i-tri

Celebrating 10 Years &  

Serving 10 Schools

We Believe…

that helping a young woman make one positive change in her life will not only lead to more positive changes in her future, but that of her family, her school, her community and the world.  

Our Mission…

Serving girls from Mastic to Montauk, i-tri is an inclusive, community based program that fosters self-respect, personal empowerment, self-confidence, positive body image and healthy lifestyle choices for adolescent girls.  

Along their journey to the finish line of a youth distance triathlon, i-tri girls learn mutual respect, responsibility, teamwork and dedication, while developing strong habits and attitudes which last a lifetime.

Why We Do It…

Our community faces issues of poverty, growing drug use, the highest rate of teen pregnancy in state outside of New York City, and the area has become a cluster point for suicide and drug abuse in the past 3 years.  The East End of Long Island has the fastest growing population of immigrants, and over half of our immigrants do not speak English.  Our schools serve free or reduced priced lunches to approximately 40% of the students.  This is the world that our local girls are growing up in.

The process of growing into womanhood has never been easy, but in these circumstances it is even harder.  Even in the best of circumstances, the cycle is depressingly familiar: Girls enter elementary school being told they need to believe in themselves; and over 90% do.  Yet, by the time they enter high school that number drops by over half to just 29%.  

Our girls face choices that will have long-term and even lifelong consequences.i-tri’s program helps them not only to choose a safe path for now, but we give them the tools to be able to continue on that path for the rest of their lives.  From stronger leadership skills to higher academic performance we see consistent growth in our girls year after year.

That is why i-tri has never been about winning a race.  It is about the journey that transforms our girls into confident, empowered young women who believe in their abilities.   

And It Works…

As we enter our 10th year, i-tri has been recognized by our area’s educators, administrators, and social service agencies as a prevention system that achieves marked changes in mental health that are as important if not more so than their improved physical health.  

Our evaluations show a 37% decrease in self-abusive behaviors and an overall increase in the following areas:

Leadership Skills: 17%

Self-efficacy: 25%

Self-confidence: 13%

Interest in exercise: 21%

Better Eating Habits: 94%

Ability to Create Bonds: 14%

Ability to Problem Solve: 25%

Of course that doesn’t surprise us.  Because we know our girls CAN, 

we’re never surprised when we see them DO!