New York City Run Gets Haitian Children Back to School

4-Mile Public Run/Walk Part of Celebrity-Supported Campaign for Concern Worldwide

NEW YORK, April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On April 14, Concern Worldwide US, the international humanitarian organization is hosting its 14th Annual Spring Run in New York's Central Park. The event, which is open to the public, supports Concern's education programs in Haiti, where only 50 percent of children are currently enrolled in school.

"The future of Haiti is its children and we must invest in them if we want Haiti's development to succeed," said Siobhan Walsh, Executive Director of Concern Worldwide US. "Everyone who signs up to participate in the Spring Run helps make that possible. A gift of just $25 – what it costs to enter the race – is enough to give five classrooms in Haiti school supplies for a month."

Since the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, Concern has provided basic education to more than 15,000 children by rehabilitating 33 schools and setting up temporary learning spaces for children who were displaced by the disaster. With the Spring Run Concern hopes to raise $155,000 – enough to give more than 1,700 Haitian students books and supplies for a year - in support of these programs, which also include teacher training and supply distribution for classrooms and students.

Celebrities are among those working hard to get Haiti's kids back to school. Damian McGinty, Garcelle Beauvais, Jon Secada, Usain Bolt, Wendy Williams, Renee Olstead, Cassie Scerbo and Charles Tillman are all using their star power to raise funds and awareness in support of children's education in Haiti.

Registration for the race is open for all individual walkers and runners, teams, and sponsors at www.concernusa.org/springrun. Many New York City businesses such as Credit Suisse, PricewaterhouseCoopers, INNYC, Irish Business Organization, Irish Network NYC, and Irish America Magazine have entered the Spring Run. All donations, including the registration fee, will be used exclusively to support Concern's education programs in Haiti's most impoverished areas.

The race kicks off at 9:30 am and ends with an after-party at New York City's East End Bar, which includes a free breakfast for all event participants. 

Concern has worked in Haiti since 1994, implementing emergency response and development programming in water, sanitation and hygiene; education; livelihoods; health and nutrition; peace-building; protection; and disaster risk reduction in Port-au-Prince, Saut d'Eau, and La Gonave Island.

Follow Concern and the Spring Run on Twitter at @Concern and #ConcernSpringRun.

About Concern Worldwide
Concern Worldwide is an international, non-governmental humanitarian organization dedicated to reducing extreme poverty, with more than 3,200 personnel working in 25 of the poorest countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Concern Worldwide targets the root causes of extreme poverty through programs in health, education, livelihoods and microfinance, HIV and AIDS, and emergency response, directly reaching more than 9.5 million people. For more information, please visit www.concernusa.org or follow us on Twitter at @Concern.

For more information, please contact:
Crystal Wells
Office +1 212 557-8000 | Mobile +1 617 913-0794
[email protected]

SOURCE Concern Worldwide US