Girls on the Run Georgia — the physical-activity-based positive youth development program that inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident — announced today that it is the recipient of a $45,000 grant from the Heisman Trophy Youth Development Fund with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. The grant will fund 10 Girls on the Run teams based at schools in metro Atlanta during their fall season which begins this week.

Girls on the Run believes that every girl, regardless of her family’s financial status, should have access to its curriculum-based programs that creatively use running to reinforce critical life skills including managing emotions, intentional decision making and goal setting. To ensure access for individuals, program fees, which range from $0 to $225, are on a sliding scale based on household income and size. The organization also depends on grant funding to support full teams at schools with a high free or reduced lunch rate. The Heisman Trophy Youth Development Fund grant will provide full funding for 10 teams of approximately 15 girls each. Along with covering the program fees, the funding will also help provide participants on these teams with items that enable them to comfortably participate in the program including running shoes, sports bras, sports hijabs and healthy snacks.

"We are so grateful for this support from the Heisman Trophy Youth Development Fund with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. It means so much to the amazing girls who are a part of these 10 teams,” said Tanya Frazee, Development Director, Girls on the Run Georgia. “Receiving this grant is also a huge win for Girls on the Run as we receive more and more backing from organizations like the Heisman Trophy Trust that require grantees to provide not only access to physical activity but also to academic support. We applaud the Trust for recognizing the data that shows that social-emotional learning is academic support.” 

The Heisman Trophy Youth Development Fund was established to support organizations serving young people up to age 18. The goals of the Fund are to engage young people in academics; teach teamwork, sportspersonship, leadership and excellence with integrity; and make sports widely available to young people regardless of their athletic ability. This is the first year that the Heisman Trophy Trust has expanded its reach beyond New York City into Atlanta and Dallas.

The Girls on the Run fall season officially commenced this week with twice-a-week practices taking place at nearly 100 school- and community-based sites throughout greater Atlanta, Athens, North Georgia and Central Savannah River Area (CSRA). Fall season registration for teams that did not fill through the registration lottery will remain open through Wednesday, September 21. To learn more about Girls on the Run, to register for the fall season or donate, visit girlsontherunatlanta.org.