Good News on Good Friday!
Breaking News!
Dear Family,
Today, we are delighted to share good news. After meeting our goal of rallying 1 million Black women to walk, we are directing that power to serve the “1000 Blackest Neighborhoods in America.”
WE ARE CALLING ON YOU TO JOIN US in a massive return to the streets in 2022. We are not asking permission. We are daring to believe in our own worth, opening our front doors, walking out on faith, and finding the grit to make walking a personal discipline. But that’s not enough this year. 200 years after the birth of Harriet Tubman, we are bringing our closest friends along.
We heard you say, “let’s focus on walking again.” So we did. We built a new website focused only on walking. Roll call!!!!! Who’s walking? No private events, profiles or logins, just walking. We built practical tools to help you start a crew. Here’s a new field guide and training podcast (listen on Apple or Spotify). It’s everything you need to succeed as a crew leader.
WE’VE BUILT A POWERFUL SUPPORT TEAM to provide you, our volunteers, with care, training, and one-on-one coaching. So on behalf of our brilliant national team, I am deeply honored to introduce you to:
The cavalry is here!
After an open call in February and a rigorous application process, the following women said yes to a year of service. Their job is important! It is to help thousands of volunteers to successfully organize 10+ walks this year. And this year, we have “special impact coaches” to help you start crews in sororities, churches, HBCUs, your workplace, civic organizations or on the trails. If you need their support, email us at info@girltrek.org.
(Please note: there is still an urgent need in the regional service corps, read below for the opportunity with the full job description to apply to serve in 25 additional high-need locations)
You will recognize some of your friends in this first wave of service fellows.
Drum roll please…
Please help us to congratulate the 2022 Coaching Corps:
Thank you to everyone who applied to serve. All of you are talented and qualified.
To be responsible stewards of GirlTrek’s resources, we advanced women in strategic support locations to serve as coaches this year. Some cities had lots of talent and we can’t wait to see an overflow of neighborhood crews this year.
Coach Opportunity: GirlTrek’s National Coaching Fellowship is 50% staffed. We are looking for 25 additional coaches to serve in strategic support locations this year. This is a paid professional coaching fellowship for experienced GirlTrek organizers who live in one of these additional cities (see high-needs location list).
Job Description: This is a paid 7-month service fellowship designed for working professionals
Coaches serve 5 hours per week, mostly on Saturdays to lead:
“Training Treks” to model core values and traditions for brand new crew leaders.
“Trek Meet & Greets” in different neighborhoods each month for you to meet your neighbors and start crews.
"Give Back Laps” to make communities better and unite crews in service on the trail.
Coaches will also encourage, give presentations to, advice, support and walk with potential crew leaders in high-needs communities.
What is a crew?
A volunteer-led group of friends or neighbors who walk together.
You, plus one or two is a crew!
A crew walks together at least once a week to encourage each other to stay committed to the daily journey of living our healthiest, most fulfilled lives.
Crews put themselves on the map each Saturday by checking in on The National Roll call at GirlTrek.org. To inspire you to check in, Vanessa and I will issue a co-founder “walk and talk question of the week!”
The most successful crews sustain weekly walks for at least 10 Saturdays in a season.
There will be crews in every Black neighborhood in America by the end of this year.
If that is you, please take 10 minutes to apply here. We need your service. The deadline is next Friday, April 22nd. If you know someone who should apply, please copy this opportunity and share it with her.
On behalf of the entire GirlTrek team, thank you for your service and love all these years.
You held strong during a global pandemic! We can not imagine a more faithful and dedicated corps of organizers.
Vanessa and I were honored to serve as volunteers for the first five years of GirlTrek. Now as members of a professional staff supporting the largest health movement for Black women in America, we are grateful for the opportunity to support 100 Black women who are dedicated to supporting you. As I write, I am reminded who YOU are…
You are Sandria who posted this video from Chicago 10 years ago (shout out to Robin’s intro!!) You are Mellonie in California, who never attended a single GIrlTrek event or training but decided to buy a blue shirt and invite her high school BFF for a walk 7 years ago. She is GirlTrek. And Gloria, who we just lost this year to a brave fight against cancer. Gloria formally and faithfully led her neighborhood as a captain. At her memorial service, she was heralded for saving so many lives. She is GirlTrek.
I believe we have thousands of Sandrias, Mallonies, and Glorias who are ready to lead. Some of you have volunteered for years. Thank you. Some have credentials and titles and you are the best we could ever imagine. We see you. And today we ask you to join us at the starting lines again with brand new organizers who have been waiting on this call - a simple one - to volunteer as a crew leader for your friends each week. We invite you.
As of today, I am a crew leader. Vanessa is too. And our whole staff.
We are focused. I mean, “Eye of The Tiger” focused. FOCUSED on what matters: walking, sisterhood, and support.
Because we can see it. Can you? A mass movement. A cavalry of care. An army of do-gooders. A wave of superhero blue bringing joy and justice to the streets of this country. Organized. Disciplined.
But we have to be healthy.
We’ll see you in the streets tomorrow for the roll call at GirlTrek.org.
Less talk, more walk.
Happy Easter ya’ll we can’t think of a better day to make this announcement! Praying for restoration and a rising up.
Fearless and full of love,
Morgan and Vanessa
GirlTrek Crew Since 1996
We've been nominated for a Webby Award!
The Webby Awards are the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, and our podcast has been nominated for the Best Live Podcast Recording. You created this podcast with us. Let's show them the power of the GirlTrek movement, and win this for the ancestors! The voting period is open for only 8 days. Use this link to vote for Black History Bootcamp today, and spread the word.
About GirlTrek:
GirlTrek was founded in 2010 by two friends. With over 1.1 million members and counting, GirlTrek, as profiled on CNN, is the largest health movement and nonprofit for Black women and girls in the country. GirlTrek encourages Black women to use radical self-care and walking as the first practical step to leading healthier, more fulfilled lives.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, GirlTrek does not endorse political candidates; however, GirlTrek encourages everyone to register to vote and to participate in civic engagement on the local, state, and federal levels.
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