The 1977 theme song for a film about Mohammed Ali, “The Greatest Love of All,” was written and composed by Michael Masser, with lyrics by Linda Creed, and sung by George Benson. The beginning lyrics lay the perfect introduction to this week’s Frankly Speaking radio show discussion, Were it Not for Those Who Care.

“I believe that children are our future
    Teach them well and let them lead the way
        Show them all the beauty they possess inside
                                                                     Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
                                                                         Let the children’s laughter remind us of how we used to be.”

This is the ideal life we would like all of our children to experience,

However, The World Health Organization reports that an estimated 1 Billion children between the ages of 2-17 in the world have experienced physical, mental, and sexual abuse in the last year.

What time is it on the clock for our children’s safety, achievement, and happiness? How can we reach, teach, and love those children who are left out, left behind, and leftover that what happens to them is different than who they were created to be? How can we help them discover and walk in their worthiness?

This week, we learned about a national non-profit^[1] organization, that is doing just that. Girls on the Run (GOTR) designs programming that strengthens third to eighth-grade girls’ social, emotional, physical, and behavioral skills to navigate life experiences successfully. The program’s intentional curriculum places an emphasis on developing competence, confidence, connection, character, caring, and contribution in young girls through lessons that incorporate running and other physical activities. The life skills curriculum is delivered by caring and competent coaches who are trained to teach lessons as intended.

Ashleigh Conrad, GOTR Northern Virginia Program Engagement Manager, gets us excited about the secret sauce of the girls, their coaches, the annual 5K, and the proven positive impact that is changing life’s clock on the happiness of the girls in the program.

Take a listen, be inspired, share, and subscribe.

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_on_the_Run.