Bhasker Sharma 50, Software Engineer; Supporter of Dream A Dream

• Sharma (in blue) raised Rs 80,000 in 2008 by running the Mumbai marathon. He hopes to collect more this year. He also uses his blog and emails to spread the word.
• “A lot of people come forward to help if they know you are personally invested in the charity you support”

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On 31 May 2009, some 20,000 runners will line up to run the Sunfeast 10K Marathon in Bangalore. Among them will be Bhasker Sharma, a software engineer. Don’t be surprised if there’s a special spring in his step. With this run, he will raise Rs 1 lakh for his favourite charity, Dream A Dream.

Nor will he be the only one. Around 5,000 people will be running to raise funds for charities of their choice at the Sunfeast 10K. In 2008, the first time the marathon was staged in Bangalore, runners collectively raised Rs 41.35 lakh for various causes. And, in embracing this method of fundraising, they are one with millions of enthusiasts the world over who combine a passion for running and sport with a passion for charity.

“My life is pretty much divided under four heads: work, family, Dream A Dream and running,” says Sharma, 50. “I began jogging when I was doing my post-graduation at the Indian Institute of Science. In 2001, I began running long-distance when I found it helped me cope with the stress of establishing my own start-up.”

As runners the world over will testify, the rhythm and pace of long-distance running can be addictive. Most serious runners prefer the early hours, possibly even before sunrise, to hit the asphalt. The clean air, the silence, the steadily increasing heartbeat, the regular feel of feet against the ground lull the athlete into a ‘runner’s high’, often defined as a state where mind and body work in perfect coordination.

Double benefit. About 18 months after Sharma got into long-distance running, he ran his first marathon at the age of 45. By then, he was already contributing cheques to causes like Child Rights and You (CRY), HelpAge India and a charitable hospital in Chennai. In 2006, he says, a colleague suggested he unite his twin interests in a mutually beneficial way.

“It’s an approach we welcome at Dream A Dream,” says Sangitha Krishnamurthi, finance manager at the 10-year-old NGO widely respected for its transparency and accountability. “Sports forms a significant part of the life-skills programmes we run for children from vulnerable backgrounds in the effort to integrate them with the mainstream. So when our mentors—volunteers whom we train in imparting emotional support and skills to young adult ‘mentees’—use a sporting achievement to raise funds for us, we believe it sends a positive message all across.”

Cashing in. So how does a sporting skill raise funds? Essentially, it’s about credibility. Once you are known among your family, friends, colleagues as a dedicated athlete, spread the word about your interest in a particular charity, the work it does and why you believe in it.

“A lot of people come forward to help if they know you are personally invested in the charity you support,” says Sharma, who researched Dream A Dream thoroughly before taking up their cause. “In 2008, I raised Rs 80,000 for them by running the Mumbai marathon. This year, I have raised the bar on the amount pledged and also donated Rs 10,000 myself.”

Inform your acquaintances and friends and ask them to support your endeavour to raise a certain corpus by donating money. Sharma, for instance, reaches out to the world by appending two links to every email he sends out: One leads to his blog, in which he documents his experiences as a runner, and the other to his ‘pledgepage’, where he sets out his target amount and provides a regular update and break-up on the money collected.

Once you sign up with an NGO to raise funds, it will usually give you a document that sets out its goals and ideals, which you can circulate among your contacts to familiarise them with your effort.
Other than celebrity cricket matches, marathons are the most popular fund-raising physical activity in India today. In the absence of a true sporting culture, as also the comparative accessibility of running, it may be a while before we graduate to swimming galas, triathlons and even quizzes to raise funds, as is popular abroad.

So what are you waiting for? Hit the road, Jack.

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