Last year, World Vision Run 2012 was able to gather more than 3,600 runners covering three different categories of distances including a half-marathon, with a very short period of preparation allotted for marketing. Coupled only with a band of people with zero experience staging a fun run but armed with unquestionable commitment and dedication to the tasks given and burdened by its cause, the WV Run team went through the event with an ROI, I should say “less-substantial” to call it a success. But how do you measure success?
This year, the Team will stage again another round of World Vision Run, despite all factors and business models pointed to do otherwise. Even with the support given by the new race organizer, RunRio Inc., and Coach Rio Dela Cruz himself, the whole team will again chartered into a very risky endeavor of losing more than what was invested, more so now, that it has only less than three weeks before the race day.
With its best effort, RunRio and Team World Vision organized a media/bloggers event last June 7, 2013, at the Kabisera ni Dencio at the Bonifacio High Street, that was attended by our friends from RunRio together with Coach Rio himself and members of the online media particularly from the running community, in the hope that these people, through their media networks and readership would rally Filipino runners to register in the run. In the event, RunRio did the customary race orientation and details and afterwards, Ms. Pam Millora of the World Vision Team shared the cause of the Run and emphasizes the significance of the proceeds and how it will impact the lives of poor children who are not yet in school. At the end of the presentation, she even challenged the members of the on line media to support the cause monetarily by sponsoring children.
In my ten years in fundraising in World Vision, I always have this view that the press and media are the least receptive audience when it comes to charity. But in the course program, a running photographer friend Mr. Jojo Pauly who happens to be a former World Vision Sponsored Child from Infanta Quezon was invited to speak. Jojo is a running photographer icon known by everyone in the running community. In the event, I asked him to share a short story of his life when he was still a sponsored child living in the province. Everyone were so amazed as they heard him shared his struggles living in a poor community and eventually rose up from poverty and now became a successful professional photographer. Even coach Rio who happened to share a similar life story and also sponsoring two kids in World Vision, somehow felt a connection with him that day.
The event turned out to be a bit emotional when people listened attentively to Jojo’s story. And lo and behold, immediately after Jojo was done sharing, several media friends openly gave their support to sponsor children including Running hosts Boy Ramos. By it, my views about media people being less-responsive to charity began to change and I’m so glad to have been proven wrong.
From that short scene, it somehow gave me a whole new perspective on how the run would not just be successful but more importantly, how it will be significant with the few thousand of people we will engage.
So how do we see success here? Dim, I guess. But then I would love to see the day I will be proven wrong again.
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