An Overview of Girls on the Run and their Inspire on me

someonThe organization that I chose to do my Civic Engagement Project on is called Girls on the Run. Their mission is to inspire young women to be the best that they can be and provide mentors for the young women along their journey, pushing them to succeed and reach high goals. Their goal is to "Build Stronger Women" and improve the confidence level of each individual girl. My role in the Girls on the Run organization is to mentor young women and give them someone to look up to, to be a role model. Everyone has someone in their lives that they consider their role models, for me it is my mom. She has always been the person to build me up and give me the confidence I need in a time of doubt. She inspires me with her passionate words and makes me want to achieve great things in life like she has done in her own. She is the Assistance Vice President of a financial insurance company. She has worked extremely hard to get to where she is today and has inspired me to do the same. I want to be this inspirational person for someone else. I want to be the person that a younger women looks up to and thinks to themselves "wow, I want to be just like her when I am older, successful, hardworking, and confident". Every young girl has a dream, I want to help those young women accomplish their dreams.

One of the big ways that I myself and the Delta Pi Chapter of Gamma Phi Beta here at Illinois State are active in this organization is by going to the 5k races that are held by Girls on the Run. Every year Girls on the Run puts on a couple 5k's that the young women in the program partake in. They train for weeks and when the race is finally here, we are there to run alongside them and support them throughout the race with inspirational quotes and chants that we shout to keep them motivate to make it to the finish line. Once the girl's cross the finish line it is so rewarding for them to know that all of the hard work that they have put into this has a great outcome. Some other ways that Gamma Phi Beta benefits this organization is by raising money to provide coaching and materials for these women during their training and for the day of the race. We have two philanthropy events every year, one in the spring and one in the fall. The most recent event that was put on by Gamma Phi Beta for Girls on the Run was a 'Sundae's on Sunday' event. On Sunday the 20th of September we sold ice cream sundaes to people in front or our sorority house. This event raised over $2,000 for Girls on the Run and it meant so much to the Delta Pi chapter to be able to give back and help support our philanthropy. Another event that we put on in the spring is a kickball tournament, were different sororities and fraternities come together and make teams to participate. Unfortunately, last year it was rained out but we were still able to donate about $1,400 to the organization from donations from other sororities and fraternities here on campus. This money then goes to, as I stated before, the coaches and equipment for the young women. Before the races there are stations where the girls can get their hair spray painted or faces painted, there is also stations to paint the girls nails and we also provided snacks and drinks for the girls during the race.

All of this would not be possible if not for the help of Gamma Phi Beta and others who help support this organization. The amount of time that I spent personally for this organization would be about a total of 20 hours so far. I was on the Philanthropy board for my sorority, which made me one of the many girls that have helped our philanthropy chairwomen plan the events and get donations and set up for the events. We would have regular meetings to discuss our next steps to make our events for Girls on the Run perfect. We wanted the best turn out as possible and we ended up having a pretty great one for 'Sundae's on Sunday'! I was also at the event which lasted about 5-6 hours, setting up and cleaning up included. I enjoy spending my time on things like this because I know that it is for a good cause and I believe it makes me a better person.

This opportunity connects to my major (business management) because it allows me to be a leader for someone. Having leadership qualities is very important in business majors, especially if you are looking to hold a high position someday. I hope to someday be a boss or a vice president of a company and this is a great opportunity to show the characteristics that I have and how I can use them to become a great leader and lead others into success. It also helps me with my future goals because it inspires me to do something nice for someone else and to be a true and constant friend to someone in need. Gamma Phi Beta and Girls on the Run have taught me so many great qualities that I will carry one throughout my life and utilize in my job once I graduate. Business Management can be a difficult major and every time something gets hard for me I make sure that I ask for help and find a way to improve myself. That is exactly what these women are doing here.

They are trying to find ways to improve their lives, but they are also trying to find a fun and positive way to do it. They are not looking for a shortcut, they are training to make themselves better, not just at running but as an individual as well. Some ways that technology relates to this organization would be their website: http://www.girlsontherun.org/. This website will explain everything that you need to know about the organization. It can answer questions about their mission, the history of the organization, who partners with them and some financial information. Other things that you can find on the website are the different programs that they offer and different ways that you can get involved. The last thing that stands out on the website is where the different offices are located for Girls on the Run. This is important to know because it lets you know if there is a location near you that you could potentially get involved in. The nearest one to Illinois State would be in Springfield. Gamma Phi Beta is also another great way for Girls on the Run to get publicity and help. Gamma Phi Beta uses technology as well to get the word out about our events for Girls on the Run. A couple weeks before our event, all of the women in Gamma Phi Beta put a picture on Facebook as our Profile Picture that explains what the event is and where and when it is located. This is a great way to get the word out, especially to people in my generation. Everyone now a days are always on social media sites, so it is a great way to publicize the organization. Along with this, during the events many girls will post pictures on Instagram and Twitter of them at the events urging others to come and join them in the fun. This is a great way to get people to our events to make our donation amount much higher.

To conclude, Girls on the Run means a lot to me and Gamma Phi Beta. We all work together to give these young women the best experience that they can get out of this program. I personally benefit from this program because it teaches me skills that I can use later in my life and it helps me become a better person. This class has helped me to appreciate technology more and to open my eyes to realize that technology is all around me, even more than what I had thought before.

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