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.”