The Mission of Wellfit Girls
Is to inspire, challenge and empower teen girls to climb high in all areas of life through transformational leadership programs.
Each program concludes with a life-changing expedition. This unique experience will focus on teaching girls fundamental outdoor skills such as cooking, camping and navigation while developing leadership skills as an individual and as a member of an expeditionary group. Participants will be challenged physically and mentally while hiking with heavy packs in a changing alpine environment. While navigating through mountain terrain, girls will engage in lessons about Leave No Trace® camping principles and learn how to accomplish common expedition goals.
We follow a curriculum that guides teens through a combination of physical, mental and interpersonal challenges designed to prepare them for the final expedition and the rest of their life. The struggles they will experience on the mountain will correlate to life struggles they may currently have or may have in future years. They will learn they can accomplish anything they put their mind to. The goal is to inspire and empower each girl while nurturing and developing each girl’s individual leadership style. We are building strong women to be our future leaders. We believe you cannot have transformation without tension.
The struggles they will experience on the mountain will correlate to life struggles they may currently have or may have in future years.
The girls workout with a personal trainer, learn yoga and have weekly leadership sessions. The girls are asked to dig deep in terms of who they are now and the person they want to become. The idea is that you are not BORN a warrior, but you GROW into one!
Our Vision
The vision of Wellfit Girls is all teen girls believe they can overcome challenges, do hard things, and change the world.
Our Core Values
- Safety
- Tenacity
- Integrity
- Courage
- Generosity
- Authenticity
- Resilience
The Need for Empowerment
Teen girls are faced with social pressures of body image, peer pressure, substance abuse, high levels of stress, anxiety and depression, which directly impacts their decision making, self-esteem, relationships, social and emotional behaviors, desire to take on leadership roles and community involvement.
According to the Heart of Leadership, 1 in 4 girls have depression, eating disorders and other mental or emotional disorders. Low self- esteem, depression and anxiety are global issues with high prevalence in this population, having a huge impact on our local high school girls’ ability to realize their full potential.
Studies show 79% of girls opt out of important life activities – such as trying out for a team or club, running for student government and engaging with family or loved ones – when they don’t feel good about the way they look.
This upcoming generation is the most connected cohort in the history of the human population, across cultures and nations, through digital media and online platforms, yet the most isolated, interpersonally, which is a contributing factor to depression, suicide and anxiety.
In her TED talk, Connected, but alone? Harvard professor, Sherry Tuckle says, “Human relationships are rich and messy and they are demanding and we clean them up with technology; and when we do that, one of the things that can happen is that we sacrifice conversation for mere superficial connection.”
Feelings of loneliness and a lack of belonging create an environment that promotes higher levels of depression and anxiety in our youth today and when students face mental health challenges it negatively impacts school attendance, increasing the risk for behavioral difficulties, substance use, obesity, high-risk sexual behavior, academic difficulties, high school dropout and suicide.
If not addressed in their critical teen years, these mental health challenges and insecurities can stay with them through adulthood.
Feelings of loneliness and a lack of belonging create an environment that promotes higher levels of depression and anxiety in our youth today.
With adventure-based challenge programs, experiential education and interpersonal relationship coaching, the girls develop personal resilience, a collaborative spirit, physical and emotional fitness, as well as self-love and confidence. We cultivate a sense of community through belonging and inclusion. We create real-time connection.
Challenges are intentionally presented throughout the program to encourage cooperative solution-seeking and personal resilience. We want our girls to see challenge as an opportunity for transformation, not merely an obstacle to overcome. We are about amplifying each girls’ voice and minimizing the risks for mental health and psycho-social issues. We believe girls need to know they can speak up, lead and be rewarded for their courage and authenticity.
We have a holistic approach to well-being. We emphasize self-love and body image not as an ideal, but as a unique and authentic expression of each individual.
Research shows that early interventions in health, fitness, and nutrition are critical to incorporating lifelong healthy behaviors and improved mental health and wellness. Our Alumni regularly report that incorporating fitness into their lifestyles during and after Wellfit Girls is an empowering and effective way to manage stress and fight off depression. Learning how to work out with others, encouraging and inspiring each other is a cornerstone to fighting off isolation and building self-confidence.
What We Do
We believe a combination of holistic wellness, fitness, outdoor adventure, public speaking opportunities, small group sharing and interpersonal connection, immersion experiences incorporating travel, groups and nature, social entrepreneurship and collaboration all contribute to our programs success. The program offers a small group setting with a dedicated leadership team who is available 24/7. The programs include topics such as identity, boundaries, body image, bold leadership, vision and goals, fitness, yoga, guest speakers and more.
Wellfit Girls’ programs culminate with multi-day expeditions within the United States. This unique experience will focus on teaching girls fundamental outdoor skills such as cooking, camping and navigation while developing leadership skills as an individual and as a member of an expeditionary group. Participants will be challenged physically and mentally while hiking with heavy packs in a changing alpine environment. While navigating through mountain terrain, girls will engage in lessons about Leave No Trace® camping principles and learn how to accomplish common expedition goals.
“Studies show facilitating experiences and adventures in nature helps teenagers achieve positive change improving both self-esteem and self-control.”
By overcoming these obstacles, they learn to overcome adversity there, and metaphorically everywhere. Studies show facilitating experiences and adventures in nature helps teenagers achieve positive change improving both self-esteem and self-control. Yoga training is also intentionally incorporated into the curriculum to teach body alignment awareness, posture and self-presentation skills. How we carry ourselves in the world begins with a strong physical foundation. When girls are physically empowered, they make a positive and powerful impression that all leaders must possess. When supported by speaking skills, confidence and self-discovery, their presence makes a lasting impression. The girls experience themselves as stronger inside and out and the world experiences them as more confident, empowered and ready to lead.
Warrior One
A Full-length Documentary of the Orginal Wellfit Girls
In 2014, the entire journey was filmed as a feature length documentary, but Wellfit Girls is more than just a movie, it’s a movement. The hope is for the film to have a global impact, sharing the mentality that women and girls can change the world.
These girls have incredible stories to share, stories that will inspire other teens across the country and all over the world. From depression and anxiety to self-harm and abuse, body issues and poverty, the film touches on several key issues facing our youth today.
Contact Us
Please fill out the form for any general questions and we will get back with you soon.
