Delhi celebrates the spirit of giving ahead of the 17th Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon with United Way Delhi
Over 1 crore raised in 30 days
New Delhi, 11th Oct 2022 – United Way Delhi is strengthening the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon’s legacy as one of India’s largest sports philanthropy platforms. A not-for-profit organization, United Way Delhi, the event’s philanthropy partner, affirms and stands for compassion toward the community.
During the 17th edition of the world’s premier half marathon on Sunday, October 16, the capital will not only experience the impressions of enthusiastic runners from around the world, but also thousands of hearts throbbing to make a difference to the lives in need.
The Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon is a cause neutral platform and has always encouraged and supported citizens with diverse abilities and NGOs to fundraise for causes close to their hearts.
For this edition, 50+ not-for-profit organisations, 100+ individual fundraisers and 10+ corporates have been actively fundraising in domains across early childhood development, education & youth, health & well-being, livelihood & financial stability, gender diversity & inclusion, environment & biodiversity, and disaster response.
Within 30 days, more than INR 1 crore has been raised and the number is going up each day. The contributions made on the platform have captured the passion of giving from over 4000+ unique donors from India and the world.
Commenting on the association and the philanthropy drive for this edition, Ms Rina Kaushal, Chairperson, United Way Delhi, said, “The pandemic has made us realize the importance of community living and in stepping ahead unitedly to transform the world around us. Each Step Counts is our call this year and the same is being taken in its best spirit by all the participating NGOs, fundraisers, and corporates at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon 2022. Thank you for coming forward to make a difference.”
The amount generated by shall be utilized by the partnering NGOs in multiple causes of relevance to further social impact projects. While the world has been shaken up by conflicts and adversities, we humans have witnessed the act of coming together & rebuilding the community.
With social impact at the heart of the company’s ethos, the event’s title sponsor, Vedanta
Limited, has pledged one million meals for its #RunForZeroHunger campaign during the race. Leading from the front over 11,000 Vedanta employees have participated in the virtual running challenge and already logged more than 6.5 lakh kilometers, contributing 6.5 lakh meals.
Ms Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Non-Executive Director, Vedanta Limited, is championing the ESG mission at Vedanta and works actively with CSR teams to eventuate the vision on ground. A nature lover and an animal enthusiast, Priya, said: “At Vedanta, giving back to the society is at the very core purpose of our business. As part of our commitment to creating a malnutrition free India, our Nand Ghars are working towards impacting the lives of 7 crore children and 2 crore women across the country. To further this mission, we are calling each one to #RunForZeroHunger – Together we can make it happen.”
Vivek Singh, Jt. MD, Procam International, said, “Mass-participation sports has been indelibly linked to promoting social causes since time immemorial. It is wonderful to see diverse people come together to make a difference to society. Running is about catalysing change and transformation for the greater good”.
The press meet today showcased inspiring stories from some of our fundraisers who believe in making a positive impact in the community.
A brief profile of them and their commitment is below:
- Arya Agarwal – a young school-going first-time fundraiser, who wishes to support other children (primarily for education) who are not as fortunate as himself.
- Gagan Arora, Founder & Chief Coach of Kosmic Running Club – leading the philanthropy drive of Kosmic Running Club, the Run Club has been spearheading various causes and mobilizing resources since the last few years, each time choosing a new cause to support. This year they are supporting the Women Sports Foundation which aims to empower girl children through sports from vulnerable sections of the community.
- Tarun Walecha, Founder of RunXtreme – Tarun is not only an avid runner but also inspires runners across the board to and become run ambassadors for various causes, lending a deeper purpose to their runs. He has been supporting athletes from marginalized sections through an annual program called Share and Care. In the last 6 years he’s helped almost 2000 athletes under the same program. As a group, RunXtreme has been regular at supporting social causes. This year they have chosen to support Maitarayana, their target being to support 50 young girls from Delhi to go through their economic empowerment journey under the NGO’s larger project that caters to girl children from vulnerable communities.
- Anjali Hegde, ED of Udayan Care – With an experience of over 28+ years in the sector, Anjali is leading from the front at the core management level, raising funds for her organization. Who better to advocate the cause of girl’s education, especially with the disparity in the world after a lockdown of almost 2-years.
- AECOM (fielding a Corporate Team to run for mental health) – when an organization who could have easily fielded a team of their employees in the general registration mode, chooses to support a cause (that too mental health especially after the pandemic) and contribute, its heartwarming. AECOM is supporting United Way Delhi’s projects supporting students of Delhi Govt. schools and rural women in Haryana combat mental health issues.
About United Way Delhi
United Way Delhi (UWD) is an independent local not-for-profit organization affiliated with the United Way Worldwide Family – one of the World’s Largest Leadership with 1800 affiliate chapters across 41 countries. United Way Delhi (UWD), since 2008, has been working actively to advance the ‘common good’ for the local community through innovative social impact interventions and partnerships under domains including foundational learning, quality education, healthcare, environment, livelihood, and disaster response, across the country.
