Our

mission

We are on a mission to inspire, challenge and empower teen girls to climb high in all areas of life through transformational leadership programs. 

Our programs invite girls to step into the unknown, try something new, and push themselves in ways they never have before. We believe engaging in new experiences and overcoming obstacles leads to long-lasting resilience and confidence, inspiring girls to believe they are capable of anything they set their minds to. 

Our

vision

We are building toward a future in which girls of all ages believe they are capable of overcoming challenges, doing hard things, and changing the world. 

We use experiential learning and outdoor adventure to help girls unlock the confidence within and equip them with the tools needed to overcome adversity at any point in their lives. We are creating the next generation of confident and empowered leaders to make positive change in school, at home, in their communities, and beyond.  

girls served:

Expeditions:

Scholarship dollars:

370

17

$2M+

The Need For

empowerment

Despite being connected more now than ever before, teen girls are facing unprecedented feelings of isolation and rising levels of stress, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide—let alone the immense social pressures related to body image and peer influence. 

The CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that nearly 57% of teen girls reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2021



According to the Heart of Leadership,
1 in 4 girls struggle with depression, eating disorders, and other mental or emotional challenges.

we aim to be part of the

solution

Wellfit Girls aims to be preventative, not reactive, by addressing these pressing issues through adventure-based challenge programs, experiential education, and leadership training to build resilience for life.

early intervention

is key

We continue to develop and refine programs that reflect the needs of today’s teen girls. By guiding girls through a mix of leadership challenges, outdoor adventures and hands-on experiences, we address the underlying issues teen girls are faced with in today’s connected world, ensuring that our participants can reach their full potential and lead fulfilling lives.

Leadership development fosters skills like communication, problem-solving, and boundary-setting, all of which are vital in helping girls navigate challenges, manage stress, and build a positive sense of self. Wellfit Girls provides a supportive community to counter societal pressures and give girls a sense of belonging with the goal of contributing to stronger emotional well-being.

Strong foundations in fitness and nutrition lay the groundwork for lifelong healthy behaviors, improved well being, and self awareness. Regular physical activity reduces stress, anxiety, and depression while boosting mood and energy levels. Wellfit Girls alumnae report that incorporating fitness into their daily lives helps them manage stress and fight depression, illustrating the lasting impact of our programs. 

Early involvement in outdoor adventure is instrumental in promoting confidence and resilience in teen girls. Activities like hiking and camping encourage connection with nature, reduce anxiety, and improve focus. Outdoor challenges also help girls develop problem-solving skills, teamwork, and a sense of accomplishment, fostering emotional strength and a positive mindset.

our

history

how it

started

The story of Wellfit Girls starts with Jill Wheeler and Colby Robertson, friends and social entrepreneurs, beginning in 2013. Colby was working as a reporter for WINK News searching for local (to Naples) runners who were running in the Boston Marathon when the bomb went off on April 15, 2013. This tragic story led her to meet Jill Wheeler, who crossed the finish line 30 minutes before the bomb occurred. Over the next week, Colby and Jill collaborated on multiple stories related to Jill’s experience in Boston and returning home from the race. In September 2013, Jill reached out to Colby with a story idea involving a program for teen girls called the Wellfit Girls Challenge. Colby immediately responded with enthusiasm and committed to supporting Jill with this endeavor.

In January 2014, eleven carefully selected teen girls from Lee and Collier County participated in the first ever Wellfit Girls Challenge. This five-month leadership, fitness, and empowerment curriculum was created by Jill Wheeler, Founder and CEO of Wellfit Institute (now called Jill Wheeler Wellness). Wheeler, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and former Outward Bound instructor, created the program based on her own time in nature and the principles of Adventure Therapy, a type of psychotherapy that emerged in the 1960’s. Wheeler had a vision of providing something challenging, a little scary and thought provoking to a community where immersive leadership and outdoor adventure programs didn’t exist.

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Over the course of the five month Wellfit Girls Challenge program, the teens met twice weekly in Naples to learn about health, wellness, fitness, nutrition, leadership, and most importantly themselves. The girls received expert leadership and personal growth coaching from Jill Wheeler and Debra Frenkel and personal training sessions with Andrew Miranti. Colby Robertson worked behind the scenes to provide marketing, fundraising and administrative support.

In partnership with Peaks Foundation and Peru’s Challenge, the Wellfit Girls Challenge concluded with a 10-day, life-changing expedition to Peru. Participants engaged in a local community service project in Cusco, a 3-day trek on the Lares trail, and visited Machu Picchu alongside other Peruvian teen girls.

The entire five-month journey and expedition to Peru was filmed and turned into a full-length documentary called Warrior One. The documentary, produced by Jill and directed by Jon Fitzgerald premiered at the Naples International Film Festival in November 2014. From depression and anxiety to self-harm and abuse, body image and poverty, the film touched on several key issues facing our local youth.

the mission

grows

Committed to the idea that challenge in nature and healthy peer groups are the greatest influence for building leadership and self-esteem, Jill introduced her concept to the Naples community. It was at the film festival that the vision to turn the program into a nonprofit emerged and recruitment for the 2015 program began.

In June 2015, as the second cohort returned from the challenging expedition, Colby opened her email to find the IRS approval letter stating Wellfit Girls Program Southwest Florida, Inc. was approved as an official 501(c)3, tax exempt organization as of February 13, 2015.
Wellfit Girls ended their first successful (calendar) year with an organizational revenue of $72,870.

During the 2016 Easter holiday weekend, the Wellfit Girls team launched their first annual 5K event. This served as a new mid-program milestone for participants to gauge where they were at physically in preparation for their culminating expedition.

Wellfit Girls closely doubled organizational revenue ending their second (calendar) year with $119,673.

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2017 marked a year of growth and expansion for Wellfit Girls, establishing full and part time staff and successfully launching an expansion of the Wellfit Girls program in Lee County creating a second cohort of participants. As Jill settled into her life now in Boulder, Colorado she wanted to do more with the alumnae who completed the program in prior years. Jill decided to launch the first alumnae trip and hosted it in Boulder, Colorado. Alumnae engaged in leadership discussion, yoga, and rock-climbing activities that May 2018. In early 2019, the Board of Directors met to approve a new program, a summer camp culminating with a 5-day hiking expedition to Georgia. Another major shift the Board decided on was to domesticate expeditions, making the 2019 expedition to Peru, the last international trip. This decision was made with the intention of significantly lowering costs and reaching more girls in the community. Wellfit Girls then entered a program expansion phase where the signature 5-month program for high school girls officially became called “Summit Sisters” and the new summer camp for middle school girls was titled “Wellfit Adventure Camp.” 2020 marked a unique year of pivoting and adaptation. In January 2020, Wellfit Girls started the 5-month journey with 20 participants for the Summit Sisters program in both Lee and Collier Counties. As directed from the Board, we allowed girls to return from prior years to continue with the progression of their leadership development. Leadership sessions were held at the newly established office and programming space acquired in October 2019 in Naples, FL. Since girls were now allowed to return and build upon their leadership skills, we established Mentors in Action, an opportunity for girls to become peer mentors and put their leadership into action. March 2020 is a time we will all remember forever changing the world through the global COVID-19 pandemic. Wellfit Girls immediately shifted programming to a virtual experience. Leadership and fitness sessions were both held via Zoom from the comfort and safety of everyone’s home. The staff and leadership team worked overtime to provide services to participants and families as well as reconnect with all prior alumnae. Summit Sisters culminated with a 7-day virtual expedition experience and 36-hour in person solo in Labelle, FL. The solo experience proved overwhelmingly impactful for the girls. They shared that the disconnection from technology allowed them to process some really deep rooted traumas and release them. In June 2021, Wellfit Girls successfully completed the first domestic expedition in partnership with Montana Wilderness School in Bozeman, MT. As in any growing organization, Wellfit Girls underwent transitions of growth, change and challenge over the next few years managing the aftermath of the multi-year COVID pandemic while continuing to provide consistent inspiring, challenging and empowering Summit Sisters and Wellfit Adventure Camp programs.

the legacy

continues

Now, in 2024 Wellfit Girls celebrates it’s 10th anniversary having served over 370 girls, completed 17 backcountry expeditions, 6 of which were international, and reaching a milestone of over $2 million raised over the 10 years.