By Holly Kline
The local Girls on the Run council is set to begin spring sessions for girls in grades 3 – 8. GOTR is an international organization with a central Indiana council that serves Hamilton County and the aim is to instill confidence through physical activity and interactive lessons.
“We harness the power of movement, and that can be running, walking, etc., and we teach the girls life skills so they are ready for adolescence,” said Kelley Stokesbary, Council Director for Girls on the Run Central Indiana.
GOTR Central Indiana partners with several schools in Fishers including Hoosier Road, Sand Creek and Lantern Road Elementaries as well as Riverside Intermediate and Riverside Junior High. GOTR also works with Orchard Park Presbyterian church in Carmel. Girls usually attend meetings twice a week at their home schools or at Orchard Park.
“We try to get the girls to conceptualize the effects of their actions,” said Stokesbary. “One activity is for the girls to sit in a circle and one girl has a ball of string. She holds the string and tosses the ball to another girl in the circle and it’s tossed around until the ball is gone. Someone pulls on the string it’s become a messy web. It’s a way to conceptualize gossip and to see how it affects everyone.”
Meetings usually consist of a lesson from the GOTR curriculum, followed by a physical activity and then discussion. Adult volunteer coaches run the sessions and GOTR requires that at least two coaches be present at each session. Some of the coaches are teachers and some are community volunteers.
Registration for the spring sessions opens on January 24; most of the sessions will start the week of February 23 and the 5k race will be held on May 9 at the Saxony development in Fishers. Anyone wishing to register, help with the race or to volunteer as a program coach should visit http://gotrci.org.
Stokesbary described what she sees as the biggest benefits to Girls on the Run. “Definitely there is a boost in self-confidence. The age range we work with can be a rough period in girls’ lives and to be able to give them a booster shot of confidence and empowerment is a big plus.”
