NORWICH — The Girls on the Run team at Perry Brown Intermediate School have spent the past ten weeks preparing for a 5K, learning about community, character building, teamwork, and self esteem, while also working on a community impact project to benefit the Chenango SPCA.

Girls on the Run is a "physical, activity-based, positive youth development program that inspires third through eighth grade girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running."

This year's season was coached by The Place Teen Program Coordinator Julie Dealing, Perry Browne Music Teacher Karen Snitchler, and The Place Board Member Lois LoPresti.

Snitchler said they met twice a week for ten weeks, where the girls prepared for the upcoming 5K by running, walking, skipping, and cartwheeling around the Perry Browne campus. They also worked on journals that taught them social-emotional skills and helped to bolster self-esteem.

"We did friendship. We did small acts of kindness. We’re superstars, and that’s the whole kind of thing, so we talk about our inner star shining," said Snitchler. "We did positive talk, self talk, negative self talk, making sure they understand the difference and how we try to change that."

The girls also learned about what community means, explored options for a community impact project, and brainstormed what they could do to support their chosen organization.

"We had a day where we talked about like six different places within the community just to help them understand what community is, first of all. And then the next day they narrowed it down out of those six places to the SPCA. And then from there they came up with, okay, what are we going to do for this?" Dealing explained.

"They decided they wanted to make posters and make toys. So then the next time after that they actually went outside, picked up sticks. We at The Place had craft supplies and socks and water bottles and stuff that we brought," she continued. "So between the stuff that they were able to gather and then the stuff that me and Lois [LoPresti] were able to bring over from The Place, they made cat toys, they made rope toys for dogs, and they made the crunchy chew toys for dogs with the water bottles and socks."

They also made posters for the shelter to help encourage potential adopters.

Girls on the Run Participant Anna MacIntosh said they chose to support the SPCA because of all the good they do for stray animals in Chenango County.

"They help adopt stray cats or dogs that need help," she said. "If you find an animal on the street, you could take it in for a day or something to give it fresh food and fresh water, and then bring it to the SPCA so that they can take better care of it."

At an end of the season celebration on Wednesday, the Perry Browne Girls on the Run team presented Chenango SPCA Executive Director Patrick McLaughlin with a bag full of homemade dog and cat toys and a stack of adoption posters.

"People underestimate how important it is for animals to be happy. We spend a lot of time thinking about how important it is for them to be safe and healthy, obviously those are the foundation. But when it comes to getting an animal out of the shelter and into a home, a happy, well-adjusted, well-socialized animal is hugely important," said McLaughlin. "They’re sitting around in a shelter all day; it’s easy to get bored. So any new activity, any new object that they can play with, helps enrich them, helps their development psychologically, socially, and emotionally, which makes them that much more adoptable."

He said the posters in particular have been very effective in the past at getting more cats and dogs adopted from the shelter.

"People really, they often are motivated. 'Oh, cute little kids made these cute little posters, let’s take home a cute little animal.' It’s amazing how that pipeline works," said McLaughlin. "You would be surprised how posters like this can really help people make the decision to adopt an animal. So this is going to go a long way getting our cats and dogs into loving homes."

Also on Wednesday, Girls on the Run participants were presented with awards highlighting the positive qualities they brought to the season.

Kennedy Foulds was presented with the "Full of Life" award, Khloe Gates earned "Kind Spirit," Jolene “Jojo” Jordan was given the "Helping Hand" award, Olivia “Liv” Jordan was awarded for her "Shining Spirit," MacKenzie Lake's "Quiet Strength" was recognized, Clara Lindstand got the "Free Thinker" award, Adelaide “Addy” Locke got the "Jump Right In" award, Nora Locke earned the "Idea Maker" award, Anna MacIntosh was awarded for being an "Easygoing Pal," Alana Nolan received the "Comfortable Being Me" award, Shailee Oberg was recognized for "Outstanding Teamwork," Angelina Patagonia was awarded for being a "Thoughtful Contributor," Samantha “Sammi” Patagonia earned the "Determined Star" award, Branae Wallace got the "Energizer Bunny" award, Quinlan Wolford was awarded for "True Goodness," and Emmaleigh “Emmy” Zornow received the "Smiley Star" award.

The 2024 Girls on the Run season will close out this Sunday at Neahwa Park in Oneonta, where all the Girls on the Run teams from Central New York will come together for a 5K. Dealing said the event will include face painting and hair decoration stations for the girls to enjoy before the run, as well as music, merchandise tents, Zumba, food trucks, and more.

More information on Girls on the Run can be found at GirlsontheRun.com. For more information on The Place, visit ThePlaceNorwich.org or The Place Facebook page.