Girls on the Run Hudson Valley is expanding its new office into a year-round community and training hub, creating a space for volunteer coaches, families and programs serving girls across the region.

The New Windsor-based organization received a $5000 Make a Difference grant from the Community Foundation of Orange, Sullivan and Rockland to help make improvements to the space as it brings more of its training and programming under one roof.

The new hub will give the organization room to train larger groups of volunteer coaches, bring them back together during the season and connect families with resources from other organizations. Plans also include additional workshops and the potential for summer programming as Girls on the Run looks to expand beyond its traditional fall and spring seasons, according to Kim Quimby, the executive director of the non-profit.

“We want this space to really be a community of just supporting one another,” Quimby said. “Parents are trying to raise these smart, brave, strong little girls, and so we just want to be a piece of that and help in any way we can.”

Girls on the Run moved into the larger office about a year ago after previously relying on rented spaces and smaller gatherings for its in-person coach training. The organization once trained groups of about 10 to 12 coaches at a time but recently brought 50 coaches together for one Saturday session and more than 30 for another the following day.

The larger gatherings allowed coaches from across the Hudson Valley to train together before heading into a season. Girls on the Run is volunteer-driven, with coaches completing six hours of training, split between online and in-person sessions, focused in part on building positive relationships with participants and creating supportive spaces for their social and emotional development.

The New Windsor hub will also give the volunteers a central place to return as the season progresses. Coaches can meet midway through the season to discuss what they are seeing on their teams, share what they have learned and prepare for upcoming activities, including community impact projects and the season-ending 5K.

Girls on the Run serves girls in grades three through eight through after-school programming that combines physical activity with lessons aimed at building confidence and life skills, according to Quimby. Teams work throughout each season toward completing a 5K together.

The organization began in Orange County in 2012 with about 20 girls before expanding across the Hudson Valley. It now serves around 2,000 girls annually, with teams from Ulster County south to Westchester County, according to Quimby.

As its reach has grown, Quimby said the non-profit has seen a significant increase in the need for scholarships. Girls are also benefiting from spaces where they can build relationships with trained coaches and develop skills before entering adolescence, she said.

“If one girl every season remembers these lessons, takes these lessons and uses them beyond, I feel like we’ve done our job at the end of the day,” Quimby said.

The organization now wants to use its physical space to extend some of that support beyond its regular programming. Quimby said she envisions an area dedicated to information from other local nonprofits, giving Girls on the Run families another way to learn about services and resources available in their communities.

The idea grew out of conversations Quimby had with other nonprofits about their work. The hub could eventually host meetings with parents and provide opportunities for organizations to share information directly with families, she said.

The space could also open the door to programming outside Girls on the Run’s fall and spring seasons. Quimby said the organization is considering hosting its summer camp program there and developing pop-up workshops for girls, along with programming that could involve adults.

Girls on the Run was one of five organizations selected from 58 qualified applicants for this year’s Make A Difference grants. The Community Foundation focused the 2026 grant cycle on infrastructure and operational needs, giving preference to organizations and projects that help women, children and seniors.

Some Girls on the Run coaches primarily connect with the organization by phone or email but the new office is creating more opportunities for those conversations to happen in person. Quimby recalled a coach who recently stopped by to pick up materials and stayed to share what she had experienced during her previous season.

The coach, who had completed her second season, told Quimby she initially thought she was signing up to lead another sports team. However, after the season-ending 5K, she was moved to tears and later called her mother to tell her about the impact the program had made on her.

“There’s so much more to this program and the power behind it,” Quimby said. “By having this welcoming space where people can come in, share their stories, we can share their stories, share any knowledge that we’re learning.”