Charity Run: How the craze has reached a new level
A couple of years ago, running became a general urban hobby. and still continues to attract new and new people. Industry does not stand still and gives beginner runners everything they need for comfortable workouts, and even more: the lightest sneakers and clothes, trackers and applications. A person with any preferences can practice comfortably anytime, anywhere, but running clubs and mass races do not become less popular. On the contrary, they become a more desirable and conscious form of activity, because now many are running around not only for emotions and medals, but in order to help others. As a result, instead of inspiring photos from the finish (and with them), friends publish the details of their bank accounts on social networks. For those who are not familiar with the charity run, such activity is not very clear: a logical assumption that the money collected by the event will go to some good thing is, in principle, true, but does not give insight into the phenomenon. We decided to figure out who, how and why sports are involved in public affairs, and talked to people who ran and organized charity races.
The organization of any race needs money that the organizers receive not only from sponsors. To get to the vibrant and popular events like the Nike women's half marathon in San Francisco, where every runner gets a miniature Tiffany & Co. Medal. (and also give out sets with all necessary things like sunscreen and isotonic), you need to pay under 200 dollars. For comparison: this year you can run the Moscow Marathon for 1,200 rubles (another confirmation that running is one of the most accessible sports hobbies). There are free races too, but they are usually designed for a small number of people who decide to spend time together.
In fact, it is the money question that distinguishes the charity run from the ordinary. At the same time, it is not always for the sake of charity that they organize a separate race: in most large running events (half marathons, marathons), a pool of places is given to charitable organizations, so in theory a participant has a choice: just run a distance or run a distance and collect money before that. In practice, it is a little different: places for famous races end very quickly (on the day when registration opens, or several hours after it), so cooperation with a charitable organization is often the only way to get to the event.
The task of the organizers is to collect as much money as possible in favor of a foundation or person. For a runner, this means that he needs to pay not only the entrance fee, but also collect donations. Not all races set the minimum fee, without which they will not allow to run: for example, to take part in the 10-kilometer women's race in Glasgow, you need to pay 26 pounds (this is the fee for the organization itself), and donations to bring as much as you can collect. At the same time, the participants of the Virgin London Marathon will not only have to make an introductory £ 100, but also have to collect at least 2,000 - otherwise they will not be allowed into the marathon. In such events as the latter, a support system for participants is developed: Red Cross activists give training plans and recommendations on nutrition, as well as a pack of tips on how you can “raise” the amount, and are always ready to help if you have any problems.
Runners can earn money by any means - as long as they are (naturally, illegal actions are excluded). In theory, the “right” charity runner should tell others about how the foundation for which he collects money works, why it is important to help others, what problems specific social groups have. However, this is a very laborious activity, requiring a lot of free time and effort, moreover, it will not necessarily bring the necessary money. Therefore, some runners choose another method. Anna Mitrokhova, the founder of the Girl & Sole women's running club, decided to sell buns.
"I managed to collect the first money, throwing the cry on friends," says Anna. "It brought about twenty percent of the required amount. I collected the rest in seven months, with a break of two, selling buns at four major fairs. I have they asked a lot why I don’t collect money for a Russian organization, but a foreign one, but I wasn’t very embarrassed by this moment - a few years ago our funds didn’t take a big part in the big races, but I really wanted to get to the Berlin Marathon. there was no specific I decided to combine the pleasant (marathon) with the useful (charity).
A “good” charity runner should often say thanks to everyone and jerk people in every way
I would say that if a runner does not have a large audience and a good goal for which people will give money just like that, it will be hard to save money for the race. I was ready to add up my money if I could not collect it. Ideally, a “good” charity runner should write a lot about what he collects and for whom, very often, thank you all and pull people in every possible way. And I do not like terribly to ask and I do not like to jerk everyone, so the option of making money on the side and investing them seemed to me much more attractive. "
By the way, running is a traditional fundraising mechanism, but not the only one. The Charity Miles application for each mile that you rode a bicycle, a user ran or even passed, lists 10 and 25 cents, respectively, to charitable organizations (thanks for the sponsors: Timex Sports, Humana and Lifeway Foods). At first glance, this kind of opportunity is given by companies from the sport: for example, WWF decided to draw attention to the diminishing population of Amur tigers and offers to run for them. The mechanism is simple: if you do not fulfill the terms of the contract (run, say, 15 kilometers per week), you will have to give the tigers at least two dollars (but you can and more). Of course, the foundation does not hold back any further donations to cats or other animals.
As in the case of other charity initiatives, race participants can see where the money collected and donated by them went. This is largely determined at the stage of the choice of the supervising organization: several funds can buy at once for the same race, so the runner has the right to choose which one to play for. You can also first choose the direction of charity; One of the most comprehensible lists is provided by the Run for Charity website - it is immediately clear what and when to run to help the homeless, animals, hospices and other unprotected groups. Regardless of how the runner came to his organization, it provides an opportunity to make sure that the money went in the direction in which it was planned. So, after the Balloon Run, organized by Yulia Geseleva and Artyom Dozorov, the Aid for Children fund, which collaborated with them, prepared a report on spending money: 143,000 rubles were divided into families of children who require expensive treatment.
"Balloon Run" is a good indicator that even small projects can be beneficial. About 250 people participated in the race, but thanks to the sensible organization and the attractiveness of the idea (it’s just fun to run with the balls, it’s also noble to help sick children) it was possible to collect a considerable amount. Julia Geseleva says that this was her first experience in organizing not only a race, but a sporting event in general. “I participated in many different races, and at some point I wanted to organize my own, if not too big, but unlike others. Thus, the concept of“ Balloon Run ”was born. I offered the idea to my good friend, and he instantly supported me. We We worked out the concept in detail, marketing activities, communication of participants and the event scenario. We had a field kitchen, cupcakes and homemade cookies, gifts for the youngest participants of the race and a DJ from Ecuador. We didn’t want to earn money, it was just the same Maintenance to make a cool sports event and help those in need, "- says Yulia.
Charity adopts modern tools and therefore becomes closer to people
The most famous charity run organization in Russia is the Naked Heart Foundation. The first race in which he took part (the annual Paris Marathon) took place six years ago, and, according to the president of the foundation Asya Zaloginoi, the team thought that he would be the last. As it turned out, the interest in such events not only did not subside, but continues to grow: Every year, Naked Hearts attract more people and funds. “We have long wanted to organize our own race, and this year, thanks to the great support of Polina Kitsenko and Podium Sport, we succeeded. The race“ Running hearts ”, I hope, without any overlays, will be held on May 16 in Gorky Park,” Asya said. Now we hope to be able to do two races a year: one in Paris and one in Moscow. We cooperate with local organizations, last year we did an excellent job with the team of the Moscow Marathon.
The running hearts race will be small: it is designed for 1200 participants and provides for two distances - 5 and 10 kilometers. Soon after the registration for the race opened, we realized that people's interest in it exceeds our capabilities, but, unfortunately, we cannot change the scale of the agreed event. We did not set the minimum amount of donations, because we understand that the concept is new to the public, and so far we have decided to stop at the registration fee. Of course, it is allowed to collect additional funds: the fund helps each participant to create a page on justgiving.com, adds it to his team and informs subscribers in social networks about current crowdfunding. "
On the issue of accountability: First, Naked Hearts collected donations that were not targeted to specific programs. Then the organizers realized that it was more interesting and more logical to collect amounts for certain projects. “People like to know how much money was spent on a specific project, and transparency of work helps in reporting. For the last Paris Marathon, we set a goal to collect 200 thousand euros for arranging social integration rooms in Nizhny Novgorod schools - they will help children with severe mental spectrum disorders to the education system. We were all helped, we received this amount and in less than a year we will be able to show the finished rooms and report on the funds spent, "Asya comments.
Charity, like any form of social activity, is now adopting modern tools and therefore is getting closer to people. Even the laziest person can issue a monthly write-off of 100 rubles, which will be used to solve real problems, and, if desired, follow their movements. For those who find it important to educate others and be emotionally involved in the process, there are many other ways to help, and charity running is one of them. In general, it seems to be a natural development of the frivolous, at first glance, hobbies that run seems to beginners. In the eyes of many of those who initially ran for fun, gradually take serious distances, set personal records, and then - forcedly, as Anna Mitrokhova did with the Berlin marathon, or not - get involved in charity. For prudent runners (that is, following a training plan and caring for one’s own body), a charity run provides an opportunity to pump not only physically, but also emotionally - in an age when every half hour counts, and the request for good deeds grows valuable.
Photo: via Nike, Flickr (1,2), Moscow Marathon