RAISING FUNDS:Standard Chartered KL Marathon provides platform for runners to donate to charity
IT is time for you to leave a trail of kindness in your run by taking part in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon.
The organiser of the marathon is inviting runners to participate in "Run for a Cause", a charity programme for participants to raise funds for a charity of their choice.
This year, the four participating charities in the programme are The Standard Chartered Trust Fund (SCTF), The National Autism Society Malaysia (NASOM), EcoKnights and Malaysian National Animal Welfare Foundation (MNAWF)
Runners who take part in "Run for a Cause" are required to choose a charity to support and raise a minimum of RM500 in total donations to have their entry fee waived.
They are given the opportunity to design a profile page on the Standard Chartered KL Marathon "Donating Runners" website to spread the word about their involvement to friends, family members and colleagues.
"To date, we have raised RM33,000 from 132 runners for 'Run for a Cause' and we are very proud and humbled with the overwhelming support," said Dirigo Events Sdn Bhd director Rainer Biemans .
"This year, we hope that with the added awareness of the programme and of the charities, we can attract more runners to raise funds for these worthy causes.
"In the past three years, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon has managed to raise almost RM1.4 million for charity.
"Through 'Run for a Cause', we have taken a step forward by becoming a true community event by helping the less fortunate across all ages and races."
One of the returning charities for this year is The Standard Chartered Trust Fund (SCTF).
Last year, runners and corporations raised over RM150,000 that was dispersed to various programmes such as the Standard Chartered Paediatric AIDS Fund that collaborates with the Malaysian AIDS Foundation to assist 150 HIV infected and affected children across Malaysia.
The bank's staff worked together with the Malaysia National Council for the Blind to produce 4,000 units of Braille and audio books for 160 visually impaired schools and libraries across Malaysia, while special needs children at Pusat Jagaan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Sri Eden received computer lab sponsorship equipped with learning development programmes.
This year, the funds raised for SCTF will go towards its "Seeing is Believing" Mobile Eye Clinic. The anticipated set-up cost for the mobile eye clinic is RM500, 000.
Another returning charity is The National Autism Society Malaysia (NASOM). Last year, the runners raised RM81,064.
For the first time, 21 children from NASOM, accompanied by parents and teachers, will take part in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon Kids Dash 700m category.
Running with the NASOM children this year will be celebrity Bernie Chan and Capital FM deejay Joanne Kam
Corporations can support the "Run for a Cause" initiative by participating in the Corporate Challenge category.
Companies such as Shearn Delamore and Axiata Group will compete in the race as a team to give back to the community by donating to their selected charity partners.
For more information, visit kl-marathon.com or facebook.com/SCKLmarathon or twitter.com/scklmarathon