PETALING JAYA: Dignity and Services (D&S), a non-profit organisation that helps young adults with learning disabilities, hopes to raise RM150,000 at a charity run it will host on June 16.
The event, themed “Everyone Can Run”, will be held at Central Park in Bandar Utama. It has three categories – 2km, 5km and 10km distance.
D&S hopes to attract up to 2,000 runners for this year’s event from 800 participants in previous years.
Its executive director, Helen Teh, said those who could not be at the venue on the day of the run could also participate in its Virtual Run category. Under this category, a participant could run at his own pace as long as the total mileage adds up to 5km that could include their daily morning run or jog.
They would have to keep track of their runs using any app of their choice and once they have reached the targeted distance, they have to send the data to D&S to receive a finisher’s kit.
D&S conducts a supported-living programme on weekends to help young adults gain independent living skills to help them gain employment.
Another programme, called Baked With Dignity (BWD), enables those with learning disabilities to work in its bakery, so they could earn an income. The bakery is located in Leisure Commerce Square, here.
The bakery is being managed by 10 individuals with various levels of learning disabilities. One works on a full-time basis and the others are part-timers.
“We serve sweet and savoury baked items such as brownies, cakes with or without toppings, cookies, pies and even hot meals such as lunch,“ Teh said. “We even cater for events, meetings or training sessions for groups of 50 to 100 people.”
Those who wish to join the run can register at www.dignityandservices.org.
