Girls on the Run® is a US 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.
Meeting twice a week in small teams, we teach life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons and running games. The curriculum is taught by certified Girls on the Run coaches and includes three parts: understanding ourselves, valuing relationships and teamwork and understanding how we connect with and shape the world at large.
Running is used to inspire and motivate girls, encourage lifelong health and fitness, and build confidence through accomplishment. Important social, psychological, and physical skills and abilities are developed and reinforced throughout the program. At each season’s conclusion, the girls and their running buddies complete a 5K running event which gives them a tangible sense of achievement as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals. The result—making the seemingly impossible, possible, and teaching girls that they can.
Girls on the Run believes that all girls and communities should have access to our programs. We strive to eliminate barriers to participation, to continue creating programming that engages all communities, to be intentional about staff and volunteer diversity, and to promote a culture of inclusion across the organization.
At Girls on the Run our core values guide us to be open-hearted, intentional decision makers who embrace differences and stand up for ourselves and others. Our dedication to these core values is reflected in our decision to make access and inclusion an organizational priority. We are committed to ensuring that our programs are accessible to any girl who wants to participate – with a goal of serving two million girls across the country by 2021. Efforts to reach this goal are rooted in our access and inclusion strategy.