Sports Bra Drive Launched for Ethiopian Youth
Girls Gotta Run Foundation, Oiselle partner to deliver apparel to running teams.
While watching a video touting numerous ways to give a used sports bra a second life—as an oven mitt, sling shot or doggie vest—running coach Gaby Grebski had an aha moment.
Except for shoes, no piece of gear matters more to female runners than a running bra. (Some of us would argue the bra actually trumps the kicks.) So why, when she travels to Ethiopia each year to visit girls' running teams, does she bring more t-shirts than sports bras?
The revelation led Grebski, a volunteer with Girls Gotta Run Foundation, to partner with Oiselle, which ran the video, to collect gently used sports bras for girls running in the villages and highlands of Ethiopia.
“The U.S. is such a consumer mammoth and often our sports bras still have life in them when we buy new ones, so the idea seemed like a natural fit,” says Sally Bergesen, founder and CEO of the women’s running apparel company, Oiselle.
The sports bra drive launched yesterday and runs through June 20, a few days before Grebski flies to Addis Ababa to hand deliver the goods to the 30-plus girls ages 12 to 19 in GGRF’s program.
The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit supports impoverished girls in Ethiopia training to be professional runners. Through scholarships, the girls are able to stay in school and train. Though few of the runners will become elite-class athletes, the program enables them to avoid the fate common to their peers.
“Girls, as young as 12, are being sold by their parents desperate for dowry payments. Even more sobering is that many young girls who are raped at a young age can be forced to marry their assailants as they are no longer considered ‘marriage material,’” writes Grebski on the sports-bra drive blog post. “Complications from childbirth at such a young age are extremely common and can often lead to death if not properly treated. Additionally, marriage often means the end of a young girl’s education as she must drop out of school to care for her family. GGRF works to help break this devastating cycle of poverty.”
The Simien Girls Running Team is an example of the program’s effectiveness. In 2007, GGRF began sponsoring 10 girl runners in the small town of Debark in the Simien Mountains in northern Ethiopia. All 10 of the girls completed secondary school, three completed college and all are currently employed.
Since its founding in 2006, GGRF has aided about 50 athletes, funded the establishment of four running teams and developed a community of partners working to support female runners in Ethiopia.
Grebski, a former high school and collegiate middle-distance runner, says the confidence running teaches the girls is paramount.
It helps them stay focused on their dreams of becoming teachers, doctors, lawyers or whatever they want, she says.
Oiselle and GGRF will evaluate the success of the drive before deciding if it will be an annual event. The foundation usually raises funds and purchases gear for the girls in Ethiopia to support the local economy and ensure the girls receive the right sizes. But GGRF is also interested in engaging more U.S. runners, and the bra drive offers a means of meeting that objective.
You can send your gently used running bras to Oiselle Running, 7109 Woodlawn Ave NE, Seattle WA, 98115 (and if you include a note with your email address, Oiselle will send you a 15%-off coupon for a new sports bra). The deadline is June 20.
Except for shoes, no piece of gear matters more to female runners than a running bra. (Some of us would argue the bra actually trumps the kicks.) So why, when she travels to Ethiopia each year to visit girls' running teams, does she bring more t-shirts than sports bras?
The revelation led Grebski, a volunteer with Girls Gotta Run Foundation, to partner with Oiselle, which ran the video, to collect gently used sports bras for girls running in the villages and highlands of Ethiopia.
“The U.S. is such a consumer mammoth and often our sports bras still have life in them when we buy new ones, so the idea seemed like a natural fit,” says Sally Bergesen, founder and CEO of the women’s running apparel company, Oiselle.
The sports bra drive launched yesterday and runs through June 20, a few days before Grebski flies to Addis Ababa to hand deliver the goods to the 30-plus girls ages 12 to 19 in GGRF’s program.
The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit supports impoverished girls in Ethiopia training to be professional runners. Through scholarships, the girls are able to stay in school and train. Though few of the runners will become elite-class athletes, the program enables them to avoid the fate common to their peers.
“Girls, as young as 12, are being sold by their parents desperate for dowry payments. Even more sobering is that many young girls who are raped at a young age can be forced to marry their assailants as they are no longer considered ‘marriage material,’” writes Grebski on the sports-bra drive blog post. “Complications from childbirth at such a young age are extremely common and can often lead to death if not properly treated. Additionally, marriage often means the end of a young girl’s education as she must drop out of school to care for her family. GGRF works to help break this devastating cycle of poverty.”
The Simien Girls Running Team is an example of the program’s effectiveness. In 2007, GGRF began sponsoring 10 girl runners in the small town of Debark in the Simien Mountains in northern Ethiopia. All 10 of the girls completed secondary school, three completed college and all are currently employed.
Since its founding in 2006, GGRF has aided about 50 athletes, funded the establishment of four running teams and developed a community of partners working to support female runners in Ethiopia.
Grebski, a former high school and collegiate middle-distance runner, says the confidence running teaches the girls is paramount.
It helps them stay focused on their dreams of becoming teachers, doctors, lawyers or whatever they want, she says.
Oiselle and GGRF will evaluate the success of the drive before deciding if it will be an annual event. The foundation usually raises funds and purchases gear for the girls in Ethiopia to support the local economy and ensure the girls receive the right sizes. But GGRF is also interested in engaging more U.S. runners, and the bra drive offers a means of meeting that objective.
You can send your gently used running bras to Oiselle Running, 7109 Woodlawn Ave NE, Seattle WA, 98115 (and if you include a note with your email address, Oiselle will send you a 15%-off coupon for a new sports bra). The deadline is June 20.
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