Hazel’s Coffee and Roasting Company teamed up with Girls on the Run and Alpha Sigma Alpha on Thursday, March 2 to help support a local Girls on the Run team at Skaith Elementary. Girls on the Run is a non-profit organization that helps younger girls find confidence and achieve goals such as the 5ks they host. 

 

Melissa Stallbaumer is a coach for the local Girls on the Run team and an advisor for Alpha Sigma Alpha.

 

Stallbaumer says that Girls on the Run “Strives to build confidence and healthy habits for young girls.” She mentions that this is important because girls tend to start losing self-esteem at the age of nine. “Throughout that, it’s also teaching things about healthy living, making smart choices,” says Stallbaumer, “teaching how to choose good friends and how to combat the negative self-talk we all have in our heads.” 

 

The girls spend a semester learning these crucial skills while also training for the big 5k that takes place at the end of the program in Kansas City. 

 

15 percent of all proceeds made at Hazel’s locations in town were donated to Girls on the Run. All that was needed for this to happen was stating that you were with the program and that 15 percent of your total was donated to Girls on the Run. The proceeds are going towards the local team at Skaith Elementary to help cover sign-up fees, transportation for 5ks and scholarships for the girls. 

 

“Events like these are important to our community because they bring awareness to the event,” said Heather Mitchell, owner of Hazel’s Coffee and Roasting Company. “I didn't know what Girls on the Run was before they approached me about it.”

 

Events like these are vital to our community because they help support local businesses that some might not have heard of before until an event like this. It brings them business while helping raise money for non-profit organizations such as Girls on the Run.

 

In hindsight, this event brought awareness to Girls on the Run and Hazel’s Coffee and Roasting Company. More events including local businesses and nonprofits are vital to the community as St. Joseph continues to grow in the right direction. 

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