- The Iron Brothers project of the Associação de Paralisia Cerebral de Lisboa received a donation of €5,000. The Amoreira Popular Instruction Group project received a grant of €3,000 and €2,000 to the Portuguese Association of Adapted Surf.
- Athletes ran 5km along the village of Cascais illuminated by Christmas lights
The Cascais Liberty Seguros Christmas Race, which took place yesterday in Cascais, had around 2,000 participants and combined physical activity with the promotion of diversity and inclusion.
The 5km race culminated in a donation of €5,000 to the Iron Brothers – Dar Rodas à Inclusão project of the Associação de Paralisia Cerebral de Lisboa; of €3,000 to Table Tennis as Therapy: Ping Pong Parkinson’s and For Sports by the Amoreira Popular Instruction Group and €2,000 to the Surfboards for Adapted Surfing project in Cascais, Surfaddict, of the Portuguese Adapted Surfing Association.
“It was with a sense of mission accomplished that we spent an unforgettable late afternoon in the village of Cascais, with all those who joined us and, through their registration, supported noble causes and had an incalculable impact on the lives of so many families”, said Alexandre Ramos, CIO of Liberty in Europe. “This initiative proves Liberty Seguros’ commitment to people and contributes to breaking down barriers and to the development of an increasingly inclusive society, through new opportunities accessible to all”
The initiative, supported by Liberty Seguros and organized by HMS Sports and the Cascais City Council, supported and promoted adapted sport by awarding scholarships to three innovative and inclusive projects that aim to address needs such as the acquisition of equipment for practicing sports. The amount donated to each association was chosen by the participants.
The prize of €5,000 was given to the Iron Brothers Project – Dar Rodas à Inclusão, by the Cerebral Palsy Association of Lisbon, which received 49% of the votes of the participants. This supports defends and serves people with cerebral palsy and related neurological conditions and their families, aiming at the realization of life projects and the full exercise of citizenship. The amount donated will be dedicated to the purchase of sports material to allow the inclusion of non-autonomous people with cerebral palsy in sports events of running, triathlon, and open water swimming
The Amoreira Popular Instruction Group was the choice of 30% of the participants and will dedicate the €3,000 donated to the Table Tennis as Therapy project: Ping Pong Parkinson and For Sport, in partnership with the Parkinson Portugal Association. The objective is to promote the practice of sports and associated therapies, demonstrably reversing (rare in medicine) some symptoms of the disease. Through this donation, sports equipment will be purchased to encourage reflex therapy with lights and the measurement of the respective results, Blazepod and FastPong.
With 21% of the votes of the participants, €2,000 was given to the Surfboards for Adapted Surfing project in Cascais – Surfaddict, by the Portuguese Association of Adapted Surfing, which makes surfing available to people with any type of limitation, be it motor, visual or cognitive. The donation will make it possible to acquire specific boards for adapted surfing, which have the characteristics of being produced with a material that is soft to the touch and impact so that, when torn, it does not produce sharp edges, as well as a wedge-shaped elevation at the top, so as to accommodate and lift the surfer’s body, and side handles.
Each of these projects will be completed by March 2023. The process can be followed on the event’s website and social networks.
The race had the registration of 2,000 people, 55% of which were women, from 32 different nationalities, such as Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, Serbia, Colombia, South Africa, Uruguay, Venezuela, China, and Bangladesh.
The closing ceremony of the race was marked by the delivery of prizes to the six best-classified athletes and checks to each of the associations, by Alexandre Ramos, CIO of Liberty in Europe; Francisco Kreye, Alderman of Cascais City Council; and Hugo Sousa from HMS Sports
The finish line was cut at 15 minutes and 15 seconds by Hermano Ferreira, followed by Gonçalo Casimiro and Pedro Gaspar. The first female athlete to finish the 5km was Sofia Sousa, in 19 minutes and 48 seconds. Palmira Quinhama and Eulália Almeida followed her.
The first edition
In 2020, the first edition of the Cascais Christmas Race raised €28,800, a donation that translated into food for needy families in the municipality of Cascais. Contributing to this amount were registrations (€5 per person) at the event, €7,400 donated by the municipality, €7,000 from Lidl, and €7,000 from Aldi.
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