None Background.
Playing for Life is an Irish-registered charity No.17057. It was founded by sports broadcaster Tracy Piggott in 2006. The organisation provides facilities for the development of vocational education and training, community development, and a health awareness programme for children and young adults through sports and sporting activities. It delivers its programmes with the assistance of volunteers who fundraise and donate their time and expertise free of charge and who visit the participating programme countries and assist with the courses each year for about ten days to two weeks. Playing for Life also receives generous support from private individuals and organisations. Further details and information about Playing for Life and its work can be had by visiting the web site at www.playingforlife.ie
Run to Africa 2009
Playing for Life is organising a series of fund-raising ‘Run to Africa’ events as a means of funding its work in Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya. It is intended to develop this event into the main annual fundraising event for PFL in future years.
Structure of the Project.
PFL is seeking co-ordinators in towns and centres around Ireland to run a 5k or 10k road race on behalf of the charity. Revenue will be raised through the runners paying a registration fee to participate. This fee will be €30 or £25. (Local co-ordinators to advise if this is too expensive).
PFL will provide all the necessary promotional materials for each venue, such as posters, flyers, booking forms etc. A dedicated web-site is being finalised on which runners can register, view the various events being held, as well as gather information on routes, contact details, etc. An on-line ‘shop’ is also being provided, with a limited range of merchandise available.
All runners will receive a ‘pack’ with commemorative t-shirt and information pack regarding the work of the charity.
It is not expected that the events will happen on a single date – this will be left to the local co-ordinators to determine a suitable time and date, to ensure the event does not clash with other, similar events in the area. Several centres are tying their Run in with a local event, such as a Summer Festival, a football competition, a GAA Club Family Day, etc.
PFL recognises the difficult current economic circumstances, particularly for fund-raising, and will therefore share up to 15% of the nett revenue raised in each event with the club or organisation which co-ordinated the event.
In what we hope will be an annual event, PFL has teamed up with Haile Gebrselassie, the world champion long-distance runner, to support his 10k run in Addis Ababa in November. All runners participating in the ‘Run to Africa’ event will have the option to register for this event in Addis, which will include four days of acclimatising, a day spend with Gebrselassie walking the course and visiting his home town, and getting some tips on training for middle-distance racing. Participation in this event will involve separate fund-raising, the cost will be determined shortly.
The Role of the local organisers
The organising group in each county will be asked to do the following
• Recruit a team of volunteers to run the event in your local area.
• Help PFL to promote the event through clubs and associations in the surrounding area/county
• Refer applicants to the RTA web-site (address to follow)
• Let us know the date and route as soon as possible
• Provide a contact name and telephone number for prospective participating runners and organisations
• Be available as the local contact for publicity and the link person for the event in that county or area.
The Role of PFL
• Will provide all promotional materials necessary for the local organisers
• Will support and assist with a national publicity campaign – radio and newspapers
• Will help recruit high profile individuals to run in each event
• Will set up a web page in relation to this event
• Will constantly up date the web page as the event progresses
• Will post final results and photos from each event on this page
• Will support any requirements for permits and applications to schedule the events
• Will organise meetings with all organising groups to discuss the running and management of the event.
For any further information or assistance regarding this event please contact :
Hugh Jones, Playing for Life, 6 Hermitage Valley, Lucan, Co. Dublin,
At +353 87 241 6892, hugh@playingforlife.ie;
or
Gillian Duggan, Playing for Life, Gilltown, Kilcullen, Co Kildare.
+3534548247, info@playingforlife.ie .