HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — In our series, Positively Tampa Bay, we tell the stories of the people who make our community better and things in our community that we can all be proud of.
That's why we're highlighting Girls on the Run, a nonprofit that aims to inspire young girls across the Tampa Bay region. This weekend, they're holding an end-of-year 5k and fundraiser.
ABC Action News reporter Keely McCormick coaches one of the teams in Tampa, and she gave us an inside look at what the girls learn at practice. The program focuses on confidence and empowering these young girls.
“We use running as a platform to introduce life-long lessons to our girls about self-esteem and confidence and teaching them to be really proud of who they are in their own skin," program manager Lindsey Becker said.
The program pairs running with a curriculum to teach the girls about confidence and inspire them to grow into strong young women.
Lilah Klonowski is in fourth grade, and she spoke about what she learned this season.
“The 'I can power' is to say, 'I can' even if stuff is very hard, and you can be confident no matter what,” Klonowski said.
This season, the phrase across all teams was, 'I can move mountains,' and that is exactly what this team did every day at practice. As the girls learned about themselves and excelled at running, they also grew closer as a team.
“I get to meet different people, like different new girls, and I get to make new friends," Camille Vences said.
Their hard work will be on full display Saturday at the 5k and fundraiser. If you are interested in signing your daughter up for Girls on the Run, click here.
Program managers need more volunteers to expand to more schools in the Tampa Bay region. If you are interested in becoming a coach, click here.
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