La Châtaigneraie alumni running for a good cause
Project 26: Running for Refugees
This summer, Léo de Riedmatten (La Châtaigneraie, 2015) and I (Robbie Newton, La Châtaigneraie, 2015) are going to be running 26 kilometres a day for 26 consecutive days, in each of the 26 Cantons of Switzerland, and in doing so, we are hoping to raise 26,000 CHFs for Sportegration. The project, which we’re calling “Project 26”, will kickstart in Geneva on Wednesday, 19th of June and will culminate in Nyon on Sunday, 14th of July. In each of the cantons we’ll be organising running events (of varying sizes) where we hope local runners will join us and learn a little bit about the amazing work that Sportegration do, and in return, we’re hoping they can show us around their local area and help us get through the 26 kms!!
At its core, this project is about community and having a positive social impact, so we encourage anyone who is interested in joining us in Geneva, Nyon, or anywhere else in the country, for any distance, to get involved! We do, of course, appreciate though that running 26 kilometres is not everyone’s idea of fun!
Now, why Sportegration?
Léo and I have always been very sporty and everywhere we’ve lived, from the UK, to Spain, to Vietnam, and so on, we’ve always found sport to be the common language which has helped us to connect with people meaningfully, and ultimately integrate into society. So we really believe that sport is an immensely powerful tool and that it can be used for a myriad of positive social causes. Sportegration shares this belief and have built their organisation around it.
Sportegration is a Zurich-based nonprofit, humanitarian organisation who use sport as a tool for the successful and sustainable integration of refugees in Switzerland. They host weekly run clubs, boxing classes, yoga sessions and the like, free for refugees to attend and open for the general public. Léo and I have attended a number of their sessions, including representing their team run club at the Zürich Marathon, and can attest that their work is really having a profound impact on the lives of their participants as well as society in general. At the end of the day, integration is challenging but if it is done successfully and sustainability, it benefits everyone.
We encourage you to check out Sportegration’s website to find out more about the work they are doing:
Join us for the journey!
If you are interested, you can follow mine and Léo’s joint Instagram account (@robandleo_) where we’ll be posting regular updates on the project, including providing details for those who might like to join us on the runs and/or donate to Sportegration. Stay tuned! https://www.instagram.com/robandleoonthego/