others at training hadn’t either, which made me feel better), but I can’t wait to find out where I’ll be placed. I am SO EXCITED to start working with the girls! I grew up going to an all-girls summer camp and I was a counselor for one year. I really miss working with kids.
The best part is all the things they say; girls at this age are so open and honest so I can’t wait to hear their responses to some of the questions in the lessons, such as issues surrounding body image and gossiping.
If you’re interested in getting involved with Girls on the Run in your area, there are actually many ways to do so without the time commitment of being a coach!
You can…
- Run in the semi-annual 5K (your registration goes towards the organization)
- Run as a running buddy, which means you’ll be paired with a girl to help her through the race
- Volunteer at the race: just like any race they need volunteers at registration, aid stations, etc.
- Run as a Solemate to raise money for Girls on the Run through fundraising
- Or just contact them to ask to volunteer! I know here in Chicago they need volunteers for their annual Gala, which is another very short time commitment!
See the Girls On the Run website for more information and to find your local organization!
Do you do any volunteer work?
Do you have or spend time with younger kids? Any funny things they say?