EVERYONE CAN RUN 2019 - Empower People with Learning Disabilities

EVENT DETAILS

Event Date: 16th June 2019, Sunday

Time: 6.45pm Warm Up & 7.00 am Flag Off

Venue: Central Park Avenue, Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya (Opposite 1Utama New Wing)

Race Kit Collection: 10th to 13th June 2019, Monday to Thursday, 11.00 am to 8.00 pm at BAKE WITH DIGNITY c/o DIGNITY & SERVICES, Leisure Commerce Square, Block A2, Unit 126, Level 1, Jalan PJS 8/9, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. 

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

This online fundraising campaign was created in conjunction with the annual fundraising event known as "Everyone Can Run 2019 Charity Run" by Dignity and Services. 

"Social functions always make me feel lonely. In a normal social setting, everyone talks to each other and they quickly form groups, I did not know how to join these circles. Standing at the corner of the group and listening to the conversations was always my option. I thought I had the "mark of the outcast". Most education centres rejected me, D&S was the only one that accepted me, so I went there."

Strongly believing that no one should be left out, Dignity & Services introduced a 2 km run this year on top of the 5 km and 10 km, aiming to bring the community together to run with participants with physical and learning disabilities challenges. 

But, what is meant by learning disabilities?

Learning Disability is a broad specturm of nerological disorders including people with down syndrome, autism, slow learning, aspergers, dyslexia, ADHD, and other developmental delays. The cause is usually unknown. The unknown factor is the disorder that affects the brain's ability to receive and process information. This disorder can cause issues for a person to learn quickly. People with learning disabilities usually have troubles performing specific types of tasks. Individuals with learning disabilities can face unique challenges that are often pervasive throughout their lifespan. 

Therefore, Dignity and Services (D&S) aims to be an independent voice to ensure that people with learning disabilities, no matter the degree of challenges and anxieties they face in learning, or communicating and using their motor skills; are to be treated with dignity and respect. However, they still face a number of challenges that affect their sustainability and efficiency in delivering their services. 

1. Difficulty in finding sufficient, approppriate and continuous funding for their work, including accessing donors to ensure financial and project sustainability.
2. Limited resource mobilization expertise and IT capacity in replicating projects to benefit the people with learning difficulties. 
3. Insufficient assets, labour and time to invest in community building and train more manpower to innovate existing solutions and programmes. 

THE SOLUTION

This fundraising campaign was created with the objective of bringing the diverse community members together in order to have fun and raise funds for the learning disabled. 

Dignity and Services is aiming to raise RM 150,000 and the donations made to this campaign will be used to support their 2 on-going programmes. "Supported Living Programme" in which members learn self-help skills, so that more people with learning disabilities will enroll themselves into the basic life skills. 

Another programme is called the "Bake with Dignity" - a shelter employment initiative which enables members to work and earn money, providing job skills training to the persons with learning disabilities. 

Both programmes will benefit more adults with learning disabilities to learn and earn. These programmes help break down the barriers to employment that are usually faced by someone with a learning disability to overcome the impossible.

The estimated cost to support 1 adult with learning disability in each programmes is:

1. Basic Life Skill Programme (Supported Living) - RM 400 per adult per month
2. Job Skill Programme (Bake with Dignity) - RM 1,500 per adult per month

THE IMPACT

"Everyone Can Run 2019" will help to support them in sustaining their projects and empower them with basic life skills and job opportunities in order for them to be able to live a more meaningful life with better independent skills. Through this event, it can also promote social inclusion for people with learning disabilities for their participation in the mainstream of society. 

"The run is a celebration of inclusion." says Josh Green, chairman of D&S. The public will get an opportunity to mingle and know more about the learning disabled community.

"The journey of discovering my learning disabilities and the problems I had been struggling with are real. I have always felt different from everyone else. Now I know why. I may be different in a special way, it is still possible to be open to the similarities between me and other people." Shared from a person who attempts to succeed in his social life despite having serious learning disabilities. 

Thus, let us together help D&S to aid more people with learning disabilities by supporting to this campaign. You can donate and share this campaign so that it will reach more people and raise more donations. 

Otherwise, you can also join the run to support the cause, register at www.bit.ly/EVCR19

Donate to empower people with Learning Disabilities!