Girls on the Run :: Our January Nonprofit of the Month {2021}
Girls on the Run is a social and emotional development program for 3rd-8thgrade girls that teaches valuable life skills, builds confidence, and helps participants realize and reach their unlimited potential. As part of the curriculum, running is creatively integrated as a way to demonstrate the important connection between the mind and body.
We facilitate the 8-week program each fall and spring, with girls meeting twice a week with trained GOTR coaches. Each season ends with a celebratory 5K celebration. We don’t care if our girls run, walk, skip, or hop through the race. For us, it is about showing them what they are truly capable of. As we like to say, “The finish line is just the beginning!”
The GOTR Memphis Story
On a hot June day in Memphis, women from around the community gathered to listen to Molly Barker.
The founder of Girls on the Run (GOTR), Barker was in the Bluff City to present the 2017 keynote address for the FedEx St. Jude Classic Executive Women’s Day.
A small group of Memphis women asked to speak with Barker privately following her presentation to discuss what it would take to bring GOTR to the city.
Fast forward a year and GOTR Memphis launched in fall 2018.
GOTR Memphis is a subsidiary council of Girls on the Run International, which has a network of over 200 councils across the country.
The Memphis program started in three schools and quickly grew to serve 110 girls in its inaugural year. In fall 2019, GOTR Memphis expanded its reach to eight program sites within public, private, and charter schools and community centers. The Spring 2020 season added two new sites. And, although the season was cancelled due to COVID-19, GOTR Memphis was able to provide its participants and families with an online GOTR At Home curriculum to continue their lessons.
This past fall, GOTR Memphis adapted its program for the virtual space, providing a safe and inspiring place where every young lady was encouraged to dream big, find their inner strength, love their unique self, and be virtually unstoppable!
Since our inception, GOTR Memphis has served over 500 girls and trained over 150 volunteers to serve as mentors and facilitators of our program.
Get Involved!
We are gearing up for our spring 2021 season, which is scheduled to start in March. In-person lessons will be offered in accordance with COVID protocols with the ability to seamlessly shift to a virtual model if needed. We will also offer a 100% virtual program option.
Coach registration is now open! And no, you do not have to be a runner, you simply need a desire to be a positive force in the lives of young girls. And if you’ve got a high schooler at home who would also like to get involved, we are always looking for junior coaches, too!
For more on how to get involved, click here.
Interested in enrolling your child to be a GOTR Girl? Registration opens February 1. Learn more about our program and get a registration reminder here.
No girl is ever turned away for an inability to pay our program fee, as we strongly believe every girl in our community should have access to this incredible curriculum. With that, fundraising is critical to our success. To help give a girl a brighter future, click here.
The Memphis Mom Collective features a nonprofit organization every month. If you know of a nonprofit that is making a difference here in Memphis, we want to know about it! Let us know by nominating them here.
