Volunteer Highlight — Phil Hayes
Phil giving a high five to a participant at their BIO Girls 5K Finale.
Phil and his family at the 2026 BIO Girls Appleton 5K Finale.
Meet Phil Hayes
BIO Girls Volunteer Site Director in Appleton, Wisconsin
When Phil’s employer sent around emails about BIO Girls, he had no idea what it was all about. He thought it was just another science thing and as a girl dad of toddlers at the time, those emails went unread. But fast forward a few years after a move from Fargo, ND to Appleton, WI, Phil paused and opened one of those emails.
“I clicked on the website and I thought, 'Oh my gosh. We have to do this.' Our girls absolutely need this.”
After spending some time researching the mission of BIO Girls (and realizing it was not a science thing) but rather a preventative mental health program for girls in grades 2-6, Phil began to wonder if a Dad could be a volunteer leader too.
“The first thing I did is talked to my wife and said, 'Hey, this is going to be a healthy time investment. But I really think that we need to do it.”
Thankfully, she 100% agreed. BIO Girls became something for their whole family when their oldest daughter became a 2nd grader. They made it a family decision knowing if they started with their oldest in 2nd grade, both girls would be able to do the entire program through 6th grade.
“It's not just me raising my hand and saying, 'Hey, I'm going to step away from my family responsibilities so that I can go do something that fills my bucket.' No, this is something that we can do together for our family.”
Their youngest daughter just started her BIO Girls journey this year. Phil recalls a worksheet she brought home from school that asked her how she recently served somebody else. She wrote how she was able to defend one of her classmates. Phil believes that BIO Girls programming only helps reinforce life lessons that they want their girls to learn.
This season Phil recalls a girl who was very reluctant to join.
“We have a second grader. She's from a different school. She didn't have a community yet. She was scared. She clung to mom and she was crying. She wouldn't sit down. I just went over and gently touched mom on the shoulder and just whispered to her and told her to just get her to stay. We just want her here. Just stay. She will love this eventually. Let's give her the space and the comfort to be able to open up.
Her mom told me that she really has trouble starting new things. She said she thought this will be really good for her. I told her that she's in the exact right place where she needs to be.
Now she dresses up every time. She wears a rainbow skirt and bright colors and she wears kitty ears headband and is just a shining star in the program.”
Most of all, Phil does it for the Lord and eternal impact.
“My life's mission is to glorify God in all I do so I can make an eternal impact on Jesse, Lucy, Sally and the world around me. BIO Girls has allowed me a platform to do that at such a huge scale. We can build up girls who are inspired to make the world a better place alongside us.”
Phil, what can we say. We are all so incredibly grateful for the impact you have made on BIO Girls in your community and within our organization. We are blessed to have you leading a program and are thankful to your whole family. And special thanks to your Marketing Lead, Rachel, for keeping you on track. 😊
How can I get involved?
We have a variety of ways for people to get involved with BIO Girls. We can’t wait to connect with you and see where we can make an impact in your community together!
Hear from Phil
Phil was recently interviewed by a local news station in Wisconsin. Tune in to hear more!
