Go Girls! in the Community

To extend the goals of our Go Girls! Fitness Support Group to the greater public, we continue to build partnerships in the community.  Some of our work includes educational programming on relevant topics such as:

• How to develop exercise habits: types of exercise, developing a routine, exercising safely, staying motivated.
• Benefits of exercise: protection against consequences of inactivity and obesity (e.g. insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, androgen excess, liver steatosis, PCOS, mood disorders).
• Basic endocrinology: what are hormones? which hormones are commonly in the news related to health (e.g. insulin, growth hormone, gonadotropins, vitamin D, leptin, cortisol)?
• Biology of puberty: hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, menstrual cycles, secondary sex characteristics.
• Introduction to basic and clinical research: how do we form and test scientific questions? what is basic science, clinical, and translational research?
• Careers in science: which careers are possible? why to consider? what is involved? how should you prepare?

• Implementing our Go Girls and Guys! Community Program as a part of the Piedmont YMCA Summer Program from June 17th – July 15th, 2013.
• Bringing our Go Girls and Guys! Community Program to Camp Holiday Trails Summer Camp from June 18th – July 24th, 2013.
• Bringing our 6-week Go Girls and Guys! community program to the Charlottesville Boys and Girls Club’s after school program in the Fall of 2013.
• Partnering with Common Ground, a non-profit wellness center located in Charlottesville, VA, to integrate their exercise and wellness components for teens with our Go Girls! program.
• Partnering with UVA’s Family Medicine Residency to combine their “Taking Shape” program with “Go Girls and Guys” at Friendship Court’s Community Center from October 2013 – June 2014.
• Bringing our 6-week community program to the Westhaven Community Center in partnership with Charlottesville’s City of Promise from January – February 2014.