Spirit in Action

Girls on the Run

Girls on the Run is a program for young girls, seeking to ensure that "every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams". The primary program works with girls in 3rd-5th grades, and another curriculum deals with girls of middle school age, teaching life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons and running games. Our guest is Kim Gillette, Council Director of Eau Claire's Girls on the Run Council.

Duration:: 55m
Broadcast on:: 22 Feb 2015
Audio Format:: other

[music] Let us sing this song for the healing of the world That we may hear as one With every voice, with every song We will move this world along And our lives will feel the echo of our healing [music] Welcome to Spirit in Action. My name is Mark Helpes Me. Each week, I'll be bringing you stories of people living lives of fruitful service, of peace, community, compassion, creative action, and progressive efforts. I'll be tracing the spiritual roots that support and nourish them in their service, hoping to inspire and encourage you to sink deep roots and produce sacred food in your own life. Let us sing this song for the dreaming of the world That we may dream as one With every voice, with every song We will move this world along I love seeing the myriad creative ways that people find to address the problems of our world and to seek for a better future. Case in point is an organization called Girls on the Run, which uses running and a concise transformational curriculum with girls in third to sixth grades to equip them with self-confidence, health, better self-image, and healthier relationships. But I'll let Kim Gillette tell you about the organization and the people involved with it. Kim is the Council Director of the Eau Claire Council of Girls on the Run. Kim Gillette speaks to us today by phone from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Kim, thank you so much for joining me today for Spirit in Action. Hi Mark, I'm so glad to be with you and just tell you a little bit more about Girls on the Run. Yeah, Spirit in Action, and the action is running in this case. I want you to describe the group in general with the emphasis on why running instead of girls on the black belt, karate, or girls on the basketball, why girls on the run? To give you a little background on Girls on the Run, it actually was started back in 1996 by a gal named Molly Barker. And she had this foresight into looking at her life and then looking at what she grew up with and how she grew up. Her running really inspired her and gave her an outlet in a lot of different ways. From that, Molly then developed a curriculum. And in that curriculum, she incorporated running. Girls on the Run isn't all about running. But that's really one of the biggest obstacles we face is we have a lot of girls, grades three through five, that we entice into our program, but they're like, I don't want to run. And the running part of it is such a small part in the whole scheme of what Girls on the Run is all about. Usually the capping achievement, as I understand, is a 5K run of some sort. Does everyone do that or is that only for some of the girls? Girls on the Run does have that as our capstone. It is our celebration at the end. Girls on the Run is a program where we empower girls in our local areas in grades three through five, giving them skills to experience and navigate the world with confidence and joy. It's really to inspire our girls at that age to be joyful, healthy, and confident. And we use that experience base curriculum, which does integrate running. But it also integrates just moving in general. They're having fun, they're running, they're jumping, they're playing games, they're skipping, they're hopping, they're high-fiving their coaches about running, but it's also about moving. So the ones who get out and play basketball, baseball, all those really into sports, is it your view that that kind of activity is less assumed, less widespread among girls than boys? I think there is some perception to that, but I think that's changing dramatically. One of the capstone speakers that we really had a chance to get to know, and our latest Girls on the Run Summit was Katherine Switzer. And she was the first lady who ran the Boston Marathon. And one of the highlights that I picked up from her is that girls in general can run and boys obviously are very active too. But the one thing about girls is that they're longevity and they're endurance. They maybe have an ability to continue on a little further. But one thing about girls, and you'll see that in the movement is that girls are moving more in today's world. There's more sports, activities, and things for girls than there's ever been in the past. An equal almost to the amount of boys thing out there. I was wondering if one of the effects that we have is that boys are perhaps moving less. I think that kick the can and everything in the neighborhood was a normal part that thinks I grew up. I'm 60 at this point. I think kids perhaps have a little bit less of a physical existence because of video games and because of being in front of the screen so much. I assume that affects girls to some degree as well, but perhaps this more levels out the playing field. What's your experience? I agree. I think in our society today, even VA Diamond too, we never had a screen time like you can today. Everywhere you look, there's an ability for a child or a person to be on a screen someone if it's a phone and iPad. But what I love about girls on the run is that it takes that two 90 minute days and gets those girls in a different atmosphere around coaches and volunteers that help them run through this program and other girls in their program in small groups to really talk about some of those pressures and other things that they see affecting and changing their lives. Why to limit screen time and why to have running as an outlet instead of maybe screen time. I think that definitely affects both boys and girls, but girls on the run is a way to give them just another tool in their toolbox to how to deal with their world and how to create a positive way to have an outlet for their energy. I asked you originally why running as opposed to other activities. I made this assumption. I didn't actually see it documented anywhere, but that running was chosen because it's not a competitive. You're competing against yourself. You're improving your best, but it's not this basketball team wins this basketball team loses. Do you do that kind of competition or is that seen as antithetical to what girls on the run is about? That is what girls on the runs about. Running is something that can empower a girl, a person to reach their best. It's not about competing and having to be on a team. We do have our team, but they're there to support each girl in their own goal and in their own ability to run what they can or as fast as they can. And it's going no healthy relationships among the girls. That is personally why I love this program so much. To inspire those girls to get a long-lasting health and fitness thing, something that they can grab onto and have a lifelong memory and an accomplishment. And I think in my own world, we're involved in so many different sports teams. And through my daughter's experience in sports teams too, it's so competitive. And everyone is competing to be on a team or to be on the best team or whatever. Girls on the run takes that step back and says, "You really are a remarkable person in your own world. Here's a way that you can reach your own best." And it gives them running as that tool. That definitely hits a note on the head. Did you experience this firsthand for yourself? I did. I'll tell you firsthand that I have never loved running, but I'm gaining an appreciation for it as the time goes on. My daughter actually participated in Girls on the Run. And with that participation, you know, we had to run the 5K. I was actually what we call in Girls on the Run, her running buddy. And a running buddy on our program is someone who encourages that girl or that participant along the route of that 5K celebration at the end. So for myself, I started training for a 5K with my daughter. So as a running buddy, we ran together. I'd always done different aerobic activities. I've been always an active person, but never really a runner. But from that 5K on, she really inspired me watching her run, really brought me into the world of running and how I can do things like that too. And I'm not the only one. I have so many other stories of parents. Recently, one of our other participants, his daughter's actually going to be in the program again, had been active always also. But just decided after his 5K with his daughter that running was something he enjoyed much more than he had ever thought. And since then, he's actually lost substantial amount of weight and, you know, attributes to start just to that experience with Girls on the Run and his daughter. So we inspire not only girls, but it's amazing to me how many families we inspire. Just another quick personal story on that note. I have a board member who is, again, a very active person, but her daughter became involved in Girls on the Run. And it was kind of that epiphany too of like, wow, running is really something I can do alone and I can do it well. It inspired her to motivate her family to run, which motivated her mother to join our board. And then in turn, motivated their whole family to run the recent Eau Claire marathon last year as a team. Stories like that really proved the ability that this program, Girls on the Run, does not only change the girls' lives, but it really can change the girls' families' lives also. And I want to mention right away the website, locally here in Eau Claire, where I happen to live, it's G-O-T-R, those are initials for Girls on the Run, G-O-T-R, Eau Claire.org. But internationally, the website is Girls on the Run.org. Wherever you are listening to this, you can go to that website and find how to connect, find more examples, get the information, make a decision for you and your family. I had a number of questions about why Girls on the Run works. There are a number of other organizations out there that Girls can be part of, whether it's Brownies or Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls. That's what my wife grew up doing some version of Campfire Girls, which was transformational for her. Why Girls on the Run specifically as opposed to these other long-standing organizations? Girls on the Run, you said, originated in 1996. Correct. And definitely, those organizations, I was part of being a Girl Scout at Brownie, are definitely life-changing events, too. Girls on the Run is a little newer. We're definitely growing. Right now, we have 225 councils in the United States, and we're serving 150,000 girls per year. Well, and I think one of the best things is we meet in small groups. Girls in their program meet after school in a small group of 15 to 20 girls. And one with that, they have two to three volunteer coaches that kind of work through the curriculum with them. They share a lot of their thoughts, how they stand up for themselves, how they stand up for others. We have the message of having the Girls on what they're worth and their image. The other thing that we share with them, different views of what the media has on what beauty is. In the media, you see a lot of perfect images and a lot of perfect people. And we like to make sure that in Girls on the Run that beauty isn't being perfect. We share with them different things about how to value healthy relationships and how that girl can help impact the world just around them. Each Girls on the Run team has to do a community project in their session before their 5K. And some of these community projects are very simple, such as cleaning up an area around where they run. Some of them really get elaborate in our area. We've had a lot of teams and troops doing different cleanups and different card making for different people. But in International, I've reached out and I've seen a lot of different campaigns in different ways. Some of them help Habitat for Humanity. Others have helped different parts raise money for certain things. So there really is a lot of different ways where Girls on the Run not only impacts the girls, but we teach them they have the power to impact their community as well. I'm particularly taken by the idea of alternative images of beauty because so much of our society does train girls to be beauty and sex objects. That that is too often held up as the objective of what being a good female is. I note that Girls on the Run grabs girls in the 3rd to 6th grades. Before the hormones and changes of puberty usually start affecting girls so strongly, like when they reach middle school. I don't know if you've heard about this, Kim, but I understand that girls equal or even outperform boys in math in grade school. But that things switch pretty dramatically around middle school ages when girls generally drop behind boys. I don't know exactly what role hormones and beauty and sex roles play, but I strongly suspect that they're a big part of the picture. So the girls that you've coached for Girls on the Run, have you seen them deal differently with the middle school transition than girls that maybe aren't so prepared? Yeah, and it's great you bring that up because I wanted to kind of elaborate on that. Girls on the Run in Eau Claire, we have a program that runs Grade 3-2-5. Girls on the Run International does have a continuation of that program. It used to be called Girls on Track, and in the year 2015 or this year, they are bringing out a brand new curriculum to replace that or update Girls on the Track, and that's going to be called Heart and Soul. What it is, it's a 6-8th grade curriculum that really focuses on the brain, the heart, the social part, the body, and the spirit, what they're dealing with and what they're going through at that age. Unfortunately, right now we don't have that part of the program in Eau Claire. It is in our strategic plan. Again, it's just finding those wonderful coaches to help volunteer. We want to encourage those girls, and we wanted to make sure that they can celebrate what they have, and that they are smart, strong, and powerful in their own way, and really have them be the authors of their own story. We really are working at getting Heart and Soul in Eau Claire area, but it is in a lot of the other councils around the United States. Can you give me any kind of examples of how operationally it works different in terms of the standards of beauty? Our society pours in, particularly on girls, the standards of what it means to be a successful girl is to win the beauty pageant. Fortunately, that's been improved over the 60 years that I've been alive, so that women are accepted as excelling in what they're doing by being the head of a corporation, or perhaps being an astronaut. Those things were not typical when I was young, and we've improved so much, but still, if you look at just the magazines at the checkout line at the grocery store, it's glamour, it's shaped. It's all about physical beauty for girls, and they don't seem to have that same thing for men, so it's okay for us to get big ponches. And I agree, I think that is definitely a skewed message, and again, the way I love girls on the run even more is they take that message of beauty, and they really show girls a new definition of beauty. They talk about body image, and they talk about what is a good, healthy body image, and how to be comfortable in your own skin. On that particular lesson when they talk about beauty, the girls trace themselves on a large piece of paper in one of our curriculum, and they have them fill out an outline of the words that describe them in their inner beauty. And it's amazing how at third and fifth grade, they are so good at picking out some of these positive adjectives, and some of the lessons that I've been able to be at. At the fifth and fifth grade, they're still at that point where they know what beauty is in the real sense, what inner beauty is, what they are. And that's really what we want to give those qualities instilled in them and strengthen that thought practice because, and like you mentioned, that beauty supposedly looks like something, but if we can instill in these young girls what beauty is, that inner beauty, that self-shining star, that smile that they have, that passion, that power that they feel, that really is what beauty is. It's not that bodily appearance of perfectness or having that. So we do that activity, but along with that, there's another great tool we use, and it's just that repetition at one part of the lesson. They're going to be running certain amount of laps and every lap they come around and they tell their coach what they think is beautiful about them. So they might be running around that lap and they'll come back and they'll tell that coach, "I have a beautiful smile." And the best part about, like I said, is just that positive reinforcement of over and over again. Beauty is involved being that perfect human or that perfect structure. It's about loving what you have inside and really making that part of beauty. So kind of redefining beauty. I think that's a really positive and empowering thing for young girls because of the media we see as being so over the top with what beauty is or what it should be in our commercials and our advertisements. But if you have a strong, wonderful personality smile, that really is truly what beauty should be and is. I love that about growth on the run in one of our lessons that we really hit that to the core. And I can even give you a little bit more, Mark, kind of about what some of our tops are. Would that be a great time to share, though? Sure. I was wondering. You referred to the curriculum in the lessons. Could you first give me the overview? How many lessons are there? How often are they repeated? How is this structured? Okay, you bet. Girls on the Run has a great way they've structured the lessons. One, we have three different curriculum. Now, when I say three different ones, that means three different years or times that we run the curriculum. And just even to take a step back, our program, Girls on the Run here in Eau Claire, we run it in the spring. We start at the end of February and we'll run to May. Our five K celebration is May 9th this year. Most Girls on the Run councils have that type of, that timing type of year. There's also a fall program which some of our councils run. We do not hear Eau Claire. And that fall program usually starting in September and usually ends in November. So what the curriculum is based on is they are broke up into either 12 weeks or 10 weeks. The councils can choose if they'd like to use either the 10 week or the 12 week curriculum. In Eau Claire, we use a 10 week and that's just how many topics and how many weeks we are together. Girls on track or heart and soul are new curriculum. It's that same concept of 10 to 12 weeks depending on what the council would like at that level. We do a 10 week curriculum. So that means our girls meet twice a week, 90 minutes each time, with these amazing group of over 85 coaches volunteering for a program this year to coach our girls. And these coaches come from a variety of backgrounds. Some of our coaches, most of them I have to share some wonderful elementary education teachers who have stepped up to take that role as coach. Again, it's volunteer. It's not paid. They spend their time after school helping us with the program. Other volunteer coaches, we get coaches who are parents who love the program. We have coaches that are just community people who have also fallen in love with our program. We also have university students. We're fortunate to be very close to Eau Claire. And we do get a couple students from Eau Claire. Also, I've had some individuals from Eau Scout join us in our area. And also the CVTC, I've had some volunteers from that college as well. We really do have a variety of coaches and backgrounds of them that come into the program. Men and women have volunteered to college, so there's definitely a mix of dads, moms, people who are all of them to be involved. But to get back to our curriculum, we have, like I mentioned, that 10 week curriculum. And it's broken up into three different parts. And the first nine lessons deal with how girls know themselves. They're self-awareness, how to care for themselves, really getting to know each other. That's the basis of our first third of our lessons. It's about celebrating gratitude, valuing what's really important is another topic. And one of the ones I love to point out is positive self-taught because really what it is, is getting girls to understand instead of saying negative things about themselves, but saying positive things. One of the tools we use in a prior lesson that we teach the girls, a lot of times as anybody, you know, it's not just girls. We sometimes can get on that negative like, "Oh, bad day, bad hair, bad this, I can't do that." What we like to tell the girls is unplug that cord of negativity and plug in that positive cord because that's really what's going to get you ahead and what's going to move you into a better healthy state. Do you see girls in the run and you tell them to unplug that cord of negativity? They'll know exactly what you mean. And again, all the girls are taught the same perspective and same curriculum. And the second third of the curriculum of that 10 weeks, it deals with healthy relationships and how to keep these girls healthy. It kind of runs the world. First, we talk about the girls themselves and we really get them to know themselves. Then we move out into that next connectedness of your friends, your relationships with your peers. How a glass of thing is involved and how it can hurt people or what you really can do and how to stop glass of things. Another session we deal with watching out for bullies, watching out not to be a bully, watching out for other friends who are being bullied. And then we start to learn about how to choose good friends, how to choose friends that make us strong as well. And learning about cooperation and how to cooperate with your friends, your family, things like that. So really we cover that in that second third of those weeks. And then in that last third, it's all about empowering and sharing their strengths and celebrating and then turning to the community and how we, as strong for them young individuals, can be part of that community. And how being part of that community can really impact other people's lives. And then kind of last lesson, the finishing touches, during this whole time, they are training for that 5K. They're doing running games, they're having longer stints of running. And that final thing is sharing that 5K celebration with everybody. And like I mentioned, we have our running buddy who run with the girls. Every girl in our program is required. We have a running buddy. And it can either be a family member, a person that they know. Some cases we have some girls that none of their family runs or have the ability to be there that day. And we partner up a great community member with them that can share with them because it is quite an event. Like last year we had over 800 people running our 5K. So it's a large group and we want to make sure that third grader who's running doesn't get lost in the shuffle. So having that running buddy, that partner be there to share and encourage them, it's really a great thing. And I have to share this story with you. Sometimes it's actually not even the running buddy being the one that's cheering the girl on. Sometimes it's the girl that's cheering on the running buddy to finish the race. I've heard some great stories about that where the young girls are cheering on. They're into their parents, their mom, their dad to finish the race. You know Kim, you say that a little bit like maybe you experienced it when you were running with your father. Well, you never know. It's definitely a great event. But really that gives you kind of a snapshot of what our whole curriculum really is based on. It has some great messages in it and really brings up some of these topics that you mentioned some other organizations prior that they cover in those. But we also cover them and even more so cover coming different ones when you deal with things in relationships with that. We really go in depth on some of them. Definitely. It is like I smile every time because this curriculum really does hit to heart some points that girls deal with. I want to remind folks that you're listening to Spirit in Action. Our guest today is Kim Gillette. She's part of an organization called Girls on the Run. And their website is girlsontherun.org. That's the international website. Right here in Eau Claire where I happen to be and where Kim is, it's G-O-T-R. Initials for Girls on the Run. G-O-T-R Eau Claire.org. But this is a Northern Spirit Radio production. We're on the web at northernspiritradio.org and on our site. You'll find almost 10 years of our programs for free listening and download. You'll find connections to our guests and more information about them. You'll find a place to put comments and read other people's comments. When you visit, please do post a comment because we love two-way communication. There's also a place to donate, click support, and donate to Northern Spirit Radio to help make this work possible. But even more important than that, I want to encourage you to support your local community radio station wherever you are. Kind of places that carry these alternative views on news and on music. You get nowhere else on the American airwaves. So start out before anything else by supporting your local community radio station. Again, Kim Gelatis here, Girls on the Run is the Organization. They provide transformational, physical activity-based, positive youth development programs for girls 3rd to 5th grade. And you were just talking, Kim, about the curricula. What happens somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade? Do girls go through this just one time or is it repeated annually? Can they are? Are they welcome to or do they actually do it more than one year? Definitely. Girls on the Run, like I mentioned, has three different curriculums. So girls can start in third grade and go through it for three years total. So third, fourth, and fifth grade. We've had a lot of girls who definitely do all three years. We have some girls who just learn about it in fifth grade and take it in fifth grade. The best part is now with having those three curriculums. It is new in a little different every year. New games, new and different activities. And just to tell you a little bit about how does a girl get in this program? And how do they sign up and how do they get involved? I just kind of want to cover some of that. You have a daughter and you want to be part of Girls on the Run. In your local area, the best thing is Google Girls on the Run. Girls on the Run International then has a great link to show you how to find the local chapter. A lot of times the local chapters aren't called by city. They might be called by county. Some are called by area. So don't be diminished if you can't find one in the name of your city. Keep digging and keep looking. Our program in this area runs from February through May. Our registration started in January for our girls to come into the program. And what happens is to be in the program and this varies in every location. In a clear area, you have to have the program at your school. So for example, let's take one of the local schools we have is Robins Elementary. So a girl knows the programs at Robins Elementary. She goes to Robins Elementary. There will be some information coming out in January kind of telling her about the program. For our particular program, we'll go online. There's a right on our website that says Register Your Girl Here. And she'll be able to register at that point online. Some people don't have the ability to do it online. In our chapter, we've also had paper registrations where they fill out the paperwork that the coaches have. Other cities around the United States, it is not a requirement that having it in their school. They have it at multiple locations around their cities. And they sign up in similar ways. In a lot of people ask, well, what does this cost? Obviously, every chapter again is different. On an average, girls on the run cost in smaller metro, such as ourselves, $110 per girl. But we never turn anyone away because of financial ability. We do have a sliding scale that we ask on different household income levels. That kind of gives a different level for a family so that anyone can participate. Again, this is different in every chapter. So I just want to make sure you're aware of that. There are some wonderful sponsors though. And in turn, because we're reading that as a sliding scale, we do have some wonderful sponsors in our area that help us kind of make up for the difference that we need to keep this program running. And those wonderful sponsors vary in all different ways. We have program sponsors, and one of the great ones here in Eclairs and Charter Bank. We have 5K sponsors. There's a variety of different sponsors that have helped sponsor our 5K and in turn help us sponsor our program. But there are different registrations and different chapters. But again, the average cost is $110. We look at our whole cost per girl. You know, when you break out what we're giving to the girls in the Eau Claire area, the girls will receive a program shirt, which I'll have that girls on the run using a nice bright color. They'll get a water bottle. They'll have the opportunity to go to these 10 weeks of sessions with their coaches. We'll have that 5K event and their membership or their entry into that 5K is included. They'll get an awesome finishers medal. That is a great keepsake to show that they have really accomplished something special. And then along with that, there's just the celebration of the 5K. There's what we have, the happy hair where we volunteer to decorate the girls with bright colored hair or ponytails and flowers and things. And sometimes I get the question, why does it cost that much? And why is that? There are definitely a lot of fees. And one of them is the staffing of having girls on the run in your area, having someone like me, a council director to organize that whole program and make all the arrangements and get the support. Other things that are included are things such as our insurance for having a large event and having a large outreach in the community. And other programs, these are simple things like renting facility spaces, purchasing the t-shirts, the metal, water bottles and different things like that. So it's definitely a program that's robust and full of life and that's kind of where the fees do come. So give you an idea of what it's really made up of. Who puts together the curriculum? Where did this come from? I assume there's a vision behind it from someone and some expertise because I think in American society, girls grow up with a certain cultural mix and certain things are necessary for them. I assume this curriculum would be very different if it was trying to achieve the same goals in boys. I agree. Yes, our curriculum is definitely an experienced based curriculum. The first curriculum was initially started by the founder Molly Barker. And she really did a lot of research and background. Since then, they've refined it and even researched it into more topics and finding out what girls have needs and what their thing gets them moving. Through the years, it's definitely been a refinement and how can I say almost targeting to make that experience particular and just about our curriculum. The Girls on the Run International has created it and worked with it. If you have a chance ever to look on the website, girlsontherun.org under evaluation. This has been evaluated curriculum since 2002 and it does with a lot of the different academic evaluations that have been done on the curriculum to support that whole child and adolescent learning about self-esteem, body image, and eating attitudes and behaviors. So if you take a look in there, it's definitely a well balanced and a well developed curriculum that really does target the things that girls need, which is definitely different than boys, but it really is a well thought out and developed curriculum. And that's why it really is impactful in so many different ways to these girls. I assume that's been measured, observed. Either in particular cases, you can tell us this girl did this, went on to this. I assume you see the changes happening in the girls. But somehow do you follow up with them three years later, five years later? Definitely. Girls on the Run International has done a lot of different pilot studies and evaluations on that. And like I mentioned there, that's all on the website, on the Girls on the Run International. But personally, in the year that I've been involved with Girls on the Run, I do see and have heard stories. I have seen girls really take on a different role in their life since Girls on the Run. We do have some pre and post tests for the girls to take. One, what their attitude or their feeling about themselves was before and after. And in some of those surveys, it is amazing the difference you see from the pre and the post test, the change they feel in their body, the perception that they have. So definitely there are some measurable differences and girls on the Run International is getting even better at tracking some of those and doing more surveys and studies to show that. I noticed, Kim, that as you said before, you do have men who are volunteers who are coaches for your girls. But that I noticed your 10-member board, at least here in Eau Claire, is all female. Does that imply that there's some kind of a glass ceiling for men that they can't go to the upper reaches of Girls on the Run? No, not at all. We actually have had a password members that have been men just at this particular time we don't. Men are definitely invited to be part of it and actually are a very important part. It just happens to be at this time that it is mostly women. And I think it does definitely call to women's heartstrings a little stronger than men, but we definitely have some men who have been part of the program and then instrumental. Looking at Girls on the Run International, we do have on their board, they also have a few men, and there was a gentleman that spoke at our annual summit this year to that point. But it definitely is open to men and women. The only role that we have that can only be a woman is a head coach at a site, but that is only the head coach. Any assistant coaches can be men, any volunteer running buddies can be men, any board members, or any other volunteers at large can be men. It's definitely open to women or men. There are differences in our culture on the average for men and women, as I'm sure you know, Kim. One of the things that I imagine some people would ask is, does this properly train females so they can compete in the upper reaches, you know, the doggy dog world? What are your thoughts or what thoughts have you heard among the Girls on Community about this kind of thing? Is that not useful for females? Females, I think in our society, have been trained to be more cooperative to work together as a unit, whereas men have been taught to kill each other. So, I'm just wondering what you've heard about what needs in terms of functioning of our society, Girls on the Run does that way. Well, I think like you mentioned, there's definitely been two different worlds. And one of the best things about Girls on the Run is we encourage that independent thinking and that celebrating of self and valuing healthy relationships and whatever terms these girls put that into their life. And we empower these girls to be the authors of their own stories. I want to say we really give them strength to be who they want to be. If they want to be a board chair or a certain figure in life, that definitely is. If they want to be a community helper or whatever, we want to give them the tools that they can make those decisions and be empowering in their own way. And to each of us is different, being men or women, not everyone emulates to be the president of something or another. Some of us are very good at other skills. And that's really what we want to teach these girls is that finding their own inner strength is their own inner star. And what makes them joyful and healthy and confident? Is it being that awesome teacher? Is it being maybe that president? Is it being running your own business? Is it being a great mom, a great dad? Is that sense of giving people and giving particularly girls that ability to find what makes them joyful and healthy and confident? And what are their thoughts on that and helping them stand up for themselves and others? And to reach their limitless potential because that really is what Girls on the Run is all about. I am so aware of being a grown boy myself that there are certain things that the culture around me did not provide me. For instance, I think women in general have more opportunities in our culture, are trained more to develop relationships. So it doesn't surprise me that you would want to have in the Girls on the Run curriculum something about healthy relationships. I imagine though that that part of the curriculum would be even more important for boys because we learn to isolate so much and rather than share strengths. Can you point out other parts of your curriculum that you think would be particularly useful for boys or not so useful from your point of view? And just this is of course subjective opinion on your part, Kim. Oh, definitely. And not speaking for the whole Girls on the Run international, but I think a lot of the core values we do share. Some male versus female would find very interesting or boy versus girl. You standing up and being aware of bullies and how to choose not to be a bully, definitely are some that I think could have tuned to both female and male and being emotionally healthy. That is something that I think we all strive to be. I think of growing up myself and how through adolescence as a young girl, I struggled with not being in the mold of what I thought beauty should be or how fast or how I should look or how I should feel. But looking back now, I had a great support system. Maybe that helped me to get where I was if it was my family, my parents. But I think a program like this could have helped even more a confidence building gone through some of parts of life be more healthy and confident. If it were me or my brother or something like that, any program that can instill a great sense of just understanding self and confidence. I think it's really something that helps us as a society get to where we want to be someday. As you know, Kim, this program is called Spirit in Action. And the spirit part I noted for your middle school curriculum, this thing called Heart and Soul, I was very pleased to find that word in there. I hadn't known about that before. What kind of spiritual or moral or ethical or something background informs the outlook of girls on the run? Can you put your finger on anything about that? I mean, because one of the things I kind of assume is there is something about equality that girls are equal to that they shouldn't be subjected to a lesser role, for instance. And so that for me is an overview in society. Can you put your finger on spiritual outlook of girls on the run? Well, you know, we don't base ourselves in any type of spirit or religion, but it is really that concept mark of being positive and why we should choose being positive and gratitude and really freeing gratitude in our lives for things that are important to us. And I think one of the best things is just that concept of speaking, maybe in that sense, that spirit and that gratitude in our world is providing those girls an opportunity to really define what gratitude is. And I think that has to do with a lot of the spirituality of the sense of being thankful and being appreciative. And in one of our lessons, we touch on that. It's recognizing that attitude towards different circumstances and how to be grateful. And I think being grateful is part of that spiritualness of having a compass in life and being able to say, this is what I stand for and I'm thankful for that. We really do in our mission kind of state that too, that we want to inspire them to be that joyful, healthy, confident person. And then also have that gratitude and give them empowerment, responsibility, intentionality, connectedness, that joy, that optimism. But also be nurturing and lead with that open heart and be compassionate. Those are some of the really strong visions that we have for every girl that kind of gives her that spirit of being such an impact to the world and have that sense of herself. So I think in a way, we really do tie into that spirit of growth on the run really is that whole group of different visions that we give them. I want to remind people that you can track down more information on girls on the run via their international website, GirlsOnTheRun.org. I wanted to ask you a couple things more about this international organization. You've mentioned that it was started by Molly Barker. She's kind of the mother figure for the whole organization. I assume you called her "Maw" Barker. [Laughter] Not quite. Molly is actually definitely an inspirational part of our program. Recently, she has gone on to better and bigger things, but for years it's been a great part of our program and the initiator of the program. With your Girls On The Run International is excited to announce we are going to be serving our millions girls. Right now, as this new season 2015 comes up, we say we have changed a million girls' lives one at a time. It really is exciting. Here in Eau Claire, we are actually going to be celebrating our thousands of girls. So we, as a chapter, will be inspiring over a thousand years of existence since we've been there. That can even share with you some of the stories of girls in our area. We had an individual at one of the schools and I had the coaches contact me because they really knew this girl needed to be in the program. It was really these coaches reaching out to get this individual girl in the program. She hasn't struggled because her home life isn't as great as we all hope we can have. Mom isn't always available there and older sister really steps in and takes the role of helping out the family. Between the coaches and the older sister, this girl really became part of the Girls On The Run team at this particular school. And as the season went on, it definitely wasn't so much a struggle for the girl, but something as simple as logistics of picking up and making sure she had some shoes to wear and things like that. It really showed me how compassionate and caring some people are and how no matter what happened, they still wanted her to be part of that program because they knew it would really make a difference in her life. But what happened at the end is she did make five K and one of the things that the coaches weren't able to share is that even through all the stuff that they had to get her to that point, they still felt it was her best day ever and she shared that with them. There's so many we can affect how we're affecting these million girls is just a multiplier of that. One last thing, Kim, the name of the organization, Girls On The Run. And remember internationally, the website is GirlsOnTheRun.org. You can track down where your local organization is. You can find links to how to find those. Here in Eau Claire, the website happens to be G-O-T-R Eau Claire.org. The thing I was wondering about is that name, Girls On The Run. You're, I think, a generation younger than I am. And of course, your daughter is another generation younger. In the mid-70s, there was a song called Band On The Run. Is this the theme song of your gatherings for Girls On The Run? That's a great question. Actually, I don't know. I have never heard that connotation, but we do have a song, Girls On The Run. But one of the kind of fun little notes about our program and kind of talking about our name, but also our logo, is there's a picture of a girl, kind of a thick figure type girl on the logo of Girls On The Run. And one interesting story about that is we call that girl Addie, because Addie was the first girl with Molly Barker for the first Girls On The Run. So Adelaide is her name of our logo and our girl on our logo, I should say. So unfortunately, the song isn't quite the same as the song that we have for Girls On The Run, but it's definitely a great thought. I never thought of that. Well, I appreciate so much your sharing your story here, Kim, your work with Girls On The Run, trying to make a difference in young girls who go, of course, grow up to be the women of our country and it makes such a difference. I've heard it said that the most transformational thing that we can do in any society, more than helping the boys, is to help the girls and the women because women tend to pull a community together and so many of the indications of good health in our society are dependent on empowering women. So you're doing that work, Girls On The Run is doing it here in Eau Claire and internationally, and I appreciate that work and I appreciate you joining me today for Spirit in Action. Well, thank you, Mark too. I appreciate being part of this. And again, thank you so much for letting me tell people about Girls On The Run. That was Kim Gillette, Council Director for Girls On The Run here in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. You likely have a council near you as well. I want to end up with a story that was part of the recording, free to be you and me, that like Girls On The Run holds up a healthy and hopeful image of what it means to be a girl, and happily, it also has to do with running. The two voices telling the story are Alan Alda, who was lead role in MASH, and Marlo Thomas from the sitcom That Girl. The story is called Atalanta. So we'll listen and then we'll see you next week for Spirit in Action. Atalanta from Free to Be You and Me. Once upon a time, not long ago, there lived a princess named Atalanta, who could run as fast as the wind. She was so bright and so clever and could build things and fix things so wonderful that many young men wished to marry her. "What shall I do?" said Atalanta's father. There was a powerful king. So many young men want to marry you, and I don't know how to choose. "You don't have to choose, father," said Atalanta. "I will choose, and I'm not sure that I will choose to marry anyone at all." "Of course you will," said the king. Everybody gets married. It's what people do. "As for me," Atalanta told him, "I intend to go out and see the world. When I come home, perhaps I will marry, and perhaps I will not." The king did not like this at all. He was a very ordinary king, powerful and used to having his way. So he told Atalanta, "I have decided how to choose the young man you will marry. I will hold a great race, and the winner, the swiftest and fleetest young man of all, will win the right to marry you." Now, Atalanta was a clever girl, as well as a swift runner. So she told her father, "Very well then, let there be a race, but you must let me run in it too. And if I am not the winner, I will accept the wishes of the young man who is. If I am the winner, I will choose for myself what I will do." The king agreed to this. He would have his way, marry off his daughter, and enjoy a fine day of racing as well. So he called his messengers together, and directed them to travel far and wide to announce the race with its wonderful prize, the chance to marry the bright Atalanta. Meanwhile, Atalanta herself was preparing for the race. Each day at dawn, she went to the field in secret, until she could run the course in just three minutes more quickly than anyone had ever run it before. As the day of the race grew near, young men began to crowd into the town. Each was sure he could win the prize, except for one. That was young John who lived in the town. He knew Atalanta well, for he saw her day by day as she bought nails and wood to make a pigeon house, or sat reading a book in the gardens, or chose parts for her telescope, or laughed with her friends. Young John saw the princess only from a distance, but he understood how bright and clever she was. He wished very much to race with her, to win and to earn the right to talk with her and become her friend. For surely, he said to himself, "It is not right for Atalanta's father to give her away to the winner of the race." Atalanta herself must choose whom she wants to marry, or whether she wishes to marry at all. Still, if I could only win the race, I would be free to speak to her, and to ask for her friendship. Each evening, after his studies of the stars and the seas, John went to the field in secret and practiced running across it. Night after night, he raced as fast as the wind across the twilight field, until he could cross it in three minutes. More quickly, he thought that anyone had run across it before. At last, the day of the race arrived. Trumpets sounded, and the young men gathered at the edge of the field, along with Atalanta herself, the prize they sought. The king and his friends sat in soft chairs, and the townspeople stood along the course of the race. The king rose to address them all. "Good day!" he said to the crowds. "Good luck!" he said to the young men. "To Atalanta," he said, "goodbye. I must tell you farewell, or tomorrow you will be married." "I am not so sure of that father," Atalanta answered, and she went to stand in line with the young men. Not one of them, she said to herself, can win the race. "For I will run as fast as the wind and leave them all behind." Now, a bugle sounded, and the runners were off. The crowds cheered as the young men in Atalanta began to race across the field. At first, they ran as a group. "But Atalanta soon pulled ahead." With three of the young men close after her. As they neared the halfway point, one of them put on a great burst of speed and seemed to pull ahead for an instinct. But then, gasped and fell back. "Atalanta shot on!" Soon after another young man, hence with the effort, grew near to Atalanta. He reached out as though to touch her sleeve, stumbled for an instant, and lost speed. "Atalanta smiled as she ran on. I have almost won, she thought." Just then another young man neared her. This was young John running like the wind, as steadily and as swiftly as Atalanta herself. "Atalanta felt his closeness, and in a sudden burst, she dashed ahead." But young John didn't give up. Nothing at all thought he would keep me from my hope of winning the chance to speak without Atalanta. And on he ran, swift as the wind, until he ran as her equal side by side with her. For the golden ribbon that marked the race's end. "Atalanta was aware of him, and she raced even faster to pull ahead." But young John was a strong match for her, smiling with the pleasure of the race. Atalanta and young John reached the finish line together, and together they broke through the golden ribbon that marked him. "Chompers blow! The crowds shouted and leaped about! The King rose!" "Who is this young man?" he asked. "I am young John from the town," John answered. "Very well, young John," said the King. "As John and Atalanta stood before him, you have not won the race, but you have come closer to winning than any man here. And so I give you the prize that was promised, the right to marry my daughter." Young John smiled at Atalanta. "And she smiled back." "Thank you, sir," said John to the King. "But I could not possibly marry your daughter unless she wished to marry you. I have run this race with a chance to talk with Atalanta." Atalanta laughed with pleasure. "And I," she said to John, "could not possibly marry you before I've gone out to see the world. But I would like nothing better than to spend the afternoon with you." And she held out her hand to young John, who took it. Then the two of them sat and talked on the grassy field. Atalanta told John about her telescopes and her pigeons. And John told Atalanta about his globes and his geography studies. At the end of the day, they were friends. On the next day, John set off by ship to discover new lands. And Atalanta set off on horseback to visit great cities. The King stayed home and thought about how the world was changing. When he was young, daughters always wanted to get married. But now Atalanta is still off in the world, visiting towns, cities. And John is still sailing the seas. Perhaps someday they'll be married, and perhaps they will not. In any case, it is certain they are both living happily ever after. The theme music for this program is Turning of the World, performed by Sarah Thompson. This Spirit in Action program is an effort of Northern Spirit Radio. You can listen to our programs and find links and information about us and our guests on our website, northernspiritradio.org. Thank you for listening. I am your host, Mark Helpsmeet, and I welcome your comments and stories of those leading lives of spiritual fruit. May you find deep roots to support you and grow steadily toward the light. This is Spirit in Action. With every voice, with every song, we will move this world along. With every voice, with every song, we will move this world along. And our lives will feel the echo of our healing. (upbeat music)