Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2011: "Run For A Cause" Launch @ Doubletree by Hilton

We almost didn't make it to this event because due to some unknown reasons, we didn't receive the invite from the people handling the invitation. But thanks to the project director of SCKLM, Mr. Rainer Biemans himself who sent us a late night FB message the night before, we made it a point to go. It's all for a good cause, right?

"Run For A Cause" (RFAC) is a charity programme within the Standard Chartered KL Marathon aimed to help the less fortunate across all ages and races by providing a platform for individuals or teams to donate money for charity by simple running in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon!

The launch was held at the official hotel, Doubletree by Hilton and hosted by TV personality, Ben Ibrahim.

We saw some familiar celebrities from last year's RFAC like Aishah Sinclair, Zainal Abidin and Thanuja Anathan and some new ones like Zainal Alam Kadir.

Project Director of SCKLM, Mr. Rainer Biemans.

Runners, pay attention to the logos in the back drop. :)

Heheh! New Balance is back as the official running vest and 100 Plus will be providing hydration for thirsty runners. :)

So, who will be the beneficiaries for this year's RFAC?

Let's check it out one by one....

Each celebrity and spokeperson shared their unique and personal stories emphasizing the importance of running for a cause and encouraging others to join the programme.

Chia Liaw Kee, GM of the National Autism Socisty of Malaysia.

Chia said, "As autism is the fastest growing serious development disorder, we will need as many supporters as possible to join us in the fight for this cause, It is estimated as many as 67 million people in the world have autism and this number continues to grow at an alarming rate. Each runner will make a tremendous difference to help us create awareness around this devastating disorder."

There is a Walk for Autism happening on 2 April 2011. You might wanna check it out. For more info, click HERE.

Aishah Sinclair, actress and television host, representing Yayasan Anak Warisan Alam (YAWA)

Aishah said, "I am proud to be representing YAWA for this cause again this year. The proceed will go to YAWA's Greening the Future programme which aims to help children understand the life cycle of trees. Our first tree seeding programme was started with the funds generated from RFAC 2010 and we plan to continue our efforts this year to involve more school children than ever before in nuturing seedling and re-planting them back in the forest."

Zainal Alam Kadir, editor and columnist for The Malay Mail, representing the Malaysian AIDS Foundation.

Zainal Abidin from The Malaysian Association for The Blind (MAB).

Zainal Abidin said, "Runners participating on behalf of MAB will further our aspirations to create equeal opportunities for visually impaired persons to enable them to enjoy the same quality of life as the sighted. This means that all of the months, miles and hard work runners put into training for this race will be for something greater than a personal victory - it will directly half family, friends and loved ones affected by blindness."

Thanuja Ananthan, Miss World Malaysia 2009, representing the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM)

Thanuja said, "For the second year in a row, I'm so proud to be dedicating my training and race participation to help the National cancer Society Malaysia fight cancer and save lives through RFAC. This year's donations from RFAC will be contributed to upgrading the treatment facilities at the NCSM's Women Cancer Detection Centre. This is my personal way of fighting back against a disease that has taken too much, from too many and in many cases far too soon."

Norliza Kamaruddin, Country Head, Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd from Standard Chartered Trust Fund.

Norliza said, "I've had the opportunity to watch this programme grow over the past three years and am continuously amazed and inspired by the strangth of the runners who dedicated their sweat and sore muscles to a worthy cause. W at standard Chartered Trust Fund hope to inspire people to give back to the community to help create the marathon spirit - that drives ambition - throughout Malaysia!"

Runners interested in participating in Run for A Cause must register online and choose a charity to support. Once the minimum RM500 in total donations is achieved, their entry fee will be waived. Runners can even design a profile page on the Standard Chartered KL Marathon "Donating Runners" website to spread the word about their involvement to freidns, family members and colleagues.

Corporations who want to get involved are encouraged to join the Corporate Challenge, a platform for companies to compete in the race as a team while giving back to the community by donating much needed money to the charity partners of SCKLM.

In the spirit of charity on the special day of the launch of RFAC, SCKLM organiser has pladged and donated RM20 for every guest who attended the event to help the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. (Insert applause to SCKLM organisers)

Check out 2010's Run For A Cause post HERE. Compare the then Aishah and the now Aishah. :D

We will be keeping a tab on the celebrities who signed up for the Run For A Cause. Do support the cause by donating to your choice charity.

Blogger/ Social Media Advocate, Niki Cheong has also confirmed his participation in RFAC for National Cancer Society Malaysia. You can support Niki Cheong HERE.

For more info about Run For A Cause and Corporate Challenge of SCKLM 2011, please click HERE.