WS Chronicle

In above photo: Girls on the Run logo

Novant Health sponsors organization that teaches life skills to young girls

Special to The Chronicle

Girls on the Run (GOTR) Forsyth and GOTR Triad have announced the two councils will merge beginning with the fall 2015 season.

The GOTR Triad council and the GOTR Forsyth council will become one unified council, Girls on the Run Triad.

The combined council, with a sponsorship from Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, will serve Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph and Rockingham counties.

GOTR is a transformational, physical activity-based, positive youth development program for girls in third to eighth grades.

The program is designed to develop and enhance girls’ competencies to successfully navigate life experiences. GOTR’s mission is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using an experience-based curriculum that creatively incorporates running.

Girls learn to stretch themselves physically, mentally, socially and emotionally.

During the process girls are inspired to a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living!

Established in 2002, GOTR Forsyth has been an affiliate council of Girls on the Run International and is operated by Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center.

NHFMC will continue to serve the girls of Forsyth County as a sponsor for GOTR Triad.

GOTR in Davie County has been instrumental in opening the door for new programs like KidSmart, a fun, interactive program that teaches children the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices and empowers them to be proactive about their health.

In the past two years, Novant Health has piloted and expanded KidSmart in several schools in Davie County and is looking forward to further expanding the program.

Meeting twice a week in groups of eight to 20 girls, GOTR teaches life skills through fun, interactive lessons and running games.

The 24-lesson curriculum is taught by certified GOTR coaches and has three parts: understanding ourselves, valuing relationships and teamwork, and understanding how we connect with and shape the world at large.

The program culminates with the girls being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5K running event.

Girls on the Run International was founded in 1996 by Molly Barker in Charlotte, North Carolina, and now serves more than 60,000 girls each year.

Girls on the Run Triad is one of 240+ Girls on the Run councils nationwide that use running to teach the lessons about life skills, including how to make healthy decisions and resolve conflicts.

For more information on GOTR Triad or to set up a new GOTR site, contact Executive Director Tracy Miles at tracy.miles@girlsontherun.org or visit GOTR Triad at www.gotrtriad.org.

Novant Health is a four-state integratednetwork of physician clinics, outpatient centers and hospitals that delivers a seamless and convenient healthcare experience to our communities.

Novant Health consists of more than 1,200 physicians and 25,000 employees who make healthcare remarkable at nearly 500 locations, including 14 medical centers and hundreds of outpatient facilities and physician clinics.

Headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C., Novant Health is committed to making healthcare remarkable for patients and communities, serving more than four million patients annually.

In 2014, Novant Health provided more than $639 million in community benefit including charity care and services. Novant Health is ranked as one of the nation’s top 20 integrated delivery networks by IMS Health.

For more information about the wellness programs and KidSmart, contact Tamara Smith at tsmith2@novanthealth.org or visit Novant Health at http://www.novanthealth.org. You can also follow Novant Health on Twitter and Facebook.