On your marks, get set … More than 20 homeless people in Cape Town took part in a social run on World Homeless Day, Monday the 10 of October. The event was organised by the local NPO, The Hope Exchange.
“What an uplifting way to mark World Homeless Day. Both homeless clients, staff and volunteers had such a fun morning running together. The amount of laughter, jokes and cheering being shared among all on the route was inspiring. It was amazing to witness how we all reached the finish line in high spirits,” says Marie Slundt, marketing fundraising executive at The Hope Exchange.
The idea came about after Neighbourgood, SneakerLab and The Late Running Club collected gently used sneakers for the NPO’s homeless clients.
“We thought about how we could tie this generosity into an event while celebrating with our clients and creating awareness for our cause, hence the idea for a run,” she says. Homeless clients who signed up received a pair of sneakers in their size for the run and to keep.
“This was a pilot project to show that being homeless is not a barrier to interacting socially and being active. Dignity comes in many forms.” Marie continues: “I have the feeling the event will be repeated and grow. Several of the clients have always asked when we can all run together again. And now a few days later, on my way to work, I met one of the participants who still proudly wears the medal he was given.”
