About Girls on the Run

Mission – To educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of healthy living
and self respect

Girls on the Run of Los Angeles County is an independent council of Girls on the Run International. [include link] Our local council was founded in 2004 with an emphasis on Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley. In early 2008, based on enthusiastic community support, a newly formed board decided to launch a transition from an all-volunteer organization to a sustainable professional organization. In December 2008, Girls on the Run International approved a territory expansion to cover all of Los Angeles County.

Our 10-year-plan is to offer every girl in Los Angeles County an opportunity to participate in Girls on the Run. We welcome your participation in achieving that ambitious goal!

Values

Girls on the Run of Los Angeles County aspires to honor these core values, as individuals and as an organization.

We live with gratitude

Our actions and words are honest

We maintain a balance between our personal and professional lives, and convey the importance of this balance with others

We are tobacco- and drug-free and, if we drink alcohol, we do so in moderation

We seek the positive lessons in our life's challenges

We live life outside the Girl Box by encouraging ourselves and others to celebrate themselves as they are

We are open-minded

We positively assert ourselves

We believe and share with others that making the best effort is what matters

We release past regrets and future worries and live with appreciation in the moment every day

We continually strive to improve our self-awareness

About Girls on the Run International

Molly Barker, a four-time Hawaii Ironman Triathlete, established Girls on the Run in August of 1996 to celebrate the gifts of girlhood and to address what she calls Girl-Box issues. A former competitive athlete, Molly holds a Masters in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a former high school teacher and track coach. She has also worked as a college counselor at a small private college addressing the needs of women with eating disorders, alcohol and substance abuse problems and depression.

The product of Molly's experience, Girls on the Run is one way to provide pre-adolescent girls with enabling tools to embrace their girlhood gifts as they enter middle and high school, and then on into adulthood. (Click here to Read Molly’s Story)