Early on the morning of Sunday, November 24th, only a few days away from Thanksgiving, a group of enthusiastic Rotarians arose and gathered at the Girls on the Run of Southeastern Michigan 5K Event.

For those who are unfamiliar, Girls on the Run (GOTR) is a nation-wide after-school program for girls in grades 3-8 that, over the course of 10 weeks, girls are taught and encouraged to recognize her inner strength and define their lives on her own terms. Throughout the season, the girls make new friends, build their confidence and celebrate all that makes them unique. At the end of the three month session, the girls participate in a Girls on the Run 5K Event, where they hop, skip, jump, walk, and yes, run, all the way to the finish line.

President Rosemarie Rowney, Don Deatrick, Agnes Reading, Katie Bauer, Arthur Williams, Barbara Eichmuller and Norma Sarkar proudly represented Rotary at this final GOTR 5K Event. Before the race, there was an indoor Celebration Expo with lots of fun games and activities for the girls, their families, and other community participants. Our Rotarians helped lead 6 different activities: Hula hoops, a photo shoot with fun frames, a plastic fruit toss, star power, a gratitude garden, and make a card for seniors at St. Joseph Village. It was a lot of fun and many, many girls participated along with their families. Then our group of volunteers went out to wish the runners (or walkers or skippers) well at the Starting Line. We were even accompanied by Representative Debbie Dingell, who came out to support the girls and address the crowd.

We certainly love helping youth in our community like this, especially when it’s this fun!