Mercy Relief launches Singapore’s first charity run bearing a humanitarian theme. ‘Ground Zero – Run for Humanity 2015’ will be Mercy Relief’s inaugural humanitarian running event. The Singaporean NGO anticipates it will attract up to 3,000 participants. The run will be flagged off on Saturday 10 October 2015 at Big Splash, East Coast Park, at 7.00am. This run is timed to be in conjunction with World Food Day.
World Food Day (WFD) was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Member Countries at the Organization’s 20th General Conference in November 1979. It has since been observed annually in more than 150 countries, raising awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger.
Mercy Relief Chairman Michael Tay explains Mercy Relief’s foray into organising a running event, “We are a young and independent NGO and our ability to execute our mission – responding swiftly and effectively to natural disasters in the region, depend on the continuing goodwill of donors. ‘Ground Zero – Run for Humanity 2015’ is a charity fundraising event targeted to raise both awareness for our cause and funds for Mercy Relief.” In the recent devastating earthquake that struck Nepal in April 2015, Mercy Relief’s rapid assessment team was at ground zero within 48 hours after the disaster struck.
The registration period for the run reflects on the importance of the 72 hours disaster response window to prevent further damage or losses. Registration will open on Sunday 24 May. Runners registering during the first 72 hours upon the opening of registration will receive a discounted rate(capped at first 500 registrants for 10 km Race Against Time, and first 100 registrants for 5 km Relief Aid Challenge). Subsequently there will be an early bird followed by a normal registration period.
Run for the Humanitarian Cause
‘Ground Zero – Run for Humanity 2015’ bears two categories. The first, named “10km Race Against Time”, calls for participants to complete 10km within 80 mins. 2,500 runners are slated for this category. The second non-competitive category, named “5km Relief Aid Challenge”, portrays a survivor’s journey to obtain urgent supplies. This category has a slot for 500 participants. During the acute relief phase of a disaster relief operation, Mercy Relief provides survivors with emergency supplies weighing between 5kg to 10kg. To get these relief packs, survivors living in remote areas may have to walk several hours to and from the relief distribution point. Similarly, participants in the second category will carry a relief pack of equal weight for 5km. Tag teams of two are allowed in the second category. Team members can take turns to carry the relief pack through the distance of 5km. These relief packs will then be distributed to low income families in Singapore to mark Mercy Relief’s observance of World Food Day.
Runner’s Entitlement
All participants will each receive a bag, race bib, event t-shirt and many other promotional material and goodies.
“Given the incredible support we have received from both the public and private sector through our 12 years of operations, we thought it is timely to produce a running event to increase awareness and financial support for Mercy Relief’s humanitarian cause. Through this run, we invite the public in Singapore to be part of our mission to empower communities in Asia,” Tay concludes.
Ground Zero – Run for Humanity 2015
Registration opens on Sunday 24 May 2015
Website: www.groundzerorun.com
Golden Hours: first 72 hours *24 May – 26 May
Early Bird Registration: 27 May – 15 July 2015
Registration Closing: 15 Sep 2015
Guest-of-Honour, all sponsors, goodie bag items and value of goodie bag are to be confirmed. For more information, please visit the run’s microsite groundzerorun.com
About Mercy Relief
Mercy Relief is a Singaporean humanitarian organisation which engages in both disaster relief and sustainable development programmes. It was established in 2003 as an independent non-governmental humanitarian charity responding to the human tragedies in Asia. Mercy Relief’s aid programme focuses on providing timely and effective assistance to disaster-stricken communities and has maintained the delivery of emergency aid within 72 hours from the point of appeal for assistance.
In the past 12 years, Mercy Relief has disbursed over S$32 million in aid across 40 disaster relief and 53 sustainable development initiatives. Mercy Relief has impacted an aggregate of 2 million lives in 24 countries and areas, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Yemen.
For more information, you may call us at 6514 6322 or email corporateaffairs@mercyrelief.org
