ABOUT DANIELLE PLUNKETT:
Danielle Plunkett has spent over three decades in the education and non-profit fields, combining her passion for social justice with her skills in personal and community development. As Executive Director of Girls on the Run of Southeastern Michigan, she has helped grow the organization from a small start up to a thriving force for good in our community.
RESOURCES:
Girls on the Run of Southeastern Michigan (GOTRSEMI)
GOTRSEMI: Volunteer as a Coach
GOTRSEMI: Attend the Limitless Potential Breakfast
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and you may have noticed there are some life lessons that are universal. One of them is: You can't run away from your problems. I'm David Fair, and welcome to another edition of our weekly conversation series, Washtenaw United. There is an Ypsilanti-based non-profit that is helping young girls run through the difficulties that life often presents. It's called Girls on the Run Southeastern Michigan. It's been serving 3rd through 8th grade girls in Washtenaw, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe Counties since 2001. Now, you can find any number of reports that say our youngsters are struggling with mental health. Some even call it a crisis. This organization is inspiring girls to run toward a healthier, more confident and joyful life. Our guest today is Girls on the Run of Southeastern Michigan Executive Director Danielle Plunkett. And how are you doing, Danielle?
Danielle Plunkett: I'm well! Thanks so much for having me!
David Fair: Well, based on your 20 years of experience with the organization, how significant a problem is the health and emotional well-being of young girls in our area? Are you in that crisis camp?
Danielle Plunkett: Yeah. I mean, I don't think, professionally, I could diagnose that. But I will say that when I was inspired to come work for Girls on the Run, the issues girls were facing were different 20 years ago. And in some ways, I thought maybe I was going to work myself out of a job. But it turns out that there's just different challenges facing children of today. And so, our program has evolved to try to meet those challenges and support girls through this very challenging time.
David Fair: To get more specific in talking about that, I think the evidence is pretty undeniable that, through our societal messaging, we've created some systemic and emotional barriers to girls building confident and self-assured lives. How much has social media and advances in technology exacerbated that aspect of the problem?
Danielle Plunkett: Yeah. I mean, I think social media affects children tremendously. I personally have an 18-year-old, so I've had the opportunity to witness that firsthand. There are symptoms like anxiety and depression and other mental health disorders that have increased alarmingly over the last few years. They're reported that girls felt sad at least four days of the week. And so, that's significant. We want to give girls a place where they can feel safe, where they can build social connections, and where they get critical life skills tools that can help them manage all of these challenges.
David Fair: With anxiety and depression in mind, how does Girls on the Run incorporate parents and family members into being a part of the solution?
Danielle Plunkett: Yeah. I think Girls on the Run stands out from other programs in that way. We are an eight-week program. We meet twice a week. We send home what we call our "grown-ups guide to Girls on the Run". It highlights each of the lessons that we're going through with the girls for the caregivers to have conversations at home with them to kind of expand on whatever topics we're talking about at Girls on the Run, hopefully in the car on the way home or at the dinner table or maybe on their family walk that evening. It comes with its own 5K training guide. So, the hope is to get adults moving as well and moving with their children and to give them that tool to use for their mental health and for their physical health. And then, we invite everyone to come and support their children in our culminating 5K event. And so, one of the things that came as a surprise to me when I first started working with Girls on the Run is that culminating event that our children are working towards. It's a 5K, non-competitive. We have children coming from five different counties, but it's not just the children. It's their caregivers who come and participate with them. And so, for them, it's often their first 5K as well. And so, it's really inspiring and heart-filling to see the children at the finish line waiting for their caregiver to finish and cheering on their parents. And so, it really does ideally hopefully give skills not just to the girls in our program, but to the whole family.
David Fair: Washtenaw United and our conversation with Girls on the Run Southeastern Michigan Executive Director Danielle Plunkett continues on 89.1 WEMU. What about this idea of running and physical activity makes a difference in building confidence and esteem?
Danielle Plunkett: Yeah. Well, what we know, right, is the studies show that girls start participating significantly less in things like gym class and sports as they age. They also have less opportunity than boys do. So, Girls on the Run gives them a safe place to explore physical activity in a non-competitive environment where we're incorporating really critical life skills lessons and fun running games. So, we're not like a track program, where they're running around a track and they have to do so many laps. We really are just encouraging them to set their own goals, to go at their own pace, and making it fun for them. And we just know that setting this, for some people, feels like a really large goal--three miles. I've had parents over the year call me and say, "Can my third grader run three miles? Are they capable of that?"
David Fair: You'd be surprised! I think we're projecting as adults.
Danielle Plunkett: Yeah, you're probably right, because my response is almost always, "I think they run three miles while playing tag." They gain confidence through accomplishment because they're accomplishing this big goal. And they're doing it in front of their community. They're being cheered on. It's all about them. They're centered in the experience. Each participant wears a number one bib. Each participant gets a medal when they cross the finish line. We cheer just as hard for the first one as we do the final finisher. And I just think that can be a really powerful experience for girls.
David Fair: How vital is the aspect of conversation, social interaction, and relationship development with Girls on the Run for those who are participating?
Danielle Plunkett: You know, our life skills curriculum is a research-based, incredible curriculum. We just released a brand new, three-suite curriculum. We're launching our third portion of that curriculum this spring, "Hello Bold Heart," it's called. And that one's focused on using our voice, focusing on what's in your heart, and then using our voices and encouraging others to do the same. Unfortunately, in school, there are controversies about whether to include things like social-emotional learning. And so, we need spaces for this to be able to happen. And we're one of the only programs that do something like combine these lessons with physical activity, which tend to cement them more in our minds. And our lessons, they teach children to do things like really reflect on what are their values, what's important to them. You know, we don't tell them what their values should be. After that reflection, they explore what it means to be part of a team, how to make good friends, how to support one another, how to handle gossip or bullies. And then, the third part of our curriculum, they're really focusing outward on their community. And so, they design their own community impact project. Our coaches are really trained to make sure that that's role-led, so that they're able to identify what is important to them and how they feel like they can best make the impact. And so, it really is just helping girls understand that they have agency and power within themselves.
David Fair: We're talking with Danielle Plunkett on WEMU's Washtenaw United. She is with the organization Girls on the Run Southeastern Michigan. This is a volunteer-driven organization. Are you finding as many other nonprofits are that coming by volunteers these days is more difficult?
Danielle Plunkett: Yeah, tremendously! Our base for volunteers, we generally have upwards of 3 or 400 coaches who lead our program in our five counties. And that number, unfortunately, has shrunk significantly post-pandemic. And I get it. I think that caregivers are stretched thin and burned out. Our teachers are primarily our coaches. About 50% of our coaches are educators who stay after school to do this additional thing. I think that people are just spread really thin. And so, unfortunately, that limits the amount of children we're able to reach because we don't have enough volunteers. And so, we try to make it as turnkey and easy as possible on volunteers. We always make sure we remind people they don't need to be runners. Running is an activity we use, but a lot of our children walk their 5K event, and that's fine. It's supposed to be their own pace. But we also provide really fantastic training to help coaches grow their own personal and professional skills. We provide a lot of support. My team spends a lot of time on email, on the phone, on text messages, just supporting coaches, making sure that they feel confident leading the lessons. And then, we provide every single supply that they would need.
David Fair: You ask the girls in your program to run toward a better and more joyful life. How do you apply those lessons to running toward a future as an organization?
Danielle Plunkett: That's a great question! Yeah, actually, when I say this when I'm hiring staff or I'm onboarding board members, I always go through our organizational values. And I say there's so many companies out there that kind of have organizational values that are up on a wall somewhere, but they aren't necessarily internalized. And we use our organizational values every day in the decisions that we're making. You know, what is it that is going to be the most intentional and most effective way to reach the children that you want to reach and to impact them as significantly as we possibly can?
David Fair: Well, as you have mentioned, all of the work that is put in culminates in a 5K run. And when is the next?
Danielle Plunkett: Yeah. So, we are gearing up right now. We're accepting coach and site applications for our spring program. Registration for our spring program opens December 9th. Our season kicks off in March, and our 5K event for the spring is May 9th at Eastern Michigan University. That 5K has over 2,000 participants, over 2,000 spectators. It's a huge event! And so, anyone who's interested in it, if someone feels like they cannot commit currently to being a coach, we'd love them to consider coming out. It's a great volunteer opportunity for companies or groups to volunteer together because it's such an inspiring day. So, it's May 9th at Eastern Michigan University.
David Fair: And if you want to see a lot of smiling faces, that's the place to be!
Danielle Plunkett: It is!
David Fair: Well, thank you so much for the time and the conversation today, Danielle! I appreciate it!
Danielle Plunkett: Thanks so much for having me!
David Fair: Danielle Plunkett is executive director of the Ypsilanti-based nonprofit Girls on the Run Southeastern Michigan. For more information and to get linked up everywhere you might want to go, pay a visit to our website at WEMU.org. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way of Southeasterm Michiganm and you hear it every Monday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station 89-1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti.
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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