Oxfam hopes Macau TowerRun will generate MOP1.6 million

Oxfam is organizing the Oxfam TowerRun at the Macau Tower on October 13 for the sixth consecutive year, the charity told a press conference yesterday.

The application period has already begun and will continue until September 20. The charity expects 500 participants this year and hopes to attract cash donations of MOP1.6 million.

According to the organization, the donations collected will be used for disaster relief. The funds will go towards medicine, food and other facilities crucial for immediate relief. A proportion of the funds will also be used to help improve the lives of poor farmers by helping them to source seeds and livestock.

The run has four categories: male’s full and half tower, and female’s full and half tower. Runners will start at the Largo de Torre de Macau. They will climb the stairs at the tower’s back of house. Full tower runners will run to the 61st floor, while half tower runners will only run 31 floors.

Among the dozens of co-organizing entities, the General Association of Athletics of Macau has been invited to collaborate on this event. This is the first time Oxfam has organized TowerRun with a sporting association. The support given by the sports association includes professional referee services, which will be led by local veteran referee Ho Weng Hong.

Oxfam stated that at previous events, a total of MOP1.9 million in cash donations was collected and more than 1,000 runners have participated. The event started with only 80 runners and has developed beyond the charity’s expectations, according to Oxfam.

Meanwhile, this year’s primary sponsor, insurance company AIA, will donate an extra MOP100 for runners who manage to run 1,299 steps. The staircase of the Macau Tower has a total of 1,298 steps. The extra step symbolizes a leap.

An association involving local pop entertainers, along with two Hong Kong Cantonese television program hosts, will also support the event by participating. Local Canto-pop singer Siufay, and Hong Kong TV hosts Brian Chan and Agnes Lam will take to the tower.

All three of them will take on the full tower run and have said that they have already started preparing for the occasion. They hope more people will sign up so that more donations will be generated for a good cause. AL