Almost 800 people have signed up for Rainbows and Smiles’ Run for a Reason, where every day in September, participants run with a specific childhood cancer fighter in mind; a personalised race to boost hope for the big battle.
South Africa (04 September 2023) — September is International Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and across South Africa, people like the Rainbows and Smiles team are raising awareness and morale; uniting in kindness for the children and families for whom the big battle is a constant reality.
Rainbows and Smiles began its journey of positive impact for children with childhood cancer after individuals who were directly impacted by its devastation united.
The team strives to provide holistic support to children who have been diagnosed with cancer, predominantly volunteering in government hospitals and through initiatives like the mobile libraries movement to wheel and deal a little more joy than hospitals usually house.
For the foundation, September is an important time to come together to make a difference in the lives of precious children with cancer, and so their Run for a Reason event falls as its own annual rainbow on calendars.
Each day in September, the team share a child’s journey with cancer because personal stories are a powerful tool for advocacy.
“The stories are of hope and survival…cancer is not a punishment it just happens to some children for reasons we will never understand and that the journey through treatment is not easy, but is possible,” shares Rainbows and Smiles.
Through the children’s survival stories, the goal is to spread hope for others in the same situation and remind others that these unsung stories deserve to be told.
“Many children have walked a similar road and made it through to the other side.”
The foundation also wants to help other parents understand the warning signs and what to look for in their own children, so that they can get help quickly.
The Run for a Reason event then, is a dedication to a specific child. Everyone who enters the event receives an email early each morning about the following day’s survivor. They then run or do some form of exercise with a specific child in mind and write that child’s name on their hand as well as sharing a message of support or encouragement and repeat the next day.
Wonderfully, almost 800 around the world have signed up to Run for a Reason, something that the foundation couldn’t be more grateful for.
All participants’ donations are used to support the oncology wards and at the end of September, the team gives the oncology child a gift to thank them for sharing their story.
What a reason to run for!
Anyone interested in participating and making the rest of their September count for months to come can find out more and register here.
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