San Pablo Schools Enjoying Girls on the Run!
Thanks to a Childhood Obesity Prevention Grant from the City of San Pablo, several schools are enjoying the benefits of our program in the Bay Area.
Our goal is to empower our San Pablo participants to become confident, healthy girls. Our program’s intentional curriculum places an emphasis on the development of competence, confidence, connection, character, caring, and contribution in young girls. By adolescence, girls begin to experience faster rates of decline in physical activity levels, lower levels of confidence and positive perception of their academic abilities, and higher rates of anxiety and depression as compared to their male peers.
As early as age 9, girls’ self-confidence begins to decline. From ages 10 to 13, at a time when peer relationships are becoming more central to girls’ lives, 50% of girls are experiencing bullying such as name calling and exclusion. Additionally, among girls, physical activity levels decline starting at age 10 and continue to decline throughout adolescence. This is even more acute in under-resourced communities.
We are grateful for this grant from the City of San Pablo so we can bring our positive youth empowerment program to life in the San Pablo community. We have seen the extraordinary positive impact this program has on youth, evolving from being shy and lacking confidence to being empowered with a greater sense of self-awareness, a sense of achievement and a foundation in team-building to help them become strong, healthy, confident girls!