"Running Cities": Vitebsk Residents Ran Along the Western Dvina Embankment to Help Children

Over 200 participants and half a thousand "kilometers of kindness" – on August 15, a large charity run was held in the center of Vitebsk as part of the "Running Cities" campaign. It is organized by telecom operator velcom with the support of the Ministry of Health. Professional athletes, amateur runners, employees of the velcom company, representatives of the healthcare system, public organizations of the city, and simply indifferent Vitebsk residents took part in the sports event.

The large charity run started in Vitebsk on August 15 at 5:30 PM. It took place in Victory Park along a picturesque route along the Western Dvina River. Anastasia Kolo Moyets, a Belarusian Master of Sports in Athletics of international class, joined the charity start. She conducted a sports warm-up before the start and supported the "Running Cities" campaign. All kilometers earned by the participants of the symbolic run went into the common fund of the Vitebsk region to help the regional children's rehabilitation and health center "Vetraz".

"Children aged 3 to 17 with diseases of the respiratory organs, musculoskeletal system, psychoneurological and cardiological diseases undergo treatment here. Today, every resident of the Vitebsk region can contribute to a good cause and help our children. To do this, you just need to go for daily runs and share your results on social networks," - noted Irina Mikheenko, chief pediatrician of the Vitebsk region.

The republican charity campaign "Running Cities" will last in Vitebsk until August 19. To contribute to helping children, you need to go for runs with a smartphone and any mobile fitness application, and then post on social networks indicating your result and the hashtags #velcombegom #vitebsk. Anyone from anywhere in the world can run, regardless of their place of residence.

"The 'Running Cities' campaign is a new stage of the #velcombegom charity project. Residents of the Vitebsk region are showing high activity in the 'Running Cities' campaign and

hundreds of kilometers have already been run to help children. I hope the Vitebsk region will not slow down and will raise the maximum amount of aid for its regional children's rehabilitation center,” said Nikolai Bredelev, Head of Corporate Communications at velcom.

The republican campaign "Running Cities" started in Belarus on July 23. In each region, the charity marathon will last for 7 days. Residents of the regions are to run as many "kilometers of kindness" as possible to help local beneficiaries – regional children's medical rehabilitation centers. As a result of the project, velcom will provide financial assistance to children from each of the six centers. The project results will be announced on September 4 at a press conference in Minsk.

Recall that #velcombegom is a charity sports initiative by velcom aimed at helping children in need and children's medical institutions. #velcombegom races have been held annually since 2015. In 2018, following the large-scale charity event SunRunChallenge of the #velcombegom project, assistance in the amount of 50,000 rubles was provided to the State Institution "Children's Boarding School for Disabled Children with Psychophysical Development Disabilities".