NEW! This year, for the first time, you can run The Marine Corps Marathon or 10K for "The Girls." All registrations must be in by July 31. See the How You Can Help page. (Scroll down to "Run a race..." )

Read the reviews! We are a Great Non-Profit!

DONATE to help us help our running girls. Thank you!

OUR MISSION

The Girls Gotta Run Foundation (GGRF) is an all volunteer charitable organization founded in 2006 to raise money to provide support for impoverished Ethiopian girls who are training to be professional runners. Running is more than a sport for girls and women in Ethiopia. It empowers them to stay in school, avoid early marriage and childbirth, and gain economic self-sufficiency. Besides providing funds for running shoes, GGRF also provides money for training clothes, extra food ("calorie money"), coach subsidies, and other training-related expenses

OUR INSPIRATION

We were inspired by the spirit and determination of the girls in the December 29, 2005 Washington Post article written by Emily Wax, "Facing Servitude, Ethiopian Girls Run for a Better Life." She points out that in Ethiopia, girls' enrollment in education is among the lowest in the world and women and girls are more likely to die in chidlbirth than reach sixth grade. Additionally, Ethiopia has one of the largest caseloads of AIDS, forcing many girls to quit school to care for sick and widowed relatives. However, today, because seven of the 10 top-earning athletes in Ethiopia are women, some girls and their parents have begun to see careers as professional runners as viable options. Therefore, many who train in order to stay in school and keep their options open can, with the help of caring others, overcome many of the obstacles in their way. GGRF was founded to assist them.

OUR GOAL

By providing support for these aspiring athletes, Girls Gotta Run gives impoverished Ethiopian girls the chance to improve not only their lives, but also their families and communities. Sarah Murray's video of Team Naftech in Addis Ababa shows how this partnership is working.

THE GIRLS

At present we provide support for girls and young women on three teams: Team Tesfa, which started with four girls and now has twenty; the Simien Girl Runners, which has ten; and Team Naftech, which has seven. We also provide support for the first five female athletes in the Running Across Borders program. We also provide 100% of the funds for the administration of The Transitions Charity (for info about that, check back soon.)

MORE INFO and TO HELP

We have expanded the GGRF Board. Interested in serving? Click here to read more about it.

Please visit the rest of our website via the links above on the left. For additional information, feel free to contact the Executive Director at pat@girlsgottarun.org.

If you'd like to help Girls Gotta Run, you can DONATE via Paypal now, send us a check, made payable to GGRF, Inc., to GGRF, 3715 Jocelyn St., N.W., WDC, 20015, or visit our How You Can Help page.

(*Please note: We cannot use so do not accept used shoes or clothes. It is more efficient and economical to have the athletes or coaches purchase them in country. Additionally, tho well-intentioned, donations of material goods rather than money undermines a country's economy and often do not get to the intended recipients in any event. Purchases made in country support the economy and are guaranteed to get to the girls.)

Girls Gotta Run Foundation, Inc.

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