R4W Charitable Foundation celebrates a decade of community impact
The R4W Charitable Foundation is celebrating its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of making a difference through supporting grassroots sport and community projects across Wales.
Established in 2015 by Run 4 Wales (R4W) – the not-for-profit organisation behind iconic events such as the Cardiff Half Marathon and Newport Marathon Festival – the Foundation has become a driving force for good, investing in projects that align with R4W’s mission to deliver mass participation events that have a meaningful impact.
Surpluses generated by R4W events are invested into the charity, and together with a donation from its joint venture with London Marathon Events, it’s been able to allocate a staggering £1 million since being founded.
Donations are focused on supporting schemes and initiatives that look to improve the health and wellbeing of those living in Wales, and over the last 10 years it’s been able to help a variety of grassroots sports and community projects to help drive positive social change.
Highlights include:
- Providing 6 years of funding to the Welsh Schools Athletics Association, creating District, National and International Competition opportunities for school-age athletes.
- Investing in Run Wales, Welsh Athletics’ social running programme which aims to inspire, encourage and support every adult in Wales to run, leading to the establishment of over 100 social running groups across Wales.
- Providing race entries and training support for over 1,000 first time runners from diverse groups through initiatives like the ABW 500 and Cardiff Half Marathon and Newport Marathon Festival 100 Clubs.
- Providing funding to the Daily Mile, a scheme which looks to improve the physical, social and mental health and wellbeing of children, encouraging schools to get their pupils outside for 15 minutes each day to run, jog or walk a mile in the fresh air.
- Supplying funding to Starting Blocs, a program aimed at introducing children into athletics, teaching them key movement skills to learn the foundations of running, jumping and throwing.
- Supporting the Mwslima Running Club, facilitating track sessions for training and enabling members to secure run leader qualifications.
Marking the milestone, Matt Newman, Chief Executive at Run 4 Wales, said: “R4W is a passionate advocate of the power of sport. We use the outreach of our events to make positive contributions in areas such as diversity and inclusion, mental and physical health, volunteering, charity fundraising, as well as environmental sustainability and tourism.
“The R4W Charitable Foundation truly represents the heart of what we do – and why we do it. Over the past 10 years we’ve been able to support an incredible range of causes and initiatives. I’m immensely proud of what’s been achieved and I’m excited about what’s next as we continue to build a positive legacy across Wales.”
Rob Cole, Chair of the R4W Charitable Foundation, added: “We’re so proud to be marking our 10-year anniversary and celebrating the generosity and spirit of the running community at R4W events. Every donation makes a huge difference and we’d like to thank every participant who has played a part in helping us fund projects that inspire and encourage activity across Wales. We’re looking forward to the next decade of increasing our impact and continuing to champion community wellbeing through sport.”
While surpluses generated at R4W events are invested in the Foundation, runners taking part also have the option to fundraise for the charity at the Cardiff Half Marathon or donate to the cause when registering.
