The Rite Aid Foundation is providing grants for $1 million each to Girls on the Run and SeriousFun to ensure continued programs and impact during the pandemic, as well as enhance their missions and efforts to serve diverse communities over the coming years. Collectively, the two nonprofit organizations serve more than 275,000 children each year, providing a sense of belonging, opportunities for building friendships and programs that improve their overall health and wellness.
Inspiring girls to be joyful, healthy and confident through a fun, experienced-based curriculum that creatively integrates running, Girls on the Run offers programming at more than 12,000 sites across the United States and has transformed the lives of over 2 million girls throughout its 24-year history.
Founded by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, SeriousFun Children’s Network serves children and families in all 50 U.S. states through its global network of camps and has delivered more than 1.3 million transformative experiences for children with cancer, immunological, blood and neurological conditions as well as other serious illnesses since 1988, totally free of charge.
“Now more than ever, during a generation-defining pandemic, the health and wellness of our communities stands at the forefront,” said Matthew DeCamara, executive director of The Rite Aid Foundation. “We’re humbled to support Girls on the Run and SeriousFun Children’s Network as they adapt and develop new and innovative ways to impact the lives of children facing significant challenges. These organizations embody the commitment to impacting children’s lives by building self-esteem, independence and resilience, and letting all children know what it means to be a kid. Working together, we can emerge stronger from this crisis.”
These new partnerships will ensure the second-responders – nonprofit organizations like SeriousFun and Girls on the Run – can continue important programs, as well as strategically position The Rite Aid Foundation for future collaborations to address the intersection point between racial equity and health disparities.
Girls on the Run International will utilize its $1 million grant over two years to expand its traditional, and at-home delivery options while advancing its commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) programs. It will also invest in 21 Girls on the Run councils in cities such as Cleveland, Detroit, Harrisburg, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle to ensure not only that programming can continue through the pandemic, but also to facilitate long-term sustainability, growth and commitment to supporting girls from historically under-served communities.
“For years, Girls on the Run has built resilience, confidence, empathy and self-awareness in girls through physical activity – all skills and abilities necessary to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Elizabeth Kunz, chief executive officer at Girls on the Run International. “During these times, it’s more important than ever to nurture our physical and emotional health, and Girls on the Run will continue to develop innovative programming that empowers girls to unleash the unstoppable strength inside all of them.”
Funding from The Rite Aid Foundation will support efforts to assess, update and prepare SeriousFun member camps to re-open for in-person activities, along with enhanced onsite safety needs, to protect medically fragile children, their families, staff and volunteers during times at camp. Additionally, the grant will support diversity, equity and inclusion evaluations and efforts, as well as network-wide DEI training for SeriousFun camps.
“SeriousFun camps were founded on the idea of allowing children living with serious illness to get back to being a kid, something that often feels out of reach for them,” said Blake Maher, chief executive officer for SeriousFun. “The fear, isolation and uncertainty being felt around the world as a result of COVID-19 are something our campers and their families know all too well. For these families, camp is more important now than ever before, which is why we are focused on supporting children with serious illnesses and their caregivers through innovative alternative and virtual programming as we prepare to resume the in-person programs they so look forward to when it is safe and right to do so. The Rite Aid Foundation grant is an incredible investment in the lives and futures of our campers and for that we are so grateful.”
The $2 million investment marks The Rite Aid Foundation’s second grant allocation supporting nonprofit organizations providing critical services and important programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. It builds upon an initial $7 million allocation in April that supported healthcare providers, first responders, families and communities impacted by the pandemic, and geographic hotspots.
Additionally, The Rite Aid Foundation also advanced a racial equity initiative in June to combat racism and foster more diverse, inclusive and equitable opportunities in communities.
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