Streams Girls on the Run Finishes Season with Celebratory 5K

Twenty-three girls participated in the program, which met from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays throughout the spring.

Girls on the Run, designed for students in grades 3-5, encourages girls of all abilities to build confidence and develop important life skills. Volunteer coaches led lessons that combined physical activity with topics such as managing emotions, building healthy friendships and practicing empathy. At the end of the season, participants completed a community impact project and ran a 5K together.

Parent volunteer Katie Stouden served as head coach. Assistant coaches included Streams teachers Carolyn Fortson and Rebecca Smith, along with parent volunteers Tim Stouden, Jeremy Clark, Theresa Smyczek, Neal Newmark and Juli Porter.

“The lessons were centered around identity – self-care, self-awareness and knowing self – connectedness, including selecting healthy relationships and keeping them healthy, and empowerment through celebrating and sharing our strengths,” Mrs. Fortson said. “While training for a 5K by running laps around the school, girls reflected on these themes through activities such as writing the qualities of a good friend on a poster board each lap, or acting out scenarios where they could make healthy choices.”

As part of this year’s community impact project, participants created blessing bags for people experiencing homelessness and donated them to Harvest Street Mission.

Girls on the Run helps girls develop social, emotional and physical skills while promoting healthy habits for life.

“Programs like this are so important because they empower girls and build their confidence in all aspects of their well-being,” Mrs. Fortson said. “We hope the girls learned to be confident in who they are and what they can do. We hope they built lasting friendships and life-long social, emotional and physical skills.”

Girls on the Run is a program of UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.