Empowerment through RUNNING
Using outdoor sports to develop girls’ and young women’s leadership and wellness, and address gender inequity in areas of conflict.
Using outdoor sports to develop girls’ and young women’s leadership and wellness, and address gender inequity in areas of conflict.
Free to Run’s mission is to advance gender equity globally through running. We do this by providing leadership and well-being programs for girls and young women in conflict areas, in conjunction with running experiences. We typically work with refugees, internally displaced people, and girls and young women who identify as ethnic minorities. While we work closely with individuals, we are working to drive change in community gender norms and towards a systematic shift in gender equality, with a specific focus on the expansion of access to public space and leadership opportunities for girls and young women.
We start by creating safe spaces. We tirelessly engage the community to not just accept, but engage in Free to Run programs. Our participants come from diverse backgrounds but all come from places where girls’ sport is not yet common or understood. In addition to running, participants experience a gender-specific leadership and life skills curriculum that helps them build critical leadership skills, resiliency, and knowledge of health and their rights. Sessions are led by young women who are alumni of the program, and who share an identity with the participants.
Free to Run operates in some of the most challenging regions in the world, where decades of conflict and instability have resulted in extreme social isolation for women and girls as well as harassment, constrained mobility, and unequal access to their rights. Since 2014 we have worked to create positive change in the lives of thousands of young women and girls living in regions of conflict, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
If you believe in the power of sports to change lives, we need your help. From park runs to ultramarathons to bake sales or school fundraisers, you can run to raise awareness and funds for our programs. Join us as we work to create positive social change through sports.