Running has always been a huge part of my life. More than 10 years ago, I began developing running events. In an effort to create a non-threatening running environment and to celebrate the joy of physical activity, I created The Color Run. The Color Run, also known as the ‘Happiest 5k on the Planet,’ is a unique paint race that celebrates healthiness, happiness, and individuality. The event is a five-kilometer, untimed race in which thousands of participants are doused from head to toe in color – creating happiness and lasting memories. The idea caught on and today The Color Run is the largest event series in the nation.
As a for-profit event management company, we are excited about our partnership with Global Citizen because it gives our Color Runners the opportunity to be involved in an exceptionally important cause: ending extreme poverty. Together we will give thousands of Color Runners the chance to show what they are #RunningFor by engaging in the Global Citizen movement and helping to bring the end of extreme poverty by 2030. After registering for select The Color Run events through June 2014, participants can visit the Run for a Reason platform, where they can register and fundraise for incredible charities such as: U.S. Fund for UNICEF, World Food Program USA, charity: water, Cotton On Foundation, Malaria No More, and CARE. Together, Color Runners can have an incredible impact for the world’s poor, while helping to spread the message that nobody should have to live in extreme poverty. As Global Citizens, each of us can have an impact.
Color Runners’ celebration of happiness, healthiness, and individuality is the essence of being a Global Citizen. The Run for a Reason platform connects runners with some of the leading charities doing good around the world. For example, World Food Program USA supports the World Food Program, which is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger that reached more than 97 million people in 80 countries with food assistance in 2012 alone. The Cotton On Foundation is working to increase access to education for 20,000 children in Southern Uganda by 2020. Malaria No More is working to end malaria deaths by delivering life-saving tests and treatments, and education to families across Africa. And charity: water makes clean and safe water available to people in the poorest communities in the world. Color Runners can support the work of these and other charities by fundraising on their personalized page on the Run For a Reason platform, which provides extensive resources to help runners with fundraising and social media.
Runners can tell the world what they are #RunningFor to help raise awareness about extreme poverty issues. Sree Bodepudi, a Color Runner in Chicago who raised funds for U.S. Fund for UNICEF, explained that “The Color Run was an absolutely fantastic event and created such a memorable experience for me. The best part about it was being able to have a great time while making an impact and changing the lives of others.”
Show your true colors by joining us at The Color Run, becoming a Global Citizen and registering to fundraise on the Run for a Reason platform. Together we can help end extreme poverty by 2030.
This project is part of GOOD’s series Push for Good—our guide to crowdsourcing creative progress.
