1. T E D B . P E E T Z & A S H L E Y B O T H A M
B E L M O N T U N I V E R S I T Y
Girls on the Run: Athletes as
Advocates

2. Girls on the Run
 Girls on the Run® is a 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

3. Girls on the Run Nashville
 Girls on the Run Nashville has served 1,270 girls
since 2007 and 50.47% of those girls received
financial assistance in the form of scholarship
 At the heart of Girls on the Run
are amazing volunteers whose
commitment and passion impact
the lives of hundreds of girls each
year

4. Girls on the Run Nashville
Mission:
 We inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident
using a fun, experience-based curriculum which
creatively integrates running.
Vision:
 We envision a world where every girl knows and
activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly
pursue her dreams.

5. GOTR Curriculum
 The 24-lesson 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.

6. Our Study
 The purpose of our study was to examine the
motivations of volunteers who participate with Girls
on the Run.
 Having a better understanding of the motivations of
volunteers will all the organization to better
formulate recruitment strategies, and retain
qualified coaches/ running buddies.

7. Volunteers
 “Youth education and youth sport scholars agree that
the involvement of motivated and trained adults is a
crucial factor in offering high quality youth sport
programs, achieving program objectives and
benefits, ensuring safe environments, and enhancing
children’s overall experiences in youth sports” (Kim, Zhang,
& Connaughton, 2010 p. 26)

8.  Motivation is the
reasons, purposes and
goals that move people
to initiate, direct and
sustain actions. (Clary et al.
1998)
Volunteer Motivation

9. Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI)
 Values
 Express or act on important values like humanitarianism or concern for
beneficiary of volunteering
 Understanding
 Learning more about the world
 Social
 Seeking opportunities to establish relationship with others
 Career
 Professional benefits
 Protective
 Related to ego defense such as reducing negative feelings of guilt
 Enhancement
 Focuses on psychological growth or development

10. Study
 The purpose of this study was to examine the
motivations of volunteers of GOTR Nashville.
 Modified VFI (Kim, Zhang, & Connaughton, 2010) was sent out to 250
GOTR volunteers, 30 surveys were completed (12%
response rate)
 The sample consisted of 30 females, 90% had a
college degree or higher, 86% were 44 years of age or
younger.

11. Results
 Factor Score
 Values 6.28
 Understanding 5.42
 Social 5.38
 Enhancement 5.12
 Protective* 3.88
 Career* 3.64

12. Results
 Values
 I feel compassion toward people in GOTR
 I feel it is important to help those involved with GOTR
 I can do something for a cause in GOTR which is important to me
 Understanding
 Volunteering allows me to gain a new perspective on things in GOTR
 I can learn how to deal with a variety of people in GOTR
 I can explore my own strengths in GOTR
 Social
 People I am close to want me to volunteer in GOTR
 People I know share an interest in community service
 Others with whom I am close place a high value on community service
 Enhancement
 Volunteering in GOTR makes me feel important
 Volunteering in GOTR increase my self-esteem
 Volunteering in GOTR makes me feel needed
Mean SD
6.13 1.1
6.45 .67
6.26 .68
5.52 1.1
5.45 1.2
5.29 1.0
4.87 1.7
5.81 .70
5.48 .92
5.52 1.6
5.10 .83
4.74 1.5

13. Discussion
 Volunteers within this specific youth sport
organization are motivated by:
 A concern for the kids associated with Girls on The Run
 Building relationships with participants
 Gain a better understanding of issues concerning Girls in this
program
 Wanting to feel like they make a difference

14. Conclusion
 We used the Modified Volunteer Functions
Inventory to study volunteer motivation for
volunteers with Girls on The Run.
 We plan on presenting suggestions based on our
findings to help Girls on The Run –Nashville
manage, recruit, and retain quality volunteers.