Girls on the Run NJ North Receives $7000 from Rite Aid Healthy Futures

June 2024 – Girls on the Run New Jersey North has received a $7,000 grant from Rite Aid Healthy Futures designed to combat health disparities, advance fitness and friendships among adolescent girls, and to support our ongoing commitment Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access initiatives at their council.

Girls on the Run NJ North’s 456 participants were joined by their running buddies and recently completed their celebratory spring 5K. This end-of-season event is well known for its powerful positivity and celebratory atmosphere. Rite Aid Healthy Futures will support Girls on the Run teams in Passaic County. Three Clifton Public Schools provided Girls on the Run programming to over 40 girls this spring.

Girls on the Run (GOTR) is a leader in positive youth development, and its experience-based curriculum creatively integrates running to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident. The organization currently operates 165 local councils across the United States and Canada, serving over 170,000 girls annually.

The latest funding marks the fourth year of partnership between GOTR and Rite Aid Healthy Futures, the public charity affiliated with Rite Aid that seeks to advance equity and opportunity for children and youth. The grant supports the two organizations’ shared commitment to strengthening and empowering local communities.

Executive Director, Maureen Dykstra said, “Enabling girls to connect with each other and learn at a young age about the benefits of exercise lays the foundation for a lifetime of healthy living. The empowerment and goal setting component of the program emboldens the girls to have the confidence to achieve their full potential.”
“As a Rite Aid Healthy Futures Grant recipient, we are committed to expanding our reach to girls who typically wouldn’t have access to our inspiring program. We are grateful to Rite Aid for their dedication to our mission.”

The grants are funded through Rite Aid’s KidCents round up program. Generous Rite Aid customers can donate online or in-store to support children’s health and wellness. Healthy Futures reinvests the funds into Rite Aid communities through grants benefiting organizations such as Girls on the Run.

“We remain inspired by the commitment of Girls on the Run to create a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams,” said Matt
DeCamara, executive director of Rite Aid Healthy Futures. “Our partnership will ensure that more girls have access to their innovative programming that addresses health disparities and racial inequities in communities, ensure girls can reach their full potential and futures.”
If you would like additional information about Girls on the Run NJ North, please email them at info@gotrnjn.org or visit www.gotrnjn.org to learn more.