About Us
Our MissionTeens Run DC empowers at-risk youth to envision and work towards the achievement of personal goals through an adult mentoring and distance running program.
Based on a similar, successful initiative in Los Angeles, students train alongside their running leaders and mentors, who challenge and guide these youth to develop the skills necessary to achieve their running goals and their life goals. Students learn greater responsibility, discipline, perseverance, and goal-setting skills as they train for progressively longer distance races. They become healthier and feel better about themselves. They work towards success in their running and towards success in school. Between running leaders and individual mentors who serve as strong, positive role models and peers working towards similar goals, Teens Run DC strives to create a caring community and a sense of belonging that is not the experience of most of the teens that we serve. With Teens Run DC, students run steady and strong to succeed in life.
In order to be more inclusive of all potential students who might join our program, including those who are more physically active and those who may be just starting a fitness regimen, we have developed two training tracks – with one leading to completion of a ten mile or even half marathon race and a second leading to the completion of one or several 10K races throughout the year.
Whether you are in the fast lane or just starting with a slow walk-run around the track, TRDC will meet you where you land. We guarantee that by committing to running, you will make a new commitment to your life. Ultimately, our hope and goal is to expand our distance running and mentoring program to include all secondary school students and teens throughout the greater Washington area who have the interest and motivation to take charge of their lives one step at a time.
The Center for Self Discovery
Teens Run DC is part of the Center for Self Discovery is a 501C3 non-profit charity organization. As such, all donations are fully tax deductible. CSD-DC’s primary mission is to support at-risk youth through the development of youth mentoring programs. Through these programs, we support positive change and growth within the context of caring relationships and emphasize our clients’ strengths and problem-solving abilities to improve their lives. In addition, CSD-DC is setting up a pro bono counseling inkage service so that all residents living in the District of Columbia in need of mental health care, but unable to afford such services, can be linked with licensed and insured mental health professionals at no cost.
Demographics
In our first year, we had 19 students, ages 14 to 18, from Wilson High School in Northwest DC. This group reflects a diverse student population, coming from all parts of DC: 13 were female and 6 were male; 7 were White; 5 were Black; 3 were Hispanic; 3 were Asian; and 1 was Middle Eastern. To support these 19 students, we had 7 dedicated teacher-mentors.
In our second year, we have 30 students from Wilson and Cardozo Highs Schools. Of these students, 17 are female and 13 are male; 9 are White; 11 are Black; 6 are Hispanic; and 5 are Asian. To support these 30 students, we have 8 teachers/school personnel and 22 mentors.
Next Steps
This past fall, we expanded our program from one school to two. Next year, we hope to grow our program further. We are looking less towards expanding to new schools and more to solidifying and growing the communities that we have developed at both Wilson and Cardozo. That being said, we welcome all high school youth who would like to join our weekend practices. If there are schools with enough interest who are willing to provide in-school staff to support a team, we are open too to that possibility as well. We trust that as we grow, our network of mentors will similarly grow to meet the needs of our students.
Ultimately, our hope and goal is to expand our distance running and mentoring program to include all secondary school students and teens throughout the greater Washington area who have the interest and motivation to take charge of their lives one step at a time.
Giving Back
Following the completion of the SunTrust National Marathon, students from Teens Run DC will continue to train for the Capital Hill Classic 10K in May. During these six weeks, we will invite students to recruit and mentor new students for the coming year to join us on weekday or weekend runs with the possibility of training for the Capital Hill Classic. In so doing, we hope to further instill within TRDC youth their identification of themselves as runners as they share their excitement, teaching what they have learned and hopefully what they have learned to love.
TRDC as a research lab for understanding youth mentoring
This past summer, we began a collaboration with George Washington University’s Schools of Public Health, Education, and Psychology so that we might not only develop a stronger program, but also develop a model for best practices in youth mentoring. As such, Teens Run DC and the Center for Self Discovery are engaged in various research activities as we evaluate those aspects of our program that lead to success among our students.