Join our LEADers impacting the next generation

Looking to get involved? Looking to impact young girls in your community across the state? Look no further than EmBe’s Girls On the Run (GOTR), an after school program hosted at many of our elementary and middle schools across South Dakota. This fall, I will be participating in my third season as a coach and can’t wait to get started. I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces from last year and welcoming any new faces to the group this year. I especially love working with the girls to find out what motivates them the most. One girl loved to calculate mathematically how many laps she could get in the time remaining, another loved to chit chat about her cats while we ran, and another would regularly race me (and leave me in the dust) as we came around to the start of each lap. Each girl has her individual light and it’s truly rewarding when it gets to shine.

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Photograph by Cory Ann Ellis

GOTR is a 10-week after school program that emphasizes social and emotional development in a physically active environment. Throughout the program the girls learn to stand up for themselves and each other, to look for positive qualities in themselves and others, and to set goals and strive to reach them along the way. The season culminates in a 5k, a major city-wide celebration where girls from all over the region get to run, walk, skip, dance, or hop across the finish line to cap off 10 weeks of hard work.

I’d like to include a shout out to Linda Duba, fellow LEADer, who is the GOTR coordinator for the entire state of South Dakota. She has been at the job for the past year and has worked tirelessly to recruit and train strong women to coach and be good influences on the girls. She’s also gone above and beyond to recruit and support girls from all backgrounds, especially those that might need a program like this the most. With enrollment high, GOTR is in need of strong, enthusiastic women to step up and coach. All levels of physical fitness are welcomed. And it is NOT too late to sign up.. Please consider donating a couple hours of your time and energy once a week for 10 weeks to help build up strong young women across our state. What better way to build the next generation of great LEADers?

For more information go to EmBe’s Coaching Opportunities page.

If this fall is not good timing for you, please consider the spring season, which starts mid-March.

ABOUT LEAD SOUTH DAKOTA

LEAD South Dakota is a registered 501c(4) nonprofit.  LEAD (Leaders Engaged And Determined) is a grassroots organization aimed at bringing awareness to issues facing South Dakota, the United States, and abroad. LEAD exists to foster a community of individuals who empower and encourage women to be actively involved in all stages of the political process in order to effect positive change for women and families in South Dakota.

LEAD is not affiliated with any political party or organization. We are welcoming and inclusive of all people, regardless of race, age, religion, ethnicity, national origin, color, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, or citizenship.