Giving Back

In my never ending quest for self awareness/fulfillment, I have decided to do some volunteer work. I feel that with all we are spending on IVF, and all the effort and focus being on us and creating a family, I should take a look at others in need and realize we are not so bad off. I’ve been looking to volunteer or join an organization for years now, ever since I graduated college. I have done the occasional volunteering through work, but had yet to find something that I was passionate about. If I did find something that interested me, it always got sidetracked by working long hours, wedding planning, moving homes, going back to school, training for triathlons, doing IVF…well, basically life.

A few months ago I was running a race along the lake front. Getting up at the crack of dawn to exercise brings out some fairly interesting people. As I was running I passed a group of teenagers. A group of teenagers at 8 in the morning just hanging out? I ran past a couple of the girls and my heart sank. Sitting on this bench was one girl who was very much overweight, and probably hadn’t slept all night. She wore all black with multiple piercings. Her “boyfriend” was straddling her lap, legs wrapped around her. I couldn’t take my eyes off her because I saw such a look of pain and bewilderment in her eyes. She looked absolutely miserable. I wanted to run over and tell that boy to get his skinny butt off of her, and take her aside and wipe away all the make-up and take out the piercings. I wanted to tell her she’s worth so much more in life, that she IS good enough. But I didn’t do any of that. I kept running my race and made a mental note that somehow I wanted to help that girl. Or girls like her. I think it was a sign that I was running when I saw this girl.

Shortly thereafter, I heard about an organization called Girls on the Run. Go here, if you’d like to learn a little about their mission. Basically, they work with pre-teen girls from lower income backgrounds and work to boost their self-esteem by training them for a 5K race. They have a special race for the girls called WonderGirl 5K. It sounded like the perfect fit for me. I love to run, I love working with kids, and after going to an all girl’s high school truly believe in the power of raising a girl’s self-esteem and self-confidence can and will make a huge difference in her life.

A few weeks ago I decided to contact them and see how and where I could help out. I’d eventually like to be a part of their organization on a greater scale, but realize I need to start slow. I need to learn the ins and outs of the organization. Eventually I’d like to become a coach, but that doesn’t work with my schedule right now. In November I will be volunteering for this first race (November 15th), and I can’t wait. I’m also helping out leading up to it with the goodie bags, and getting ready for the race. This is the first time in a long time that I feel I can truly give back and I will be keeping that girl in my mind the whole time.