COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Nearly 200 third thru fifth graders in Branch County are exercising this spring in an activity designed to inspire self-respect and healthy lifestyles.
Since 2006, you’ve known about it as Girls On The Run and this year marks a decade for the program which envisions that every girl in the county feels confident to stride toward her full potential. Cate Haberl of Coldwater, the local spokesperson and an advisory board member for Girls On The Run of Branch County, told the Coldwater Early Bird Exchange Club how the founder of the international organization was inspired to get it all started 21 years ago in Charlotte, North Carolina.
According to Haberl, she began the program because the founder didn’t feel like she fit in as a young teen so she decided to take up running and realized it made her feel more powerful and she felt good about herself.
Haberl said as the club began ten years ago in Coldwater, there were 42 girls. When this year’s runners turned out last month, there were 188, the largest number ever compared to the previous high of 172. The girls now come from schools in Coldwater, including Pansophia Academy and St. Charles, as well as Quincy, Bronson, and Union City.
The 10-week program ends every year on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend with a public 5K and 10K race. Also involved in the event this year on May 27 are the Early Bird Exchange Club, the Branch County Coalition against Domestic Violence, and the Community Health Center of Branch County.
The yearly cost of Girls on the Run in the county has risen to $32,000. It is funded by organizations and individuals along with a number of grants and staffed by volunteers with one part time paid director. Haberl says the program could not exist without donations from the community.
