Nearly 700 people headed into the new year the right way: with their running shoes on at the SNF RUN: 2024 FIRST RUN, raising more than €7K to support the valuable work of the nonprofits ARSIS and THEOTOKOS to help kids in need in Greece.
The first run of the year, SNF RUN: 2024 FIRST RUN, was organized by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) in collaboration with nonprofit Regeneration & Progress. The three-kilometer route around the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) Christmas World filled the first moments of 2024 with positive energy, laughter, and unforgettable memories!
The race started right after a spectacular fireworks show and was followed by a big party in the Agora! As always, it was open to all and was noncompetitive in nature, but official times were recorded so that all runners could track their performance as they achieved their first goal of 2024.
A run for a good cause
The SNF RUN: 2024 FIRST RUN had a charitable mission, and to participate runners were invited to contribute a minimum of €5 (or more for those who wish) in aid of children in need. The full amount contributed is being donated to these nonprofits; the cost of the race is fully covered through support from SNF.
ARSIS
ARSIS - Association for the Social Support of Youth is a social non-governmental organization that has been active across Greece for 30 years. ARSIS’s vision is a society with equal opportunities for all where the most vulnerable members have the care they need. Its services focus, among other things, on care and support for children facing particular difficulties on their path to adulthood, as well as on facilitating social integration for excluded social groups.
The funds raised through the SNF RUN: 2024 FIRST RUN will support ARSIS’s work in Thessaloniki to protect children who work on the streets or are victims of trafficking or exploitation. The goal of these efforts is to identify, approach, and support children who live in conditions that burden or hinder their normal personal development and who face obstacles in their own and their families' efforts to access social and material essentials.
THEOTOKOS
The Theotokos Foundation for the Protection of Children and Adolescents with Developmental Disorders is a nonprofit charitable foundation that has been operating in Greece since 1963. The aim of Theotokos is to provide prevention, therapy, and rehabilitation services to people with intellectual developmental disorders and autistic spectrum disorders from early childhood through young adulthood. Today, it meets the needs of 320 people every day, offering individualized services and programs according to each person's needs.
The funds raised through the SNF RUN: 2024 FIRST RUN will support the organization in implementing early intervention for preschool children. The program aims to help keep biological factors and environmental conditions from interfering with the development of infants and toddlers with diagnosed developmental and emotional disorders, as well as to support and educate families to address the psycho-emotional and social needs of these children more fully and effectively.
*The SNF RUN: 2024 FIRST RUN is implemented through an exclusive grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), which covers the full cost of the race. The run is held under the organizational supervision of nonprofit Regeneration & Progress and the medical supervision of the Department of Sports Excellence – Sports Excellence of the first Orthopedic Clinic of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). The event is held in collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC).
*Contributions to each of this year’s partner nonprofits were made online through nonprofit Regeneration & Progress. The full amount collected will be given as grants to the nonprofit organizations participating, with the total split equally between them.
*The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is a philanthropic organization that operates exclusively by making grants to nonprofit organizations. SNF does not solicit or accept donations from individuals, corporations, or other types of organizations.