Building Confidence and Resiliency in Young People through Mentorship
Mentors and coaches are crucial to building resilience and confidence in young people. That’s why the Coalition to Empower our Future (CEF) is proud to release a new video showcasing one of its member organizations, Girls on the Run International. The video features Girls on the Run International CEO Liz Kunz, coach Janira Reza, and coach and alum Breanna Sullivan, who reflect on their efforts to help girls build confidence and learn life skills through physical and fun activities.
Girls on the Run International is a nationwide nonprofit organization that designs programming to strengthen third- through eighth-grade girls’ social, emotional, physical and behavioral skills to help them successfully navigate life’s experiences.
In the video, Kunz stresses the importance of showing up for our young people and getting involved, particularly at a time when youth mental health is a major challenge in this country. Reza reflects on the importance of community in supporting our young people, and the inspirational efforts of the coaches who volunteer with Girls on the Run to help guide young girls as they navigate their world. Sullivan, who participated in Girls on the Run as a kid and has stayed involved in the organization, discusses the importance of building confidence in young girls to help them prepare to manage difficult situations in their future, and how the organization helps girls find their star power.
According to research conducted by CEF, 86 percent of parents nationwide reported that they rely on coaches or other after-school instructors to support their child’s mental health. Coaches such as Reza and Sullivan serve as essential resources for young people outside of the home, and parents rely on them to help figure out how to best support their children’s mental wellbeing. The coalition also recently released new ads featuring Girls on the Run, titled “Liz” and “Breanna.”
Watch
Video features interviews with Liz Kunz, chief executive officer of Girls on the Run; Janira Reza, Girls on the Run coach; and Breanna Sullivan, Girls on the Run coach and alum.
Transcript:
At Girls on the Run, we believe in the power and potential of every girl.
The mental health of youth today has really deteriorated.
Over half of teenage girls today report feeling persistently sad and hopeless.
The most meaningful thing that we can do to support youth with their mental health is to get involved, to show up, to be there, to show we care.
They need mentors. They need coaches. They need people volunteering who really have their best interests at heart.
We want every girl to feel like she belongs.
The community coaches help out a lot.
They are giving us their time, and they’re getting to know these girls.
The parents are able to help us by showing up for practices when we have our practice 5k and then running with them at the 5k as well.
One thing I love about the curriculum is it builds girls’ confidence.
We target their star power, and we build on that.
There are going to be days where those clouds come in, but you have everything you need inside of you to defeat those things.
There are many factors contributing to the rise of mental health challenges in our youth today.
Doing this work for two decades has shown me that youth mental health is complex.
Every girl is unique, and there isn’t one simple fix.
Girls on the Run is uplifting.
Girls on the Run is life-changing.
Girls on the Run is transformational.
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