The Final Stretch- Written Reflection Three by Katie Strickland

Picture taken after all the girls ran the practice 5k

I have to say with the 5k coming up this Saturday and one more celebratory meeting on November 30th, I am pretty sad to see the end of Girls on the Run. The time with the girls these past few weeks really flew by and it has been such a blast to see how far the girls have come from the beginning. The last couple of weeks the girls really pushed themselves during our running portion in order to prepare for the 5k. One or two weeks ago the girls actually ran a practice 5k, which upon completing each girl got a Gatorade and their picture taking with a decorated sign. Although many of the girls hated the distance they had to run, you could tell by the glow of their smiles once they completed the practice 5k that they were proud of themselves for running so far! I know I was proud of them for being able to run over three miles!

The last time we were at Girls on the Run we hosted a bake sale to help raise money for the Lexington Humane Society. We set up tables full of baked goods on both sides of the parking lot so when the parents came to pick up their kids, they could also pick up some baked goods.What I really liked about the bake sale was that it was donation based. There was a minimum donation amount of thirty cents, but even so we were able to raise $231. The money will be used by the human society to help purchase animals supplies such as food, toys, and leashes for the animals. I think just having it strictly be donations was good because it allowed people who maybe don't have a lot of money still purchase baked goods and for those who wanted to give more were also able to. It's really amazing the things that can be done when the community comes together.


All the girls and the amount of money raised after the bake sale
 

After all the time spent at Girls on the Run I realized how good it feels to be appreciated. In the past when I volunteered at different organizations I would sometimes feel as if I was just in the way and not really contributing anything to the service, but this was not the case at GOTR. I can't even count how many times the teachers expressed to us how grateful they were for the time we spent with them and the girls. One of the teachers, Mrs. Marshall, even said how the girls always talked about us at school and how much they loved being with us. Hearing that is exactly what makes all the time spent volunteering worth it, just knowing that you're making an impact on these young girl's lives. I have loved every moment spent with the girls and am sad to have to finally say goodbye.