Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Girls On the Run of the Flint Hills on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 235
Candice McIntosh and Melissa Colby share their mission at Girls on the Run of the Flint Hills, bringing joy and confidence to girls in third through eighth grade across a ten-county region. The program combines physical activity with lessons on confidence, friendship, and community engagement.
• New "Hello Bold Heart" curriculum focuses on helping girls find and use their voices
• Program teaches girls to be good teammates and friends while building individual confidence
• Expanding to new counties with Clay Center joining this season
• Volunteer coaches don't need running experience—just a desire to empower girls
• Male coaches especially welcome as positive role models
• Annual fundraiser "Sneaker Soiree" becoming a luncheon on October 16th at Manhattan Country Club
• Looking for event sponsors and auction item donations
Visit gotrflinthills.org to register a girl, become a coach, or learn more about supporting the organization. Tickets for the Sneaker Soiree Luncheon go live September 1st and typically sell out quickly.
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour as heard on NewsRadio KMAN, and we are back with the GMCF Community Hour here on NewsRadio KMAN. We get to do this every Monday morning in the 10 o'clock hour and we get to talk with a lot of the nonprofits in the community. The word is community. You didn't realize. I added an extra vowel to it, or an additional syllable. Today we get to learn more about girls on the run of the flood hills. We got the Executive Director, candice McIntosh, returning. Hello, welcome back.
Speaker 2:Hello, hello, hello. Thank you for having us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and Melissa Colby is the program coordinator. Good morning. You guys are just like the fun interview of the month. Oh, we like that, yeah, you bring so much joy and happiness because you've got a great program that you do. Thank, you. Give us a 30-second elevator speech on girls on the run of the Flint Hills.
Speaker 2:Well, that's our motto is to bring joy, confidence and happiness and health to girls across the Flint Hills. That's our motto is to bring joy, confidence and happiness and health to girls across the Flint Hills. That's our mission and that's what we want to bring, especially moving into the fall with all the kiddos coming back, and so that's what we're kicking off to do. And so our program is an after-school program that serves girls in third through eighth grade.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, you've got all kinds of new stuff. You have a new curriculum, melissa.
Speaker 3:We do. We are so excited about it. We actually started several seasons ago with our new suite of curriculum, and the theme of this new suite is confidence, and so each new curriculum. There's three specific curriculums within this suite, and so we're very excited to use, for the first time this fall, the curriculum appropriately titled Hello Bold Heart, and so that one is filled with themes and activities and lessons designed to help girls really realize the power for them to find their voice, to use their voice, to have the confidence to share what's on their hearts and in their minds, and then also to support their friends in speaking up and using their voice as well.
Speaker 1:So, like I said, we're very excited about that, and when you talk about friends, you know you have a team concept.
Speaker 3:That's absolutely right. So we focus on the individual girl, building her confidence as well as her realizing that she is a part of a team, building her confidence as well as her realizing that she is a part of a team. And so how to be a good teammate, how to choose good friends, the qualities and the characteristics you want to look for in a friend, how to be a good friend, and then, even on the bigger picture, what it means to be a part of your community and how to give back to your community and support your community. So, like I said, we really focus on the whole picture the individual, the team and the community component.
Speaker 1:Can't as hell as a gal or a family get a team started.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely so. We have teams starting up right now all over the Flint Hills area and so if someone's interested in starting a new team, melissa's your gal, so she'll get you, get you rolling. So just reaching out to her is really going to be the way to get those those wheels turning and making sure that you're able to do that. And then also, if you're want to get your daughter or girl involved, you are able to get that started as well through our website and kind of seeing where our locations are. We have a great little tool on there that you're able to see the current locations and as they're coming in, and that's the thing it's changing. I feel like every single day we're adding new sites, new locations, as the fall is transpiring right now.
Speaker 1:And I think a lot of people don't realize this. You're more than just Manhattan.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. We have a 10-county region, which that's crazy, and so it's really exciting. So we serve 10 counties all across and we have new counties starting this season. We're adding Clay Center is jumping on board this season. They're going to have a new team. That is one of our new locations this season and so we're pumped to get them rolling. But we have girls all across the Flint Hills region that we are that are gearing up, lacing up those shoes and getting ready to run.
Speaker 1:Well, let's say, let's talk a little bit about coaches.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:That's a key function, that is truly the heart of our organization.
Speaker 3:If we didn't have our amazing volunteer coaches, we absolutely could not do what we do. So we are actively recruiting and registering volunteer coaches right now, and everyone always asks well, what's it take to be a coach? It simply takes a desire to want to inspire a girl, to make her feel empowered. No, you do not have to be a runner to be a coach. The best coaching teams are made up from coaches um of all walks of life. So, whether you're a teacher, a staff member at a school, whether you're a parent, a mom or a dad, um somebody just in the community, or even a college student, if you simply have that desire to want to empower, inspire a girl, like Candice said, check out our website. It has everything that you need to get started, to submit your application to become a coach. And again, no, you do not have to be a runner.
Speaker 1:So, dave, you ready to sign up? I don't think I'd be well accepted.
Speaker 2:You absolutely would. You have no idea the reception that the girls give to one our male coaches.
Speaker 1:Really now.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. A positive male role model is so important.
Speaker 1:It is Absolutely I will never, never suggest that it is not but gotrflinthillsorg, by the way, is the website. So you have had what I think is one of the most interesting events the Sneaker Soiree.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And I'm always working, it seems like, and so I've never been able to attend, but I've seen plenty of pictures. But in 20, this is 2025, right, in 2025, this Sneaker Soiree is taking a little bit of a turn.
Speaker 2:Yes, we've had to adapt and change to the growth of our organization and to the busyness of staff and all the things busyness of our community. So spring was where we traditionally held it and we made a pivot and moved to fall. Our spring is crazy busy and so we had a little bit more time in our schedule to move it to fall and also just has a great little area to fit it into. And we also are moving it to a luncheon and so from an evening event to a luncheon event, which is really exciting and, don't worry, you still get to wear your sneakers.
Speaker 1:And so that's the awesome thing. In the past it's been kind of like a dress up, where you wear something like a formal gown and you put on your your Adidas or Nike's or Skechers or whatever, yeah and yeah, and you have comfy shoes to party onto. But are you still? Is it still a dress up type thing?
Speaker 2:No, you can come straight from work, right on over and throw on your sneakers and or wear them to work. A great excuse to. You know, tell your boss, hey, I want to wear my sneaks to work, so, um, but yeah, there's um, it's going to be great. It's going to be a great opportunity for community collaboration, really an opportunity also to reflect on the eight-year-old self. And so what are those opportunities? Who were the people that inspired you when you were eight years old? Who do you want to inspire for the eight-year-olds that are out there right now Eight, nine, 10-year-olds and so that's a really great event that we're going to be able to have some speakers at. We'll have a silent live auction opportunity and then just really awesome opportunity for collaboration and to, of course, raise some money for the girls that we have in our community that are really needed funds.
Speaker 1:Tell us the details about the Sneaker Sore Luncheon.
Speaker 2:So it's going to be held at the Country Club Manhattan Country Club on October 16th. It's a Thursday afternoon and so come on, our tickets go live on September 1st and so we'll have those all ready to go and get your tickets, because they will sell out. We've been a sellout crowd for the past three years, so make sure that you jump on, get them then. Out crowd for the past three years, so make sure that you jump on, get them then and we will have family style dining as far as the luncheon and everything, some different ways of that, and so it'll just be a really great way to connect with our community.
Speaker 1:All right. So how can people in the community, businesses, individuals, other organizations help you guys out?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can. Right now we're looking for sponsors for that event. We also are looking for some auction items. So if you're like, oh, I have a really great auction item that definitely connects with what Girls on the Run is about, reach out to me. You can connect to us on our website at gotrflinthillsorg and my email's on there as well. So those are just some really great ways right away that we definitely need your help.
Speaker 1:Well, it's always a delight to have both of you and Melissa. Thanks for coming in and joining us again.
Speaker 3:Thank you, Dave, for having me.
Speaker 1:You guys bring joy in the studio. I mean, I got Felix over here, you know, and he does a lot of nice things for me, but he doesn't bring the joy.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm glad, nice things for me. But he doesn't bring the joy. Well, I'm glad this is nice and refreshing. Thank you, Thank you. We hope to we have the best jobs ever. We say we get to spend time with sunshine and girls. We're sunshine and rainbows. That's what we get to say in Girls on the Run. How cute is that. How cute is that Absolutely Well, good luck with the Sneaker Sore Luncheon.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 2:October 16th.
Speaker 1:The website again gotrflinthillsorg Girls on the run of the Flint Hills, candice McIntosh and Melissa Colby joining us here in the GMCF Community Hour. Have fun or continue to have fun, we sure will Every day. Bird's going to be back in the studio in just a couple moments and we'll talk a little bit about some things that are coming up.