Ukrainian volunteers organize charity race to fundraise for Kyiv children’s cardiology center

The 31st annual charity event, "Run Under the Chestnuts," has opened registration.

The event will take place on May 26, 2024, in Kyiv with the support of the Department of Youth and Sports of the Kyiv City State Administration, Rubryka reports.

What's the problem?

Andrii Maksymenko, the director of the Scientific and Practical Medical Center of Children's Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, stressed that children who come to the center require cardio-surgical treatment at an early age due to complex and critical heart defects. Only cardio-surgical correction in such cases allows children to live, so the center requires resources and specialized equipment to support more patients.

Every year, the NGO "Run Under the Chestnuts" raises awareness of the problem of congenital heart defects and the possibility of solving it, attracting the attention of Ukrainians and the country's media.

What's the solution?

"Run Under the Chestnuts" is Ukraine's largest annual sports charity event, launched in 1993, and today is a traditional part of the celebration of Kyiv Day, May 26.

Under the project's unchanged slogan, #RunningForLittleHearts, participants will run to save little patients at the Kyiv Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery this year.

How does it work?

The 31st "Run Under the Chestnuts" will traditionally bring together tens of thousands of caring people in Ukraine and worldwide to help children. The funding raised during the sports charity event will be directed to purchasing necessary medical equipment for the pediatric cardiology center.

Due to martial law in Ukraine, participants will not gather at a single location and time. For safety reasons, the 31st "Run Under the Chestnuts" will take place online.

The organizing team invites all interested parties from Ukraine and worldwide to go for a run or walk in safe locations on May 26 to cover the traditional 5 km distance.

To participate in the event, you need to register at probig.in.ua, make a donation of ₴300 (~ $8 or €7.5) per participant, and download and print the online bib number.

On Kyiv Day, May 26, 2024, wear the bib number and go for a run or walk, then share photos/videos on social media with the hashtags #probig2024 and #runningforlittlehearts.

This year, the organizing team has improved the registration system, making it more convenient for each participant. Now, registration on the probig.in.ua website is done by email. 

Also, you have the option to choose the format of receiving the starter pack immediately upon ordering: through the Nova Poshta branch or at the office, which will operate from May 20 to 24, 2024, from 10:00 to 20:00 at the address: Kyiv, Voacheslava Chornovola Street, 28/1, Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

All participants running outside Ukraine can download the online bib number on the website. More information about the "Run Under the Chestnuts" is available on the project's website.

In 2023, 7,335 participants from over 30 cities and towns of Ukraine and almost all continents of the world joined the "Run Under the Chestnuts" event.

Thanks to the charitable contributions of participants and the support of partners — Nova Poshta and Ukrinform — it was possible to raise ₴1,000,000 for equipment to perform open heart surgeries with the use of artificial circulation in the smallest children — newborns and infants in the Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery — as well as to purchase two ambulances within the SMART Medical Aid project "100 ambulances for Ukraine" to save lives in the front-line areas.

Organizers are the Charitable Foundation "Run Under the Chestnuts," Kyiv City State Administration, and the Department of Youth and Sports of the City of Kyiv.