BRATTLEBORO — At the recent Girls on the Run International Summit conference, Nancy Heydinger, the founder and director of the Vermont council of Girls on the Run, was recognized as the 2015 Legacy Award recipient for her instrumental contributions to building Girls on the Run as an organization.
Girls on the Run is an after-school program that helps girls develop physical, emotional and social well-being, offering strategies for dealing with everything from body image and bullying to peer pressure and the media, in healthy, positive ways, including exercise. Delivered by more than 700 volunteer coach-mentors throughout Vermont, the program aims to foster a sense of self-esteem, character, collaboration and community, according to a news release.
The annual Legacy Award pays tribute to an individual who has played a considerable role in the international organization's success. It honors someone of extraordinary significance and is the greatest mark of distinction that Girls on the Run International bestows.
Heydinger founded Girls on the Run Vermont in 1999 with a group of 15 girls, and the council has since grown to serve nearly 20,000 girls throughout the state. This year, they expect to serve more than 3,000 girls at more than 144 sites across Vermont.
For the past four years, Heydinger has served as an advisory board member for Girls on the Run International. In her role, she assesses individual council needs and helps implement council best practices nationwide. She was appointed to the Vermont Governor's Council on Fitness and Health in 2010 and has since served as a board member, identifying and implementing health and fitness initiatives across the state.
In 2010, Heydinger was recognized with a Community Leadership Award from the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition for improving the lives of others through Girls on the Run.
Heydinger is celebrating the Legacy Award and honoring the mission of Girls on the Run by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa with her daughter Katy who, with her sister Caroline, was one of the original Girls on the Run Vermont participants 15 years ago.