Road of Kindness: More Than 400 People Participate in Charity Run
On September 4th, the Road of Kindness charity run, timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of HSE University, took place in Gorky Park in Moscow. Participants in the event raised more than 220,000 roubles for the Konstantin Khabensky Charity Foundation; these funds will be used to help children and young people with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. A similar event was organised by the HSE campus in Nizhny Novgorod.
The charity run was initiated by HSE students in cooperation with the university’s Student Initiatives Support Centre and Centre for Leadership and Volunteer Work. HSE employees participating in the Professional Development Programme for Administrative Staff (PDP) and responsible for the Corporate Sports Programme assisted students in preparing the event and attracting participants.
In addition to HSE students and staff, the Road of Kindness run was open to students from other universities and, indeed, to anyone interested. In the end, over 400 people took part in the event.
The event was undoubtedly a success. The weather was perfect for running: sunny, but not too hot and not too cold. Entry numbers were distributed to runners between 9 am and 10 am, and then a member of the HSE DANCE student organisation led a ten-minute warm-up involving not only the runners but also Crow, HSE University's mascot. After the warm-up, Anfisa Dmitrieva, Director of the HSE Centre for Leadership and Volunteer Work, welcomed the participants and cut the ribbon with a large pair of scissors, and everyone set off.
They ran two laps of Muzeon Park for a total of four kilometres. 'It was not a competitive race, so everyone moved at their own comfortable pace, enjoying the run', according to Daria Pashkova, a first-year student of the Master's in Communications in the Public Sector and NGOs at HSE University and project manager of the run. 'There was a nice vibe in the air and a feeling that we were doing the right thing'.
'I am incredibly happy to have contributed to organising this event', says Maxim Sokolov, second-year Business Informatics student. ‘Twenty minutes before the run, I walked the route one last time, not yet knowing how many participants would be there at the starting line. But once at the starting point, I was amazed to see so many people. I am extremely grateful to everyone who took part in the race and by doing so, supported the Konstantin Khabensky Charitable Foundation'.
The first 300 participants who made donations received participation medals and merchandise — t-shirts, tote bags, and wristbands – as gifts.
'After the run, people were sending messages to our VK group, saying that everything was great and they were glad to have participated. Some described in detail what they liked in particular about this event and asked whether there would be more races like this one. There is a definite demand for holding similar events in the future, and we are considering making this a recurring activity and, perhaps, offering other charity events as well', notes Daria Pashkova.
'Many thanks for expertly bringing to life this seemingly simple but important idea', writes Sofya, a participant in the charity run, in the VK group's chat. 'Everything was organised in a streamlined and efficient manner from registration to collecting donations to announcing the merchandise (only essential information, yet nothing left unresolved) to the race itself – you arrive at the site, go quickly through registration, warm up, and run. I was pleasantly surprised by the way it was organised! The overall mood was so cheerful and unifying, like at HSE Day (which was super!). Looking forward to more of this!'
According to Anna Kozyreva, Director of the Project Centre for Cross-sectoral AI Technology and AI in Economics and Social Spheres at HSE University, it turned out at the preparation stage that far from all HSE staff had been informed about this or other similar sports events in advance. Therefore, PDP's Corporate Sports Programme will take steps to improve its communication with HSE's administrative personnel and to promote sports at HSE in general. 'By taking part in the charity run, we offered an example of a wholesome way to spend your leisure time', says Kozyreva who is involved in the Corporate Sports Program.
'The Road of Kindness charity run is a complex, multi-level, advanced project in terms of both its organisation and its inherent messages', according to Anfisa Dmitrieva. 'It serves as a reminder that there are many ways one can support those in need, including by running a race. The Road of Kindness gives a good start to a whole range of projects for the community that await us this academic year'.