THE Rotary Club of Cebu is inviting individuals to participate in the fourth edition of the Citrineland Corp.’s Run for Gift of Life on May 17, 2020, at the Robinsons Galleria.
The fun run aims to gather funds to finance the surgical treatment of indigent children with Congenital Heart Defects (CHD). Over the past two years, the club has funded the operation of about 200 children.
“For the past two months, we had made a difference by helping 188 children and their families,” Bernard Vonn Sia said during the event’s launching on Thursday at the Café Uno, Waterfront Hotel and Casino.
Dr. Rodrigo Sotto of Gift of Life International for his part said millions of children don’t have the access to pediatric cardiology, and the Run for Gift of Life Program by the Rotary Club has become a huge help.
“There are about 7,000 to 8,000 surgeries needed to be done in the Philippines annually. Currently there are 2,000 operations here every year,” he said. “In less than two years we have done 188 (operations). Our first year in 2017, we had 48 patients.”
Sotto said the long-term goal of this project is to develop a local capacity when it comes to CHD cases with the help of the local physicians.
“The club is looking for more sustainable activities for the Gift of Life project,” said Rotary Club president Michael Torres.
This year, Rotary Club aims to generate more funds as it focuses its efforts to get more registrations from business process outsourcing companies. To do so, the club launched the Adopt-A-Child Program, wherein a company with a minimum of 125 runners can sponsor the surgery of an indigent child.
The race will feature four distances—the 21-kilometer, 10K, 3K and 1K. All the categories will have the men’s and women’s Open and Rotarian divisions. The finishers in the 21K and 10K will receive a medal. The Top 10 winners in the open division and Top 5 in the Rotarian division will be awarded.
Registration fee is P800 for the 21K, P550 for the 10K and P400 each for the 3K and 1K. (RSC)