MINI MERMAID RUNNING CLUB
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : h***i@m********************b.o*g
Mission Statement
Mini Mermaid Running Club (MMRC) stands for self-worth, value and equity. We are changing the lives of girls, women, boys, and men by shifting their internal experience and the way they interact with the world around them. MMRC participants train for a local 5K race through a structured program that meets bi-weekly for six weeks. Our core values are Movement, Mentorship, Respect and Change.
About This Cause
Mini Mermaid Running Club (est. 2009) and Young Tritons Running Club (MMRC collectively), is a six-week discovery of movement and exposure to sport when children need it most. Throughout 12 sessions each 1.5 hours long, adult volunteer coaches lead groups of no more than ten children per club through fitness, nutrition and self-development. Small groups lead to open discussion, focused workouts and encouragement for each child to find their happy pace. Mini Mermaid Running Club’s mission is to teach every girl to lead a healthy life by listening to her inner voice, valuing her uniqueness, learning to love movement and discovering the finish line is just the beginning. Young Tritons Running Club inspires every boy to become emotionally and physically balanced through self-compassion, empathy, cooperation, a broadened definition of strength and discovering the finish line is just the beginning. While training for a local 5k foot race over six weeks, boys and girls improve in physical fitness as measured in week 1 and then again in week 6. Children also increase their perceptions of being physically active, based off of pre and post surveys, the majority of participants increase their interest in “being outside and exercising”. California Department of Education (1) requires schools to show “students can demonstrate and utilize knowledge of psychological and sociological concepts, principles, and strategies that apply to the learning and performance of physical activity.” MMRC addresses these learning standards by providing team building, anti-bullying, fitness goal building and personal reflection leading to self-efficacy. Key components include teaching running skills include pacing, heart rate, endurance, running drills, pre and post workout stretching and race day goal setting. MMRC coaches are led through training sessions and with a detailed curriculum are given the tools necessary to foster a positive view of running, jogging or walking. With over 5100 children served since 2009, we have seen a decrease of more than 20% for girls in the needs improvement/at-risk zone when taking the 5th grade Physical Fitness test in schools where our programming has been on campus for longer than three years. This grant of $5000 would help us serve 50 of the girls and boys in our lowest income communities with free programming. Over 87% of our programming is for free to students living at or below the poverty line. With our unique One4One model, families in more affluent communities pay for their child and a child receiving the program at no cost. With funding from private donors, foundations and grants we can say yes to more children who might not be able to have access to sport thus lessening their chances of participation in middle school and beyond. We are changing the lives of children by shifting their internal experience and the way they interact with the world around them. All participants train for a local 5K foot race through a structured program that meets bi-weekly. We invite children to have open, authentic conversations about their thoughts and feelings, to discover self-compassion and empathy for others, find their unique strengths as well as identify goals and establish tangible steps to achieve those goals. We redefine strength by exploring heart, mind AND body strength, examining what we each can teach and learn, we show each child how they can articulate a personal strength and reach out to ask others for help. We break traditional barriers of movement by addressing each child where they are, encouraging them to find their happy pace as an important step to lifelong-balanced fitness. We strive to get every child across their 5k finish line and arm them with the physical and mental tools needed to run 3.1 miles. We distinguish ourselves through our curriculum with character driven stories helping children identify with an external character and their choices to see how they can shift their behavior. We stand for dignity for ourselves and others and believe providing a platform for children to find their unique voice and form of movement will foster a lifelong habit of self-care.