The Sunflower Fund celebrated a very successful Pick n Pay Hyper 5km Run/Walk on Sunday 15 September.
The event started at 9:30am from Suncoast Amphitheatre and went out onto the promenade and back.
A total of 1 929 participants donned the Sunflower Bandana in support of The Sunflower Fund and loved ones who had lost their battle to leukaemia.
The crowd was entertained by the KZN Military Tattoo, Prep Gum Boot Dancers, the Dance Direction dancers and Northlands Girls Djembe Fusion Group.
The South African National Blood Service was able to collect 19 pints of much-needed blood during the event.
A total of R82 266 was raised, allowing the Fund to include new bone marrow stem cell donors on the South African Bone Marrow Registry. The more donors on the Registry the more hope children and young adults diagnosed with leukaemia have of finding their 1:100 000 donor match.
The Sunflower Fund wishes to thank Suncoast, Pick n Pay Hyper, Round Table Southern Africa, the media, the City and Durban Metro Police for making the event possible.
The ‘Rope of Hope’, comprised of Sunflower Bandanas tied together and which was featured along the route, will be donated to Vukukhanye, a non-profit organisation formed in response to the serious threat to child and family welfare in the community of Chesterville caused by the HIV epidemic.
The runners added their bandanas to the ‘Rope’ during prize giving and it will be used to make duvet covers, pillow cases, curtains and laundry bags for those in need.
Don’t forget to wear your bandana on Saturday 12 October in support of leukaemia patients. Bandanas can be purchased from any Pick n Pay for only R25 each.
For more information, visit www.sunflowerfund.org.za or call 0800 12 10 82. Like The Sunflower Fund KZN Facebook page for updates and information on upcoming events.