TED B. PEETZ & ASHLEY BOTHAM BELMONT UNIVERSITY Girls on the Run: Athletes as Advocates
Nov 17, 2014
TED B. PEETZ & ASHLEY BOTHAM BELMONT UNIVERSITY
Girls on the Run: Athletes as Advocates
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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)
Motivation is the reasons, purposes and goals that move people to initiate, direct and sustain actions. (Clary et al. 1998)
Volunteer Motivation
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
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.
Results
Factor Score
Values 6.28Understanding 5.42Social 5.38Enhancement 5.12Protective* 3.88Career* 3.64
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
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
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.