Berlin, 29 November 2021: Jogging, walking and rolling – more than 170 runners covered a total of 2,400 kilometres in this year's 24h-hour fundraising relay race #HeatBerlin24. It is the third fundraiser organised by KVL Cares and the Berlin running groups MileHigh Berlin, Wechselzone und Potsrun, with 100% of the proceeds raised gong to Berlin City Mission’s “Winter Watch”.
24 gruelling hours, made up for with much euphoria and jubilation. Because the goal had been achieved: to set an example and raise awareness. Awareness of the more than 40,000 people living on the streets in Berlin who need extra help during the winter months. The Berlin City Mission has been providing this support from November to March for over 25 years with the Winter Watch bus, on the road every evening until late at night to provide the homeless with food and take them to emergency accommodation free of charge. "We're overwhelmed! We were able to raise 56,000 euros as well as countless donations of clothing and other articles," declared Anastasija Radke, Managing Director and partner of KVL Bauconsult. The passionate runner launched the campaign in 2019. "Two years ago we would never have dreamt the charity run would become so big. That's why we're all the more pleased to see how many people have taken part across Germany, and it's nice to see that helping can also be fun!
Dr Christian Ceconi, Theological Director of the Berliner City Mission: "We would like to thank all the runners from in and outside Berlin for their fantastic commitment. Every donation is needed and welcome, and we are also happy about the great many donations in kind. Many thanks to the #HeatBerlin24 team for their initiative and commitment. They are a blessing for the city!!"
Under the motto #ghosthugsonly, runners took off from the starting line opposite the KaDeWe department on Saturday, 27 November at midday wearing masks and in keeping with the covid regulations. The race ended 24 hours later on Sunday at 12 o'clock. Warm meals and refreshments as well as a place to rest were provided for the runners by the KVL Group from a base camp at Wittenbergplatz. Participants could also run virtually at the same time as the live event. The times were tracked via the Strava app and uploaded to virtualbib.com. Following the success of the first three events #HeatBerlin24 will take place again next year.