Northbrook Girls' Group Supports Empowerment and Community Involvement

A newly-launched group that encourages fitness and personal empowerment for girls through running recently ended its inaugural year with a successful community film screening and fundraiser. The Northbrook—District 27 chapter of “Girls on the Run,” a national organization, hosted a free screening on May 28 of The Empowerment Project, a documentary featuring inspiring women leaders from all walks of life. Through their fundraising efforts, the Girls on the Run members were also able to make a donation to the North Suburban YMCA, one of their groups’ original community supporters.

The Northbrook Girls on the Run group, based at Shabonee School in District 27, welcomes all Northbrook girls in grades 3-5. Through running games and dynamic, interactive lessons, the participants become physically and emotionally ready to complete a celebratory 5K run with other Chicago chapters at the end of the season. Between ten and fifteen girls regularly participated in the Northbrook program this year, coming together from a number of different schools and age groups for separate fall and spring seasons.

Although most of their training took place outdoors, the unpredictability of Chicago weather required an alternative site for inclement days. The North Suburban YMCA offered free gym space for the group’s activities on days when they were forced inside, allowing the girls to keep their training on track. It was a natural choice, then, for the girls to choose the NSYMCA as a beneficiary of their fundraising success at the end of the year.

“We had a number of generous sponsors who went above and beyond to enable us to present The Empowerment Project free of charge to the entire community,” noted Melissa Copeland, the Northbrook Girls on the Run volunteer leader. “We were able to raise twice as much as we needed to fund the film screening, so the girls chose to divide the remaining funds as gifts to the North Suburban Y and to the regional Girls on the Run – Chicago organization. We are very grateful to the Y for their support in getting our program up and running, and for providing space for us to practice when weather prohibited us from running outside.”

“Girls on the Run is off to an outstanding start in Northbrook,” noted Howard Schultz, President/CEO of the NSYMCA. “The program has great potential to inspire lifelong leadership, as well as healthy, active lifestyles. We were proud to support their training activities this year, and now we are thankful for their generous donation.”

For more information about Girls on the Run programs in the Chicago area, visit www.gotrchicago.com. To learn about the Northbrook Girls on the Run group, contact Melissa Copeland, melissarcopeland@gmail.com.

Photo Caption: The North Suburban YMCA received a generous donation from Girls on the Run – Northbrook District 27. Pictured from left: Molly Becker, GOTR volunteer leader Melissa Copeland, Nora Skiest, Avery Copeland, and NSYMCA President/CEO Howard Schultz.

About the North Suburban YMCA
The YMCA is a not-for-profit entity and relies on donations to make services available for all families and individuals in its 15-city region. All board members are volunteers, who donate their time, talents and financial resources. Located at 2705 Techny Road in Northbrook, the YMCA has served the northern suburbs of Chicago for over 45 years. The Y is about youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility, providing programs and services that address the needs of our diverse community and are accessible to all. For more information or to make a donation, contact Barb Flanagin at 847-272-7250 or bflanagin@nsymca.org, or visit www.nsymca.org.