Following in the footsteps of a civil rights legacy, GirlTrek is a national health movement that motivates thousands of black women to be change makers in their lives and communities — through walking.
According to a press release, Vanessa Garrison, the co-founder of GirlTrek, said “GirlTrek has selected a group of standout undergraduates from across the nation to usher in the next generation of #BlackGirlHealing organizers who will use walking, radical self-care and the love of the great outdoors to improve the public health of the black community.”
Currently, more than 70,000 black women are walking and talking about the growing health crisis of black women. GirlTrek is looking to recruit one million black women by 2018 to walk and begin the path to a healthier lifestyle.
Industrial engineering sophomore Jaycie Macdonald was one of 16 girls selected across the nation as a campus organizer for the GirlTrek movement.
Macdonald said a family member involved in GirlTrek nominated her. She said she had all the right answers to the interview’s questions.
“I guess my overall enthusiasm about doing something good [is why I was selected],” Macdonald said.
Macdonald said after she was selected, she and the other 15 women went to Powder Mountain in Utah to learn more about GirlTrek and how to live healthier lifestyles. She said she hiked for the first time, kayaked and mountain biked, all while learning the importance of getting outdoors.
Macdonald said the things she learned from GirlTrek still inspire her today when she walks alone for meditation and relaxation.
“I definitely use it for a meditation-type thing,” Macdonald said. “That really helps with school [where things get hectic].”
While anyone can go to the GirlTrek.org website and count themselves in for the walking revolution, GirlTrek’s recruitment targets black women specifically because black women lead in all numbers of preventable obesity-related diseases.
“People are talking about the children dying in Syria and black men getting shot, but black women are dying in silence over something that could really be stopped,” Macdonald said.
Recruiting season begins in February, and Macdonald is currently gathering women across campus to get involved and make a difference.
“I want to be part of the walking revolution,” Macdonald said. “I want to be part of the movement, something good for the community.”