Girls on the Run Mid State PA and TFEC partnership in action
At Girls on the Run Mid State PA, confidence starts with a small step forward.
Sometimes it looks like a girl raising her hand for the first time. Sometimes it is crossing a finish line with her teammates cheering. Often it is something smaller. A girl learns how to name her feelings. She finds friends who support her. She realizes she belongs.
Over the past five years, The Foundation for Enhancing Communities (TFEC) has provided more than $135,000 in grant support to Girls on the Run Mid State PA. Those funds helped cover the gap between what families can pay and the true cost of serving each girl. Grant dollars, fueled by TFEC’s donors’ generous contributions, purchased sneakers and athletic wear for girls who needed them. The funds supported volunteer recruitment and training, allowing programs to expand into new schools. They helped sustain coaches, volunteers and participants who keep programs open in Title I schools and rural communities where access is limited. Together, those investments strengthened the organization’s capacity to serve more girls consistently and with care.
“Girls on the Run Mid State PA is an after-school program that builds confidence,” said Executive Director Gillian Byerly. “Confident girls become confident women who know how to advocate for themselves and pursue their dreams.”
Meeting Girls Where They Are
Girls on the Run Mid State PA serves girls in grades three through eight, a period when self-confidence often begins to drop, and social pressures increase.
The program blends physical activity with lessons that focus on healthy friendships, emotional awareness and goal setting. Running is simply a tool. Girls can run, walk, roll or move in their own way to success through the program.
“When I joined in 2014, the first grant I received in this role came from TFEC, and at that time we were serving two counties,” Byerly said. “The steady support of the Foundation helped us grow across Central Pennsylvania, reaching 1,465 girls in their region last year. That kind of commitment shapes futures for years to come.”
Behind Each Number is a Story
Starting her journey to complete a 5K with her teammates by her side was Winter. She is autistic, nonverbal, uses a wheelchair and has the heart of a champion. Her team rallied around her spirit, learning sign language to communicate with her and build lasting friendships. Through the Girls on the Run program, she surpassed all expectations and crossed the finish line, as her friends cheered her on.
Byerly and her team see stories like this each season. She recalls a homeschooled girl who struggled to stay with her group on the first day of camp because the new setting felt overwhelming. The next year, she joined every activity. By her third summer, she asked to help new girls who felt shy because she knew what it was like to stand on the edge of the group.
Jossy saw older students wearing tutus in preparation for their run and wanted to join in. She lives with club feet and is on the autism spectrum, but that didn’t stop her. Coaches created a safe place for her to move at her own pace, and her teammates encouraged her through multiple seasons until she crossed the finish line again and again, proving to herself what was possible.
“These changes happen in small ways,” Byerly said. “A girl who doubts herself learns she can finish something hard. A girl who stays quiet finds her voice.”
Some girls return years later. One former runner came back as a coach, started a new team at her school and later earned a national Remarkable Coach of the Year award. The confidence she found as a participant became leadership she now shares with other girls.
For Girls on the Run Mid State PA, success is not only measured in miles. It is measured in confidence, friendship and courage that stays with a girl long after the finish line.
Together, We Open Doors for Girls
Each season costs Girls on the Run over $300 per girl, yet families pay no more than $175 and half pay much less. Grants from TFEC help close that gap, providing gear, meals when needed and support that keeps programs open in schools and communities that might otherwise be left out.
A gift becomes a pair of shoes, a trained coach or a safe place after school. With each season, more girls step forward with confidence that lasts far beyond the finish line.
You can support programs like Girls on the Run by donating to the Fund for Women & Girls or by becoming a member of the Dream Team.
