Along with buffing her body, getting ready for a 10km run has helped 16-year-old Stenbie Vela tone her mind and raise her aspirations.
Vela was one of 15 teen girls from the St. Alban’s Boys and Girls Club in the Annex determined to cross the finish line at a run sponsored by Sporting Life yesterday. The teens — many of whom come from impoverished backgrounds — have been running side-by-side with 19 women from the Junior League of Toronto who have mentored them for four months.
Martha Garriock, a software company manager and junior leaguer who spearheaded Kickstart for Health said: “It’s not just about them running. It’s the change in their confidence and goal setting in other areas of their life that this program inspires.”
Launched last fall at St. Alban’s, the kickstart program includes healthy living workshops on topics such as body image and reading food labels.
