Hark-ALS/Girls on the Run of Central NJ

Hark-ALS, https://hark-als.org, was formed in memory of Charlie "Hark" Dourney after he lost his battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) in 2009. Hark provides financial support to ALS patients and their families across the country.

Hark-ALS also serves as the affiliate non-profit organization for Girls on the Run of Central New Jersey (GOTRCNJ),founded in 2001. GOTRCNJ provides Girls on the Run (GOTR) programs to over 2,000 girls in 3rd to 8th grade in Camden, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Somerset counties in NJ.

GOTR teaches girls to develop self-respect, a healthy lifestyle and a connectedness to others and community while creatively integrating running. The evidence-based curriculum has been proven to develop positive habits in critical thinking, problem solving and emotional control. Girls on the Run was recently included in a guide of Top Research-Based Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs by a Harvard University/Wallace Foundation study and recognized as one of the National Afterschool Association's 2017 Most Influential in Wellness and Health afterschool program.

GOTR has 2 seasons, spring (April to June) and fall (September to November). Volunteer coaches lead the girls through a 20-lesson curriculum that teaches life skills through group processing, running games, and fun workouts. Each lesson incorporates at least 45 to 60 minutes of physical activity. Over the course 10 weeks, coaches and participants meet after school 2 times per week for 75 minutes. At the end of the program, participants are physically and emotionally prepared to complete one of our 3 celebratory 5K race events in either June or November. This non-competitive, culminating experience hosted by GOTRCNJ gives the girls a strong sense of their inner strength and a framework for setting and achieving goals throughout their lives.