doing good or running well? an analysis of wellness and motivation to participate in fitness...
TRANSCRIPT
Doing Good or Running Well? An Analysis of Wellness and Motivation to Participate in Fitness Fundraisers
Michelle Bolwerk
&
Professor Peter Hart-Brinson
Why Do People Volunteer?
Values Understanding Career Social Enhancement Protective
(Clary et al., 1998)
What is Wellness?
According to the National Wellness Institute: Occupational Physical Social Intellectual Spiritual Emotional
(National Wellness Institute, 1976)
EventJust Us for Justice
Run/Walk "Brute"al 5K
Run/Walk
Cruisin’ the Blues in my Running Shoes
Run/Walk
Pursuit of a Cure Run/Walk
Booking it for Books Run
Walk for PawsJDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes
Location Eau Claire Strum Durand Arcadia Elk Mound Menomonie Eau Claire
Distance(s)5 Mile2 Mile½ Mile
5K5K
10K5K
4 Mile2 Mile½ Mile
~1 Mile 2 Miles
BeneficiariesInternational Justice Mission and Fierce
Freedom
Strum Community Foundation
Food Pantry, Cross Country Team,
Humane Society
American Cancer Society
Elk Mound LibraryDunn county
Humane SocietyJDRF
Entry Fee No Charge $25.00 $15.00 $25.00 $20.00 $25.00 No Charge
Number of Participants
832 73 65 285 72 adults, 20 kids 100 500
Gross Revenue$27,500 ($5,000 Fierce Freedom, $22,500 IJM)
$1,000.00 $1,600.00 $38,500.00 $1,806.00 $10,000.00 $48,000.00
Notes: Data regarding number of participants was received by follow-up emails to the event organizers. They are self-reports and were not independently verified.
Interview Questions
1. Why did you choose to participate in this fundraiser today?
2. What motivated you to actively participate instead of just donating money to the cause?
3. How does participating in this event make you feel?
4. How would you define wellness or wellbeing?
5. What do you think the outcomes of this race will be?
Notes: I gave several follow up questions to these answers when they were necessary such as: In which ways do you think your personal wellness
has improved from doing this fitness fundraiser?
Number of Participants for Each Category of Motivations and Wellness
General Motivation Specific Motivation
Values 39 15
Social 27 21
Fitness 20 32
Enhancement 19 40
Understanding 11 5
Protective 0 1
Career 1 0
Wellness
Physical 43
Intellectual 20
Emotional 17
Social 12
Spiritual 4
Occupational 0
Note: Most responses were coded into multiple categories
Enhancement Motivation: Becoming More Healthy
“I’m trying to get healthier myself. And it’s a reason to get out there and walk.”
(Female, Just Us for Justice)
Result #1: Individualism
Fitness Motivation:Enjoy Physical Activity
“Well, I don’t really know that much about the cause. Um, it’s a convenient day to do a race. I race probably every two weeks and this just happened to be on a night that I had time to do it. I don’t really care about the cause or anything like that.”
(Male, Just Us for Justice)
Result #1: Individualism
Wellness
“Wellness I would say, well taking care of yourself. Getting out there, being active. You know, that’s another reason why I come out. Instead of just giving money, it’s something, I go out and I get to walk and the dogs get to walk.”
(Female, Walk For Paws) “Wellness and wellbeing is probably partly how your
body is but also your state of mind and who you are and that’s kind of why I like these events because again, it brings people out and gets them out and thinking.”
(Female, Walk for Paws)
Result #1: Individualism
Value Motivation: Find Cure
“Well number one because Laura is my granddaughter. And I think, we can come up with a cure for diabetes, you know for all, young and old. I work in health care and I see just diabetes and the prevalence is so much on the rise in our young kids, our little kids, that I think the more that we can get out there and, the better we are, the better they will be. And hopefully we will be able to have a cure for them in their lifetime.”
(Female, JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes)
Result #2: Altruism
Social Motivation: Spread Awareness
“I first heard about it through our church, the Bridge. And our pastors wife is very, this is very much her passion and once I learned about human trafficking and that it’s so huge, and that it happens right here in our own country in our own city even, I was like, I have to do something.”
(Female, Just Us for Justice)
Result #2: Altruism
Social Benefit: Build Community
Everyone seemed to know everyone else. When people arrived, they were greeting each other with hugs and smiles, asking one another how family members were doing and other personal conversations. . . Just about everyone there seemed excited and happy to be participating in this race for one reason or another. I really enjoyed this smaller group of fun runners because it felt like such a fun thing to do, not a obligation which running can feel like sometimes.
(Field Notes, ‘Brute’al 5k Run/Walk)
Result #2: Altruism
Summary
Individualistically and altruistically motivated Wellness as individualistic motivation
Broad social benefits
Variation across events JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes
No Entry fee Most money raised Clear Values motivation
Cruisin’ the Blues in my Running Shoes Entry fee Split between three beneficiaries Most people were unaware of cause
Not always inherently civic
References
Clary, E. Gil ; Snyder, Mark ; Ridge, Robert D ; Copeland, John ; Stukas, Arthur A ; Haugen, Okun, M. A., Barr, A., & Herzog, A. (1998). Motivation to volunteer by older adults: A test of competing measurement models. Psychology and Aging, 13(4), 608-621.
Hettler, Bill. (1976). The Six Dimensions of Wellness. Retrieved from http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.nationalwellness.org/resource/resmgr/docs/sixdimensionsfactsheet.pdf