Last month, our GoGirlGo! programs in Atlanta, Chicago and Seattle launched their first Get a Girl Going contests. This innovative and interactive grant program was designed to encourage organizations in the three communities to demonstrate their ability to deliver girls’ sports and physical activity programs. The contest invited organizations to submit online applications describing how they planned to have girls in their community live healthier, more active lifestyles. Ten finalists were selected to receive $1,000 and a mini cam that was used to document their program. The videos were then entered into an online competition where voters had the opportunity to select their favorite video. The program with the highest combined percentage of online and judges’ votes received a $10,000 grant from its respective GoGirlGo! community office. As part of a weekly series, we are highlighting three of the best videos from each community. We started with Atlanta last week, and this week, we showcase the best from Seattle.
Seattle Winner
Seattle Runner-Up
The Women’s Sports Foundation is a non-profit that advances the lives of women through sports and physical activity.
Once you have a girl involved with physical activity, it's important to maintain and develop her interests. As most of us know, pre-teens and teens can get easily bored and need some variation and incentive to stay engaged. Plus, it's important that girls develop a lifelong love of being active. Women who are active in sports and recreational activities as girls feel greater confidence in their physical and social selves than those who were sedentary as kids.
Much of our research indicates that lack of physical activity is directly related to increased pregnancy, delinquency, obesity, truancy and increased risk taking (use of drugs and alcohol) among girls. Research suggests that physical activity is an effective tool for reducing the symptoms of stress and depression among girls. Bottom line: sports help girls in all aspects of their lives. But what happens when a girl is resistant to getting active? Our new blog series provides you with crucial information and tips to get girls active and help guide them to a healthier, happier life.
Recent studies have shown that girls who grow up in stressful environments where violence, depression, or other disturbances are prevalent are more likely to become obese by five years old, as opposed to children who live in steady homes. Further, according to Medical Journal Pediatrics, preschool girls who are exposed to these unfortunate circumstances have an even higher risk of becoming obese.