About Us

Running Foarward

Our Mission

Whether it’s running, education, or service our goal is to build character and self-confidence in Utah’s youth. We aim to help the elementary students we work with establish life-long habits of healthy living, hard work, and pursuit of higher education. Our hope is that perseverance and determination in the small daily battles will lead the students we work with to overall long-term success, regardless of their economic standing or life circumstance.

As Dale Carnegie said, “Learning is an active process. We learn by doing”. Our volunteers hold meets for 4th-6th graders each Friday at low income elementary schools where they teach short lessons on life success skills like healthy eating, goal setting, and financial management. We then help these youth apply the skills we’ve talked about as we help them train for ou annual 5K in May. We hope to empower and encourage these youth to put their best foot forward throughout life.

10

Participating Schools

728

Total Student Participate

815

Pairs of Shoes donated

61

Volunteers

About Us

We are a non-profit organization located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our program focuses on assisting elementary school students in Title 1 elementary schools develop habits and skills that will help them be successful in their goals and encourage them to make higher education a priority.

Originally founded by Jake Franklin and John Asher, Running Forward started as a University of Utah student run service project at Mountain View Elementary in 2009. Since then, with the help of university volunteers and community members, Running Forward has become a nationally registered non-profit organization that encourages over 150 of Salt Lake’s youth to put their best foot forward!

Contact us