Last Friday, July 9, 2010, the angels took pity on me and made my impossible schedule available for the launching of the Run to Read at Max's Greenbelt 1, Makati.It was a wonderful evening, a night that I thought could only happen in a dream. (Thank you, thank you Eric for inviting me!)
I always enjoy meeting fellow runner bloggers -- it's as if we've been friends forever! (you may find our pictures in Face Book).
Listening to Nikky (of BrandWorX), Patty (the friend-sidekick of Anne, who's the "brains and heart" of this cause), Bea (the National Book Store Foundation representative) and Eric Pasion (president of Run4Change) made me shed a bucket of tears. Here's why.
Below is one of the articles included in our kit.
Running to a better future through reading:
It's no big surprise that running marathons has become one of the most participated sports recreation events in the country. For one thing, running can easily be anybody's game, one that almost everyone is equipped to perform" no goals to kick the ball into, no rings to shoot at, no paddles to swing. One relies on his strength and power to achieve -- a common goal that everyone, runner or not shares. It's either a competitive or non-competitive sport depending on what the participant chooses to make out of the distance he runs. while running is generally a solo sport, here in the Philippines, it's become a healthy way of bonding among groups of friends, work colleagues, active families and young couples, making it an even more attractive sport to get into.
Hearts pounding, sweat dripping, soles bouncing on the pavement -- runners always get their rush when they're out on the road. There is also that fulfillment in seeing the finish line up ahead, in knowing that they've overcome themselves once more. The runners' high gets stronger though when a worthy cause is at a race's helm.
A child's ability to read and learn is by far the most important skill that will get him or her through life. Unfortunately, children all over the country suffer from having little access to books that can feed their minds and broaden their knowledge on various subjects. Public libraries supposed to be their means to learn more are ill equipped, under-funded, unmanned and simply in bad physical condition, thereby failing on their function.
The Philippines only has about 688 public libraries, less than 40% of the required minimum 1,851 libraries to serve 220 congressional districts, 136 cities and 1,495 municipalities. This affects some 40% of the population or nearly 40 million Filipinos as it unacceptably deprives our children of a resource that could spell a difference for their future. Together with National Bookstore's Buklat Aklat program, the Run to Read fun run was created to raise funds to build Leave-Behind public libraries in rural and less fortunate urban areas to offer hope for our youth's future.
Run to Read Fun Run will be held on August 15, 2010 at Bonifacio Global City. (Eric announced that this will be a new race route!) The run will be composed of 4 major distance events: 3K, 5K, 10K, 15K and a 500 meter dash for kids with their moms or dads. An informative Sports Running Clinic for new runners will be held on July 28 on the basics of running, healthy living and the great cause behind the Run to Read Fun Run.
Run to Read is an effort in participation with National Bookstore (we were told by Bea that National Bookstore will equal the amount that will be donated from the proceeds of this Run), Bonifacio Global City, The Philippine Star, Sony Ericsson (5 phones will be given away in the raffle), Moms Today, Health Today, Pocari Sweat, Toby's Sports (duffle bags as raffle prizes), Delta Airlines (2pcs of 250USD Electronic Credit Voucher to the lucky raffle winners), Tapa King (available at the venue), Yellow Cab (would you believe P10,000 worth of Yellow Cab GC is included in the raffle?), Reebok and Drypers Wee Wee DRY diapers (2000 pcs loot bags).
Runners and interested participants who'd like to take a step in contributing to this cause can register at:
Secondwind Store QC, 88 Maginhawa St. Teachers Village, Diliman Quezon City
Secondwind Store Ortigas, Ortigas Home Depot, 1 Dona Julia Vargas Ave, Ortigas
All Terra Cyclery, Club 650 Libis, Quezon City
BrandWorX Inc Head Office, Penthouse Eurovilla 2 Bldg., V.A. Rufino St. Makati City
Runnr Store B3 Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City, Philippines
Reebok Festival Supermall, SM Megamall and TriNoma
Royal Sporting House, AliMall, Glorietta 4 and Robinsons Place Ermita
Registration may also be done online thru runnersrunner.com. And if the early bird catches the worm, registrants from July 1 - 15, 2010 get P50 off the registration fee. Registration for Run to Read Fun Run is from July 1 to August 8. Fees to participate in the run are from P350 to P500 depending on the distance.
Be up to date with Run to Read, visit run4change.com/runtoread. Facebook.com/runtoread. For inquiries email read@run4change.com.
And if the above article doesn't convince you 100% to join this heroic event, feast your eyes on their multi-colored singlets!
A singlet of your color choice! (of course I'll pick red, my favorite color)
See you August 15!
Take care, everyone!
