Milan, June 27, 2024 – “The most beautiful Marathon is the one that will come,” this was the incipit of Luca Onofrio, mass events area manager of RCS Sports & Events, who opened last night the first official event dedicated to the 2025 Charity Program. An event that has always been engaging, held in Milan (Spazio Open) together with Rete del Dono, a historical partner of the project, open to the Non-Profit Organizations of the Milan Marathon scheduled for Sunday, April 6, 2025. A real combination of energies and intentions-this is the spirit of the appointment-that tie in well with the principles and values that RCS Sports & Events continues to promote on its events.
The Charity Program, in particular, is the program closely linked to the Relay Marathon and the Wizz Air Milano Marathon since 2010 through which runners can support official Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) in financing their activities and charitable projects. Its steady growth is evidenced by the numbers registered, the increase in public participation and the multiple cheering points set up along the last race route. Solidarity, inclusion, fun and passion are the basic principles that have always driven the project.
Excellent success this year with as many as 104 participating NPOs and 4,000 teams registered for a collection that totaled over 1,460,000 euros on the Rete del Dono platform (25 percent more than in 2023). The total was raised through donations from companies and solidarity runners and crowfunding campaigns. In short, a record-breaking year that serves as motivation to set ever-higher goals.
Among the various speeches throughout the evening was that of Laura Di Fluri, marketing & communication manager of Humana People to People Italia, among the new NPOs. A humanitarian international cooperation organization that finances and implements projects in the Global South and also contributes to environmental protection through the collection, sale and donation of used clothing. Humana is committed to increasing the capacities of peoples and communities so that they become protagonists of their own future.
Valeria Vitali, founder of Rete del Dono, then moderated two talks featuring representatives from six NPOs of 2024 – ENPA, RAISE, Make A Wish, Amici del Trivulzio Martinitt e Stelline, Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla, and Sport Senza Frontiere – who had the opportunity to tell about their realities and the activities that characterized their solidarity manifesto.
For ever more ambitious growth, among the new features of the next edition is the Charity of the Year. A clear opportunity for the NPOs to play a prominent role in the marathon-related activities, but also an important responsibility in conveying the message of educating people about the culture of giving for a good cause. This is, in fact, the first time in history that Milano Marathon has launched this initiative. And obtaining this recognition was,with great surprise and enthusiasm, the TOG Foundation, a non-profit organization (NPOs), founded in 2011 and based in Milan. The NPO aims to provide the best specialized care for children and young people with severe neurological disorders.
This is the summary of a first moment that confirms the relevance of the Charity Program that for years has impactfully characterized the marathon in the Lombard capital, one of the most important sporting events in the world.
