GOTR Bestows Ellen Award, Seeks Coaches
When Cara Scudner's young cousin asked her to help with the Girls on Track team she had joined at Sacred Heart in Lancaster in 2013, Scudner was prepared. Having taken 5:30 a.m. jaunts with Back on My Feet - a running program for members of the homeless community - during her last year of college, Scudner signed on as assistant coach.
Following the end of that season, Scudner contacted Jen West, Girls on the Run (GOTR) Lancaster program director, to ask where the program might use her as a coach. Since then, Scudner, who is a competitive adult figure skater with the Red Rose Figure Skating Club, has coached 17 seasons with GOTR, including stints at Fritz and Nitrauer elementary schools and even organizing a community team made up of girls from public, private, and homeschool situations in Leola during 2020. Scudner also set up a decorated 5K course for participants who lived near her home when GOTR's spring 2020 event was canceled.
In June of 2021, Scudner was presented with the Ellen Award, which is named for Ellen McCabe, who was West's stepmother. GOTR coaches can be nominated by fellow coaches, parents, and girls who make up the GOTR teams, among others. Scudner was nominated by parents and participants, with several lauding her positive outlook, caring attitude, availability to the girls, and passion to help them develop self-confidence.
Scudner sees coaching as an opportunity to give back while reaping satisfaction from the participants' accomplishments. "The most rewarding thing is seeing the girls gain confidence and seeing how much they change over the season," said Scudner, who added that everything about coaching is fun, but that the culminating 5K, which the girls run at the end of the season, is "magical." The winner of the Ellen Award receives a special bracelet and $500 to donate to the nonprofit of her choice. Scudner chose Patients R Waiting, an organization focused on eliminating health disparities by increasing diversity in medicine.
While Scudner organized a community GOTR team at a church near her home during COVID-19 restrictions, the organization is returning to meeting at many Lancaster schools for the fall season. The program will culminate on Saturday, Nov. 6, with a 5K at Millersville University, 40 Dilworth Road, Millersville, at 8:30 a.m. About 20 teams and as many as 400 participants are expected for the fall season, but West would like to see more girls be able to take part in the spring of 2022. To increase the number of participants, more volunteer coaches are needed. "Many of our coaches are teachers, and teachers are so incredibly overloaded right now," explained West, who is looking to family members of girls and community members to step up. "The girls need the social and emotional connection with friends now more than ever," said West, who hopes that by spring the program will be able to serve 1,000 girls countywide as in the past.
Readers who wish to learn more about GOTR Lancaster may visit http://www.gotrlancaster.org. Those who have questions about volunteering may email jwest@gotrlancaster.org.
Leave a Review