International Day of the Girl 2017
For this year's International Day of the Girl, October 11th, the running community here in New York City is preparing a special event again. By running a global 5K, we're raising awareness and funds for the non-profit organization Girlsgottarun which provides athletic and educational scholarships for girls and their families in Ethiopia.
Last year, when I ran my first marathon, the NYC Marathon in 2016, my friend Nichole and me were able to raise funds for this organization, thus we're more than stoked to be part of this global movement again.
Please join us as we celebrate this Wednesday evening. If you're not in NYC, gather your friends together and run a 5K for #IDG5K, share your posts and tell us, why it is important for you to support girls and women. Would love to hear!
The 5K run here in NY is followed by a panel discussion with some of my dear friends, so hope you can make it!
ABOUT GIRLS GOTTA RUN FOUNDATION
Mission: Girls Gotta Run Foundation invests in girls who use running and education to empower themselves and their communities. GGRF is the only non-profit organization in Ethiopia using the national sport of running as an innovative approach to creating safe spaces, ending child marriage and expanding access to secondary school for vulnerable girls.
The GGRF Athletic Scholarship is a 3 year program that provides girls with scholarships to attend school, to complete our extra curricular life skills, mentoring, leadership and entrepreneurial courses, and to participate on the GGRF running team. Each Athletic Scholar receives the following:
• Full scholarship to attend secondary school, including healthcare for student and her mom, daily meals, uniform, books, tutoring, access to school clubs and library, showers and space to wash clothes on the weekend
• Completion of the GGRF/Center for Creative Leadership Life Skills Curriculum developed to create safe spaces for girls and provide experiential learning modules on family planning, financial literacy, HIV/AIDS awareness, nutrition, healthy relationships, leadership, and creative expression
• Running clothes, shoes and healthy snacks for the year
• Entrance and transportation to Ethiopian races throughout the year
• Oversight of a coach and running mentor
• Savings Group and Entrepreneurship training for the mothers of the Athletic Scholars
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT?
"Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during these critical formative years, but also as they mature into women. If effectively supported during the adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world – both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders. An investment in realising the power of adolescent girls upholds their rights today and promises a more equitable and prosperous future, one in which half of humanity is an equal partner in solving the problems of climate change, political conflict, economic growth, disease prevention, and global sustainability." - United Nations
Learn more at the United Nations here and about the Day of the Girl here.
