Our Program
Mission
We inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running
Vision
We envision a community where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams
About
Girls on the Run® is a life-changing, experiential learning programs for girls age eight to thirteen years old (3rd-8th grade). The programs combine training for a 3.1 mile running event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goals of the programs are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development.
Objectives
The objective of Girls on the Run is to educate and empower girls at an early age in order to prevent the display of at-risk activities in the future. At risk activities include substance/alcohol use, eating disorders, early onset of sexual activity, sedentary lifestyle, depression, suicide attempts and confrontations with the juvenile justice system.
The Program
Girls on the Run® is a 501(c)3 positive youth development program which combines an interactive curriculum and running to inspire self-respect and healthy lifestyles in pre-teen girls. Our core curriculum addresses many aspects of girls’ development - their physical, emotional, mental and social well-being. Lessons provide girls with the tools to make positive decisions and to avoid risky adolescent behaviors. There are two programs:
Girls on the Run -- for 3rd-5th graders
Girls on Track -- for 6th-8th graders
The Girls on the Run curriculum has been in use since the fall of 1996. Since that time thousands of girls have been through the program-but what we soon discovered is, they were having so much fun and getting so connected, they wanted something that would carry them through middle school. We originally wanted to call it Girls on the Run for Middle Schoolers. The girls who were participating told us they wanted something they could call their own. Hence the birth of Girls on Track.
The principal philosophies and psychological research for both programs are the same yet the depth of processing the topics varies with the two different curricula. We can go into more targeted and age-appropriate discussion regarding certain topics (eating disorders, tobacco and alcohol use, personal/internet safety and harassment to name a few) with the middle school participants, whereas with the younger girls the discussion remains a bit more vague or may not occur at all.
Our Core Values
Girls on the Run honors its core values. We strive to:
1. Recognize our power and responsibility to be intentional in our decision making
2. Embrace our differences and find strength in our connectedness
3. Express joy, optimism and gratitude through our words, thoughts and actions
4. Nurture our physical, emotional and spiritual health
5. Lead with an open heart and assume positive intent
6. Stand up for ourselves and others
Key words that align with our core values: Empowerment, responsibility, intentionality, diversity, connectedness, joy, optimism, gratitude, nurturing, healthy, open-hearted, compassion
