Who We Are
Girls on the Run® is a 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 of 8-15 girls, we teach life skills through dynamic, conversation-based lessons and running games. The research-based 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. At each season's conclusion, the girls and their running buddies, complete a 5k running event. Completing a 5k gives the girls 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.
We believe that every girl
can embrace who she is,
can define who she wants to be,
can rise to any challenge,
can change the world.
Can.
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Mission
We inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.
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Vision
We envision a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.
Empowerment, Responsibility, Intentionality, Diversity, Connectedness, Joy, Optimism, Gratitude, Nurturing, Healthy, Open-hearted, Compassion
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Our Core Values
Girls on the Run honors its core values. We strive to:
- Recognize our power and responsibility to be intentional in our decision making
- Embrace our differences and find strength in our connectedness
- Express joy, optimism and gratitude through our words, thoughts and actions
- Nurture our physical, emotional and spiritual health
- Lead with an open heart and assume positive intent
- Stand up for ourselves and others
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Our History
During a sunset run in 1993, after years of questioning her self-worth and being defined by others, Molly Barker, found the inspiration that grew into Girls on the Run. Seeking a way to help girls recognize their extraordinary potential and thrive in a world that often sends them unhealthy and unrealistic messages, she began creating a solution.
In 1996, Molly piloted the earliest version of a lesson-based curriculum with 13 brave girls in Charlotte, North Carolina. The girls told their friends and those friends told more friends and in 2000, Girls on the Run became a 501c3 non-profit organization. Today, the organization serves girls in over 200 cities across the United States and Canada.
While Girls on the Run has evolved from a grass-roots concept to an international organization, the heart of the program is the same: inspiring girls to celebrate their unique identities, recognize their inner strength, understand the power they have to make individual decisions and value their connectedness with others.
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