Little Bellas
Mentoring on Mountain Bikes
Our goal at Little Bellas is to create an experience where girls are having fun on their bikes. Little Bellas is a non-competitive program that offers week-long half and full day camps, weekly program sessions, and event camps for girls ages 7 to 18 years old. Our mentoring model allows girls to have fun on trails and play games in an uninhibited environment that encourages them to be themselves. We strive to help girls find a sense of empowerment and self-confidence through interacting with positive mentors, conquering obstacles, and mastering a skill.
One of Little Bellas’ founding principles has been to eliminate barriers to participation through financial aid and loaner equipment in our Gear Up program. Financial assistance is available for all programs and can be applied for by thoroughly answering the questions relating to equipment needs during registration.
A Brief History
In the early days, Little Bellas programs didn’t have much of a curriculum. Program leaders basically asked themselves what would be fun and then did whatever came to mind. Leaders pieced together a plan day-by-day and learned along the way; this process was underscored by embracing continuous improvement. Metaphorically speaking, they stayed one bike length out in front of the girls in order to keep them engaged each day. Since then Little Bellas has rolled this experiential learning into a curriculum and evolved the method but it is still anchored by Little Bellas’ founding tenets to teach the importance of teamwork, goal-setting, and of fostering a healthy lifestyle.
The big break for Little Bellas came when the first camp was held at the 2011 Sea Otter Classic, which put Little Bellas on the map and showed the cycling world what Little Bellas was doing.
As Little Bellas started to accelerate, our staff was able to dedicate more time to growing the organization. We worked hard to create the infrastructure to support employees, which was no small feat for an organization with modest resources.
identity
Women-Founded
Women-Founded
activities
Biking, Skateboarding
Biking, Skateboarding
organization
501(c)3
501(c)3
