The best way to learn more about how nonprofits like the organizations we work with at Teak Media function is to volunteer, which is one of the reasons our company gives every employee the opportunity to get paid to volunteer for eight hours a year for an organization of their choice. Seeing things operationally, from an insider perspective, really informs the way I communicate and establish connections with my clients. I volunteer with several organizations each month, from my local library to larger grant-making foundations. But there is something about my first season as a volunteer coach with Girls on the Run Greater Boston (GOTR) that has really stuck with me since our Spring Celebratory 5K.
The race was the culmination of eight weeks of meeting twice a week with 15 girls in grades three through five, teaching them lessons that combine the physical activity of running with essential life skills like building friendships, managing emotions, and expressing empathy. What I wasn’t prepared for was that volunteering with GOTR helped me to grow and learn right along with the girls.
Credit: Girls on the Run Greater Boston
GOTR is open to all girls in grades three through five and has a tiered payment structure, as well as financial assistance. Across Greater Boston, 2,266 girls participated in the program during the spring of 2024 and there were over 600 coaches who dedicated their time each week to help these girls feel brave, strong and connected to their community. In the words of GOTR Greater Boston Executive Director Cyndi Roy Gonzalez, “Everywhere we look, society is telling girls that they aren’t good enough. At its core, Girls on the Run is about combatting those messages, giving young girls the tools they need to lead joyful, healthy, and confident lives.” Many organizations struggle with mission creep and taking on too much, but what GOTR does exceptionally well is keeping the girls at the core or everything and ensuring they are growing and supported.
The GOTR curriculum builds and develops confidence, character, care, connections, competence, and contribution. Each practice began with meeting in a circle to hear about everyone’s day and do a fun ice breaker question. From there, we began really getting the girls in the right mindset for the day with discussing our goal from last practice (ex. when you start to say negative self-talk statements, say your code word and turn it into positive self-talk) and learning about the theme for the day. We do a small activity before stretching and strengthening exercises, which then leads into our warmup and workout, each of which have a component that builds on that day’s theme.
Lessons are designed to emphasize self-worth, social and emotional competencies, responding with care and compassion, cooperative skills and team building, and choosing positive actions. Every person affiliated with the organization embodies these ideals and puts forward a positive attitude. GOTR is the perfect example of a nonprofit that truly operates authentically and puts its mission first and foremost. This really shows through in the final lesson, during which the girls complete a community impact project that allows them to contribute to the larger community in a meaningful way. Our team painted kindness rocks and put them in a public space for all to see and glean joy.
From a coach’s perspective, the celebratory 5K was flawlessly executed from start to finish (literally). The “Bling your Bib” tent catered to the age group perfectly and really got the girls excited to uniquely decorate their bibs, each donning their name and the number one, before they took on the 3.1-mile course, which was a first for most of them. Each girl was instructed to bring along a buddy, someone over the age of 16 to help them navigate the course and encourage them along the way. One of my co-coaches and I let the girls go ahead with their buddies and we slowly caught up to each of them to encourage and spend time running at each individual’s “happy pace.” It was such a joy to pop up on them throughout the course and see them smile through the heat with excitement and pure adrenaline. Some of the girls needed extra encouragement. Seeing the girls who had worked so hard pushing themselves brought tears to my eyes. The course was clearly marked and the extra support, water, and energized crowd along the way really pushed the girls to keep running. The finish line was full of emotion as everyone celebrated each girl and their buddy as they crossed under the archway.
These girls have truly shown me what it means to embrace who you are and be proud of each thing you accomplish in life, big or small. Each week I looked forward to laughing, dancing, running, and learning with these girls at practice and being a GOTR coach became my whole personality for those eight weeks. I wanted everyone to know about the incredible work this organization is doing for these girls, but also the impact the lessons were having on me and my outlook on myself and the world. Every girl is born with limitless potential and it is up to all of us to ensure they have the resources to embrace and use it.
If running is not your cup of tea, I can guarantee there is an organization out there that you connect with that is looking for volunteers. There is no shortage of organizations doing incredible work, but that work can only get done with people who truly push the mission forward and support those the nonprofit is serving. To me, connecting with the girls at GOTR and getting those sweaty hugs at the finish line is what it is all about.
