Written by Secretary, Ate Ren dela Cruz
The fitness craze in the country has been on a roll in the last few years, with runs and sports activities being put up by various organizations. What made last Saturday’s Fun Run special though, was that it benefited not only those who were running in the event, but it was for an underprivileged sector as well. A few months back, our friends at 3M Philippines asked us to partner with them for a Fun Run for a children’s NGO in need of support. 3M has always been active in their Corporate Social Responsibility, staging programs and even donating to one of our beneficiaries in the past. We were happy to take on the task of organizing this Fun Run for them, and tapped community-based partner Food for Hungry Minds as the event’s beneficiary. Food for Hungry Minds aims to create schools for disadvantaged children, so they can succeed academically through Philippine basic education–to serve in life and to dream of a better future.
The day started early, with 3M Philippines employees and friends coming in at around 4AM. We distributed customized singlets for the run participants, and started off the program with welcome remarks from 3M Philippines’ Managing Director, Kuya Anthony Bolzan. Before gunstart, we also called on kuya Josh Berin, a pro-runner and coach who is part of Team Rio. He woke up the participants with his energetic stretches and exercises, also meant to lessen the risk of any injuries while running. The fun run soon commenced, and over a hundred participants went on their way to finish one round of 2.5KM, or more–depending on the number of cycles they were willing to run. Bananas and water were located in various stations to ensure the participants were getting enough hydration and energy, and U! Happy volunteers also acted as marshals to lead the runners in the right direction.
Once everyone had completed the run and got to the finish line, we did a cool down exercise led by kuya Josh. It was a pleasure seeing the runners ecstatic to have finished the route, and having done so for a very good cause. Raffle prizes were up for grabs also, which were in the form of various 3M products that ranged from stethoscopes to car tint. It was overall a great event, and we capped off the jampacked morning with a group photo to capture the event. We would like to thank 3M for being a consistent partner in CSR campaigns, and we look forward to working with them again!
