A foster dad with children at West Indianola recently shared how Girls on the Run has impacted the lives of girls at a crucial age:

” We have foster children and we have now had 3 different girls who have gotten involved with Girls on the Run through West Indianola Grade School.  The program is amazing for us because it gives youth in the foster system an opportunity outside of a classroom to develop friendships and to develop bonds with the teachers within the school.  With our first group of girls, this bonding helped one of the girls immensely by providing her with an outlet where she could openly share her experiences in a setting surrounded by kind people where it wasn’t her teacher or any of the endless therapy psychologists that she had experienced in her young life.

As we have always felt, it takes a village to raise a child, and this child has a complete new focus on life because of the opportunities she has been given through Girls on the Run, and has allowed her to grow from what was a sedentary lifestyle into one that she now controls. ”

– Dennis R., foster dad at West Indianola

Learn more about how Girls on the Run inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident.