Release. Rethink. Refocus on Mental Health

More than 4,000 runners, including Special Olympics athletes, took part in the SNF Nostos Run’s 10K, 5K, and 1K routes on June 22 to contribute to a good cause and their physical and mental health. The run, organized by Regeneration & Progress, raised €32,452 for Ionas and Kinitiko Ergastiri, nonprofit organizations whose mission is to help people with disabilities get moving through competitive sports and therapeutic programs. The day came to a close with an entrancing laser show and a party at the SNFCC Agora with Laternative.

 

*A few words about the Run’s nonprofit partners 

Ionas
The Ionas Association was founded in 2007 with the aim of improving the lives of people with disabilities and preparing them to take part in sports competitions. This is accomplished using therapeutic, water-based training called hydrotherapy. Ionas has about 150 children enrolled in its hydrotherapy program and 25 active athletes who participate both in national championships and in international organizations, such as the Paralympic and European Games.

Ionas organizes activities in swimming, track, cycling, triathlon, and goalball, which is designed for athletes with visual disabilities. The association serves not only athletes, but people of all ages, from 6-month-old infants to older adults. Particular attention is given to preschool children with disabilities, mobility impairments, and neurological conditions, for whom therapeutic hydrotherapy can help build strength from the first years of their lives. Ionas athletes actively demonstrate that we are all equal and different at the same time, while overcoming obstacles and difficulties.

Contributions from SNF Nostos Run participants will be used to purchase specialized bicycles and handcycles for the athletes of the Association.  

Kinitiko Ergastiri
Kinitiko Ergastiri is a nonprofit adaptive sports and exercise association based in Ilioupolis, Attica. It was founded in 2012 through a collaboration between a group of researchers specializing in the field of adaptive mobility education and socially active members of the public. The association is designed for people with disabilities and their families, aiming to foster social integration through sports and recreational programs.

Through sports, the association works to help eliminate stereotypes related to disability. It provides specially designed physical education classes to improve the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of young people and children with disabilities. It also creates recreational programs for children with disabilities and their families, including group games and sports, musical and kinetic activities, nature outings, and visits to cultural sites. It is a member of the National Sports Federation of People with Disabilities (EAOM-PWD) and participates in the national championships.

Contributions from SNF Nostos Run participants will help support the Sports & Diversity program, in which children and young people with and without disabilities participate in joint sports activities, as well as the procurement of sporting equipment.

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Contributions to each of this year’s partner nonprofits will be made online (via debit or credit card) through Regeneration & Progress, a nonprofit which supervises the organization of the race. The full amount collected will be given as grants to the nonprofit organizations participating, with Ionas and Kinitiko Ergastiri each receiving half of the total raised.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is a philanthropic organization that operates exclusively by making grants to nonprofit organizations. SNF does not solicit or accept donations from individuals, corporations, or other types of organizations.

The SNF Nostos Run is implemented through an exclusive grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), which covers the full cost of the race. The run is held under the organizational supervision of Regeneration & Progress and the Department of Sports Excellence of the First Orthopaedic Clinic at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). The event is implemented in collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), with the assistance of the Hellenic National Center of Emergency Care (EKAV), the Athens Urban Transport Organization, and the Urban Rail Transport and under the auspices of the Hellenic Police.

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