Our Mission and Values

Our Mission and Values

The mission of the Kalamazoo Area Runners is the promotion of running as a source
of physical, spiritual and social wellness while enhancing the quality of life
in the community.   To enable us to further our mission, we may engage in the following activities:

• Facilitate, promote, and/or conduct races
• Facilitate, promote, and /or conduct training programs and group runs
• Conduct lectures,  educational activities,
  demonstrations, clinics
• Host fun runs and social events
• Print/publish books, magazines, and newsletters
• Present awards; and do other things as may be conducive to the encouragement of
  running.
• Engage in community activities and publicize the benefits of running as a means of
  physical fitness and cooperate with other organizations with a similar goal and
  purpose

As we strive to carry out our mission, it is important that we have a clear vision
and strong values to guide us in our actions and represent our organization in
a positive manner, whether board Members, directors, volunteers, staff, members,
event and program participants or community partners.

Innovation

We embrace and drive change with passion and strive to excel as a leader in identifying
and experimenting with new concepts in running club, event and program management.

Value

We are committed to offering exceptional value and connecting our community through offering
quality events and programs at low cost. 

Leadership

Through the sport of running, we are dedicated to developing volunteer leadership;
equipping, enabling and empowering them to serve within our organization, as
well as within the running community and greater community.

Diversity

We embrace our differences and how diversity can enable us to build a welcoming, strong
and successful organization.

Community

We recognize the importance of community collaboration, and work together with
other organizations to not only foster wellness through the sport of running,
but enhance the overall quality of life in our community.

Respect

We value and honor each individual touching our organization for their unique abilities,
contributions and achievements, and strive to treat each person with the utmost
dignity and respect. 

Integrity

We uphold honesty and high ethical standards as representatives of our organization.  We strive to deal fairly with our leadership
team members, members, event and program participants, sponsors, vendors and community partners.

Teamwork

We work together to achieve our goals, and celebrate the successes of our leadership
team members, members, community partners and all those we impact.