Girls on the Run uses running and other physical activities as a platform for teaching life skills and promoting holistic health outcomes for girls in grades 3-8. The 10-week curriculum provides lessons relevant for 8- to 13-year-old girls and includes lessons that specifically target helping girls improve in competence, confidence, caring, character, connection, and contribution. Girls learn critical life skills such as how to manage emotions, help others, make intentional decisions, and resolve conflict that they use at home, at school, and with friends. The program inspires girls to build lives of purpose and to make a meaningful contribution to community and society. A key element of the program is to create and execute a community service project. The season concludes with a celebratory 5K event. Funding will help provide scholarships to serve girls of all backgrounds and remove any financial barriers for families to ensure that all girls who want to participate in GOTR can. Funding will re-establish the GOTR program in Black Hawk County that was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
