In response to these staggering numbers, GoGirlGo! launched a three-year campaign in Chicago last February, with the goal of getting 100,000 girls ages 8-18 active. According to Bushey, they’ve reached 19,000 girls so far.

Perhaps the most far-reaching component of GoGirlGo! is its $2.6 million grant program. Representatives from afterschool programs, sports groups, park districts and other organizations are able to apply for girl-friendly programs on their own turf.

This year, the Ridgeville Park District in suburban Evanston, Illinois received a $7,500 grant. It had previously lacked any girls-only activity programs.

“Now, we have programs where girls meet once a week for basketball, volleyball or yoga,” says program director Alison Witt-Janssen. “We are getting girls involved in athletics and giving them a taste of what’s out there.”

The park district has also implemented curriculum from GoGirlGo!, which features age-appropriate lessons from athletes to help with the real-life issues that girls face.

“The girls love it,” says Witt-Janssen. “We really believe in the value of this program.”

Besides starting new programs with community groups, GoGirlGo! also seeks to introduce girls to the world of professional and collegiate female athletes. By partnering with DePaul University in Chicago, hundreds of girls have been able to attend discounted sporting events and participate in clinics with female athletes. For some young girls, this is the first time they’ve seen women compete.

“We are trying to expose girls who have never been to a game like this,” says Karen Loiacono, the director of sports marketing and licensing at the university.
“We hope the kids get excited about what they see and maybe aspire to be like them.”

Organizations that are in the GoGirlGo! network—about 316 in Chicago so far—are able to tap into resources like DePaul University’s programs to help encourage activity.