Make-A-Wish to hold virtual Santa Run this year to help fulfil wishes of sick children

All proceeds will go towards granting the wishes of children with critical illness. PHOTO: WEB.42RACE.COM

SINGAPORE - An annual Christmas charity run, organised to raise funds to grant the wishes of children with critical illnesses, will be held virtually this year for the first time.

Organised by Make-A-Wish Singapore, the annual Santa Run For Wishes is in its seventh edition this year.

The aim is for participants to collectively cover 21,517km - the distance from Singapore to the North Pole, the putative home of Santa Claus, and back - from Dec 2-19.

Those who register for the 2km, 5km, 10km or 50km (accumulative) race categories can submit the distance they clocked during the 18 days via the 42Race app.

This is the first time the run has a 50km category.

Tickets are at $20 per race entry, with all proceeds going towards granting the wishes of children with critical illness.

Participants who take part in a range of activities such as dressing up in a festive costume during the run, and starting their own fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Singapore can stand a chance to win shopping vouchers worth up to $100.

The charity also aims to raise $200,000 through donations with Santa Run For Wishes. A total of $47,000 has already been donated by four individuals so far.

Donations of any amount can be made at this website.

To date, Make-A-Wish Singapore has granted over 1,560 wishes since its Singapore chapter was set up in 2002.

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the first wish that inspired the founding of Make-A-Wish globally. Seven-year-old American Chris Greicius, who was battling leukaemia, had fulfilled his wish of becoming a policeman in 1980.

With the help of the local police in Arizona, he got to ride in a police helicopter, was sworn in as an honorary patrolman, and given a specially made uniform.

That act sparked the creation of Make-A-Wish and the beginning of the global wish-granting movement.

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