Girls Thrive Outside...oh yes, they do!

Girls Thrive Outside...oh yes, they do!

Have you ever been on the trail or at the lake and come back home only to realize that you look at your life a little differently?

When things are crazy in your job or life, do you crave escaping to the woods or the beach or the desert where life's challenges slip away?

 

If you are like most adults who seek a healthy lifestyle, you understand the cleansing and rejuvenating feelings those outdoor experiences bring to your life. The trappings of city-life (mental, physical, financial, etc.) seem to melt away as soon as those endorphins hit your bloodstream, as foot meets the trail. 

As your breath gets deeper and you somehow find a stride that matches the trail, you start to notice the shapes of the rocks you walk over, the color of the soil, and that ragged tree root that you have to step over. So many of your senses that dull in the day-to-day hum-drum open up and, soon, you realize how alive you feel!

 Now, picture never having had the opportunity to feel that sensation...either by lack of opportunity or family circumstances. I taught middle school students for ten years in Redmond, OR and I had plenty of kids who had never been out of their home-school-grocery store triangle. Part of it was lack of funds, another part of it was lack of mentoring by someone in their community to introduce them to the wonders of the outdoor world. 

 

 

Our start of GTO in 2019:

All three of our Boss Babes own and run their own businesses in Central Oregon.

Molly Morton runs 541Esthetics, a wholistic and results-driven skin care business that promotes total body wellness through self care practices.

Krista Nygaard runs multiple businesses, one of which is Chick 9 Clothing, an athletics inspired brand dedicated to women who love sports and being active.

Kaia Seiffert is the artist and maker of modern, boho leather and mixed metal jewelry inspiring women to be their free-spirited and adventurous selves at Wind + The Wanderer, LLC. We all met through our Bend Boss Babes networking group and have worked together on other collaborations.  

We all live in the Bend area because of its access to amazing trails, rivers, you name it! Plus, being active and in the outdoors is near and dear to our hearts: Molly worked for years as a recreation leader with Bend Parks and Recreation, Krista grew up in Bend and played college volleyball on the East Coast, and my favorite parts of teaching were when I led groups of students in outdoor recreation and science experiences. We are all personally dedicated to the health and well-being of our community!

Thus, spawned the idea to gather our girl-powers to create a fundraiser that helps under-served girls get out onto the trails and rivers to explore and feel how transforming it is!

 

Years 2020-2021:

We worked with RAD Camps the first year, while donating to various organizations that support outdoor adventuring and sustaining, such as Protect Our Winters, the Environmental Center of Central Oregon, and Bend Parks and Recreation. 

We hope to continue introducing girls to the outdoors and how to include regular immersion into the woods as a part of healthy mental health habits as they get older.

 

 

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