Charlotte, Oct. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Girls on the Run International, a nonprofit that empowers younger ladies, introduced that Stanford University graduate and WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike will be part of its management staff. Ogwumike (pronounced Ah-gwoo-ma-kay) performs for the Los Angeles Sparks and serves as the president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. Now she’s going to mix her star energy from on and off the courtroom to serve Girls on the Run International as a member of the board of administrators beginning October 1, 2022.
“At 6 feet 2 inches, girls literally and figuratively look up to Nneka. She is a tremendous role model and embodies so many of the things we reinforce in our curriculum: leadership, teamwork, resilience and confidence,” stated Elizabeth Kunz, CEO of Girls on the Run International. “She has done so much for our organization over the years, and she brings both her head and heart to our mission. Now our board, our entire organization and the hundreds of thousands of girls we serve every year will benefit from her perspective and leadership.”
Ogwumike has already been generously supporting Girls on the Run (GOTR) for 3 years. In 2019, she cheered on individuals at end-of-season 5K occasions for the Girls on the Run councils in Charlotte, N.C., and Los Angeles. When the world was sidelined early in the pandemic, she created a GOTR at Home video throughout the spring 2020 season. In 2021, she helped garner a $50,000 donation from Pepsi for GOTR Los Angeles and in addition participated as a panelist at GOTR’s twenty fifth Birthday occasion which raised greater than $250,000.
“I’m incredibly honored to join the Girls on the Run board of directors. I do what I do today thanks to role models before me – role models who looked like me, and opened my mind and heart to the many possibilities to be phenomenal. I hope in my own way as an athlete and an advocate, I’m able to serve as a role model for young aspirers also looking to see, relate and ultimately be empowered to be great,” stated Ogwumike.
Ogwumike graduated from Stanford University in 2012 and was the first general choose in the WNBA draft that 12 months. She simply completed her tenth season as an influence ahead with the Los Angeles Sparks. In 2016, she led the Sparks to the WNBA championship and was named the 2016 WNBA Most Valuable Player. Ogwumike was elected president of the WNBA Players Association in 2016 and was re-elected to a brand new three-year time period in 2019. In 2021, the WNBA’s twenty fifth season, she was named to The W25 as one of the prime 25 gamers in league historical past.
Her success each on and off the courtroom make her a improbable staff and board member. Sports assist develop management expertise comparable to staff constructing, decision-making, communication and self-discipline, amongst others. According to analysis, 54% of ladies report elevated management expertise as one of the prime advantages of taking part in sports activities. For instance, one 2013 survey that studied 821 prime feminine executives discovered that 90% of them had performed sports activities at some degree whereas rising up. That proportion grew to 96% if the ladies have been now CEOs.
Girls on the Run helps ladies develop in confidence and turn out to be leaders similar to Nneka Ogwumike. Its packages have a confirmed affect with 97% of individuals saying they discovered crucial life expertise from the research-based curriculum. From elevated bodily exercise to character growth, GOTR ladies expertise life-changing constructive results.
Ogwumike added, “There is no box that is big enough to contain the potential of these girls. I wan them to realize remember that is what is going to get to where you want to go. Opening more doors for the next generations of active girls.”
About Girls on the Run
Girls on the Run International (GOTRI) designs programming that strengthens third- to eighthgrade ladies’ social, emotional, bodily, and behavioral expertise to efficiently navigate life experiences. Each 12 months, greater than 200,000 ladies ages eight to 13 take part in communities in the United States and Canada. More than 2 million ladies have participated in the program because it launched in 1996. The curriculum reaches ladies at a crucial stage, strengthening their confidence at a time when society begins to inform them they will’t. Underscoring the necessary connection between bodily and emotional well being, the program addresses the complete woman when she wants it the most. Results present GOTRI packages encourage and empower ladies to construct wholesome bodily and psychological habits that final lengthy past the program. According to a longitudinal examine performed by The University of Minnesota, 97% of Girls on the Run individuals stated they be taught crucial life expertise together with resolving battle, serving to others or making intentional choices; and 94% of dad and mom reported it was a priceless expertise for his or her woman. To be taught extra about this worldwide nonprofit, go to www.girlsontherun.org
- Nneka Ogwumike attends the Girls on the Run 2019 spring 5K celebration in Los Angeles.
- Nneka Ogwumike at 2019 spring Girls on the Run 5K celebration in Los Angeles.
