New Delhi: An increase in nearly a crore of rupees for charity is what the Airtel Delhi Half marathon is targeting when the event is flagged off on September 30, 2012. This was announced by Nidhi Singh, Director Concern Indian Foundation, the charity partner, at the event media center at the J N Stadium on Monday. Also present was Hasleen Kaur, Pantaloons Femina India Earth 2011 and some of the individuals who are raising considerable amounts of money for causes of their choice.
The occasion was also used to announce the finalists of the Peoples Green Award, an initiative by promoters Procam International, to recognize and honour individuals and corporate who are making that extra effort to make the earth a greener and better place to live in.
Since its inception, the Delhi half Marathon has helped raise around Rs 13.74 crores benefitting in excess of 200 NGOs and this time around, the target is to cross the Rs 4 crore mark in clearly tracked funds raised for charity. Already the collection has crossed Rs .35 crores. Last year the event had helped raise Rs 3.30 crores
Each year since its inception, the Delhi Half Marathon has received a better response than the previous year. Every edition sees more NGOs, more runners, more corporate teams and more funds raised toward charity. The Delhi Half Marathon has progressed from 27 participating NGOs in its first year to over 75 in 2012, the 5th edition of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. As of today, there are 72 corporates with 95 teams registered to run.
There are a large number of individual runners too who have dedicated much time and effort into raising impressive sums for the charities they support. The youngest of these are Urvi Maheshwari in class 7, who has raised Rs. 2.3 lakhs so far and Madhur Dhupar,
13 years old, who has raised Rs.3.5 lakh.
“I feel humbled and privileged to be able to do something that will help needy children. This is the most rewarding and satisfying thing I have ever done. But I am also aware that the money that I have collected is a drop in the ocean. I would like to do much more to help children who are less fortunate than me. I am happy to run in the Great Delhi Run, but the bigger thing is that in the process I have discovered a worthwhile goal that will enrich my life and give it direction,” said Urvi.
To inspire corporates and individuals to reduce carbon eion and to acknowledge their efforts, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon announced the inaugural chapter of the People’s Green Award, a platform to admire and acknowledge people who share the dream to make the earth a greener and better place to live in.
The Green Star and the Corporate Green Star are the two award categories for the People’s Green Award.
The finalists of the two categories were announced by members of jury, Vivek B Singh, Jt. Managing Director, Procam International, the promoters of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and Karan Bhalla, Chief Operating Officer, WWF India.
The Green Star award is open only to individuals/groups and/or NGO's which incur no monetary profit from their Green services and should strictly be "Not for Profit."
There will be cash prizes of Rs 75,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 for the first three winners, besides certificates.
The Corporate Green Star award is for the Companies/Corporate Foundations who have a vision to make the world Eco-friendly and strongly imbibe this principle in their businesses as well.
This award is open only for companies/corporate foundations which lead Green Initiatives without seeking out any monetary gains from the initiative.
The winning company will receive a Trophy and Certificate
Following are the finalist:
The CORPORATE GREEN STAR – Dabur, IL&FS Environmental Infrastructure & Services Limited, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Woodland, Magma Fincorp.
GREEN STAR – Ritu Primlani (Individual); Traditional Heritage Ecology (Organization); BAIF Development Research Foundation (Organization); SETU (Organization); Adarsh Public School (Organization)
By Indian Sports News Network
