Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 8/24/2021
NORTHAMPTON – On Aug. 16, the New England Patriots announced Arielle Perry, a Northampton resident and Chicopee Public Schools adjustment counselor, was one of this year’s Myra Kraft Community MVP award winners for her work coaching for Girls on the Run Western Mass.
Girls on the Run is designed to teach girls in third through eighth grade social, emotional and life skills along with healthy living habits. With the award, the New England Patriots foundation also donated $10,000 to Girls on the Run Western Mass.
When she found out the program would be coming to Western Massachusetts in 2015, Perry said she signed up to coach immediately.
“I have been coaching since they started the Western Mass. chapter in 2015. I had heard about the program prior to it coming to Western Mass. and liked the mission of the organization in terms of combining social emotional skills with a component of physical activity and healthy living,” she said.
Perry said she continues to coach every year because of the program’s curriculum and how inspiring it is to see the
“The curriculum is fantastic; it leads the girls through a whole host of social emotional skills that build on each other as you go through the season. Watching them come together as a community, team and looking at their individual successes is truly inspiring,” she said. “It feels like a really important time to offer this kind of support for young girls.”
Alison Berman, the council director for Girls on the Run Western Mass., said she nominated Perry because she embodies the heart of what the program is all about.
“In many ways she represents what the heart of the program is. She represents this loving connection and ability to teach these incredible life skills to kids. She is what a volunteer coach should be and is really changing the lives of kids,” she said.
Through her work Berman said Perry has gone above and beyond all expectations since becoming a coach in 2015.
“The volunteers are the heart of the program; they are the ones that deliver the curriculum. It is a strong social emotional program that integrates running, so being a strong volunteer is essential. Ari has volunteered with us for 12 seasons since 2015 and she has touched the lives of so many girls and their families,” she said. “She basically has gone over and above everything we want from a coach.”
Perry said she was shocked to find out that Berman nominated her for the award and was happy money would be going back into the program.
“I was shocked and so appreciative that Alison even nominated me. To hear I was selected as one of the winners is incredibly humbling and I am still letting it sink in. That money going to our local council will help us with the programming for so many more girls, and that to me is amazing,” she said.
The funding from the grant will go towards scholarships, any participants that need shoes, curriculum and training for the coaches.
Berman added she was excited when she found out Perry was one of this year’s winners.
“I was so excited when I got the call, there is nobody more deserving than her,” she said.
Along with receiving funding for Girls on the Run, Perry said she also visited Gillette Stadium for an award ceremony with the other winners.
“The Super Bowl trophies were there, but just knowing the importance of the team and what they have done was one of those unexpected highlights of the day. You walk through there and feel the history of it,” she said.
Perry said she was inspired by the work the other winners were doing in their own communities.
“I was sitting in a room with the other winners and realizing there are so many people putting good out into the world and doing things for other people, that is amazing and inspiring,” she said.
With the season on the horizon, Perry said she is looking forward to coaching this year.
“We are going in person again this season, providing a space for the girls to come together, play and forget all their stress while building and gaining skills. It is fun, every practice there is laughter, there are smiles and there is joy. Going to practice is one of the highlights of my week,” she said.