Schools
Minor Elementary Girls Get New Shoes
New Balance and Girls on the Run provide Minor Elementary girls with shoes in running program.
Two groups of girls were fitted for tennis shoes Wednesday by New Balance shoes. The groups of 15 will participate in the nationwide Girls on the Run program. Their ultimate goal is to run a 3.1 mile event in November.
Smiles as bright as the sun shined in Minor’s music room as the girls pulled their shoes on tight, laced them up, and admired the color and feel of them. They jumped, jogged in place, and tested out their new shoes.
“The girls are so excited to get their shoes,” said Lori Laws, a kindergarten teacher at Minor.
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The Girls on the Run program provides shoes and training at no cost to students in low-income communities. The subsidies allow for children to participate regardless their financial situation.
“A lot of these kids don’t have much,” said Laws. “So it is nice that the girls get shoes.”
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With their new shoes tied on tight, the two groups will meet twice a week for about two months to receive health and fitness lessons.
The Girls on the Run program not only trains young girls to run, but aims to guide them away from drug use, eating disorders, sexual activity, inactive lifestyles, depression, and low self-esteem.
“They teach us how to keep positive, and how to pace ourselves when running,” said fifth grader Neha Cherukuri.
Minor's teacher of the year, Shawna Voigt, has brought back the Girls on the Run program to the school after a successful year with one group of girls last year. There was such a demand to get into the program that two groups were made this year. Even with the expansion, the coaches had to turn away girls this year and hope for a third group next year.
“I love running,” said fifth grader Emeli Almendarez. “I love my teachers and coaches too. They are supportive and exciting.”
With girls of varying ages and grades participating, they may not always know each other in the beginning. But as they spend more time together many foster friendships in the classroom and around the track that last longer than the program.
“I made a lot of friends last year that I didn’t know before,” said Cherukuri.
The girls will have an opportunity to race against their friends when the program culminates with a 5K relay in Atlanta Sunday Nov. 13 at the AYSA Soccer Fields.
