Girls On The Run is an organization dedicated to using athletics to improve elementary-school aged girls' athletic abilities along with their self-confidence.  From the GOTR website, the organization's objective is to "provide a safe environment where girls can express themselves, build confidence, and learn from each other. We believe it is critical to reach girls at an early age in order to teach them these important life lessons and to prevent at-risk behavior such as eating disorders, substance abuse, depression, obesity, and adolescent pregnancies."

GOTR runs after-school programs twice a week in various towns and cities, led by dedicated athletes.  A number of GOTR's instructors also run for "Team Tiara", a fund-raising branch of the organization that uses mentors' love for running in marathons and triathlons as a way to finance the after school programs.  It's great to see mentors 'putting their money where their mouth is', so to speak, participating in the same activities that they're trying to get kids excited about.

Running is a great sport to get kids involved in because anybody can do it, and all you need is a pair of sneakers.  You don't need any special facilities either, so nobody is excluded.  If you want to run, you can run-- it doesn't matter if you don't have a lot of money, or if you can't get a ride to the field, or if you don't have a team to play with.  Girls on the Run organizes programs all around the U.S. and Canada, so check out their listings and see if it's something you'd like to get involved in-- if you're too old to enroll, you might be able to help out as a volunteer.  You could kickstart someone's lifetime of physical fitness and self-confidence.

    The presidential election is an American citizen’s big chance to participate in democracy.  Unfortunately, in our last presidential election, barely more than half of all registered voters actually made it to the polls.  There are a ton of causes near and dear to my heart, but the reality of life in America is that democratic process is supposed to be capable of judging the population’s opinion and guiding policies accordingly.  When nobody votes, it leaves our elected representative and officials without a public to answer to for their decisions.

 

A few years ago, John Williams ran across the nation.  In the process, he decided that he could make a positive impact as a teacher.  He got a job at Granville Central High School in Stem, North Carolina teaching Civics and coaching school the track team.  He and his mentor teacher, Ms. Hineline, realized that with their enthusiastic students, John’s experience running cross-country, they were equipped to do something amazing.

Run To Vote took place between June 14 and August 9 this summer, and it involved Mr. Williams and a group of 5 students traveling through the 48 continental states in a non-partisan voting drive, running a quarter mile for everyone they met who pledged to vote in November.  “People couldn’t really believe that we weren’t just working for one candidate”, said Stephanie, one of the student runners.  The goal wasn’t to sway people’s minds in one way or another, it was simply to encourage participation.

 

 

“Just because you’re not old enough to vote doesn’t mean that you still can’t have a say” Stephanie told me.  One of the other students created a poster listing the candidates’ positions on a number of issues.  Stephanie’s right—the idea of popular democracy is that when you get enough people together and inform them well, they will arrive at an intelligent decision.  As a kid, you might not be able to vote, but you can encourage your family and neighbors to get out on polling day.  The team of 5 students registered over 400 new voters during their trip, and received signatures from over 6000 registered voters pledging to exercise their voting rights.

Though they were sometimes met with disbelief, the group was warmly received by extended families, friends of friends, and people that Mr. Williams met on his first cross-country run, receiving meals and lodging.  They only had to pay for a hotel once.  Go check out the Run To Vote website and get inspired!  You don’t have to be 18 to make a difference.