During the ice cream social, a banner was held up to alert people who was hosting the event.
By Mary O’KEEFE
Monte Vista Elementary School’s Girls on the Run program donated $400 to the Crescenta Commons last week, which will be just enough to cover the watering of the Commons for about a year.
“Girls on the Run is a non-profit that supports empowering girls,” said the organization’s mentor/teacher Kristin Pardo.
The girls work throughout the school year to run a 5K and along the way they learn various life lessons, including how to handle bullies, build self esteem and give back to the community.
On May 3, the girls held an ice cream social fundraiser after school.
“Parents donated the ice cream and all the proceeds go to the Commons,” Pardo said. On Sunday, the team ran a 5K.
The 18 members of the Monte Vista Girls on the Run joined about 10,000 other girls from across Los Angeles County in their 3.1-mile run. Their training included running 27 laps around the Monte Vista grass playground, which equaled 3.1 miles.
Pardo added that there are five schools throughout the Glendale Unified School District that have Girls on the Run programs.
The girls raised money for the Crescenta Commons last spring as well. In the fall, they raised funds for Puerto Rico to help with the recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria hit in 2017. Each year, the girls decide what organizations or services they want to donate to.
Girls on the Run began with 13 girls in 1996 in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2000, they became a 501(c)(3) non-profit and, by 2015, they were serving over 185,000 girls.
According to its website, the founding principle is, “We believe that every girl can embrace who she is, can define who she wants to be, can rise to any challenge, can change the world.”
“I learned that I am the boss of my brain,” was the way one girl described it, according to the Girls on the Run website.
The organization teaches life skills that include understanding themselves, valuing relationships and learning how to work together.
Pardo said that even though girls are more powerful today than they were 18 years ago when the organization began, there is still a lot of support that is needed for young girls and Girls on the Run gives its members the self esteem they need to reach any goal.
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