Trainee in a law firm, Laura is about to run 5 km in Parc Montsouris.
This 24-year-old Bordeaux woman, living in the 14th arrondissement, admits that she "has not done sport for two years".
But she was seduced by the challenge offered by two PE teachers: Jean-François Dané, 29, teacher in a college in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), and Maxime Péducasse, 23, who works in a vocational school in Blanc-Mesnil.
Entitled "Green Slam", this operation offers to run between 5 and 10 km in ten of the most beautiful Parisian parks.
A challenge to be completed in three months while also performing a great deed.
The funds collected (minimum participation of 5 euros) will be donated to the Association "Les Petites bosses".
Founder of the “EspoirsduFootball” account, which is very popular with nearly 99,000 subscribers on Twitter, Laurent Mommeja created, in 2019, the “Les Petites Bosses” Association which aims to “provide moral, material or financial support to sick or disabled children and adolescents in order to improve their daily lives.
The Association covers all or part of the health expenses or costs related to the acquisition of equipment or materials to improve the daily lives of children and their families.
It also offers moral support through meetings and events with their sponsors and supporters, ”explains Laurent Mommeja.
The Association directly finances projects or puts families in touch with donors, in particular high-level athletes.
“We play the role of trusted intermediaries.
Athletes can give us donations that we redistribute or target them to children who have particularly affected them.
We also receive a lot of jerseys that we put up for auction.
"Partnerships have been set up with various structures such as Toulouse FC, the association" Women of but not that "or the Toulouse University Hospital.
In February 2020, basketball player Nicolas Batum funded the operation of a 7-year-old boy in the United States to the tune of € 40,000.
“The idea came to us simply by cycling around the Portes de Paris,” explains Jean-François Dané, also an amateur footballer.
We discovered beautiful parks and we gave ourselves the challenge of running 10 km in each of them.
But we quickly said to ourselves: why not offer this challenge to as many people as possible by linking it to a charitable action?
With the Covid, we are going through a particular period where we unfortunately tend to withdraw into ourselves rather than open up to others.
We put forward a symbolism, not to run only for oneself but to make everyone want to play sports, to share their practice, to be behind a common project, while helping an association.
"
"When you resume sport, it's ideal"
Emeline, 27, communications manager for a ready-to-wear brand, has chosen Parc de la Villette to start her ten races.
“I am neither a great sportswoman nor too much a fan of running, but I needed a challenge like this, adapted to my needs of the moment, she explains.
It's not like we're getting ready for a one-off race, it's spread out over time.
When you resume sport like me, it's a feasible challenge, it's ideal because there is no risk of discouragement and abandonment.
We come to run when we want, at our own pace and we can discover pleasant corners of nature in Paris while participating in a great cause.
I immediately bought into this great concept when I was told about it.
This Parisian, resident of the 18th arrondissement and very occasional sportswoman at the base, fits perfectly into the target of the two initiators of the project.
"Our goal is to reach as many people as possible, to bring the most sedentary Parisians back to sport by bringing them out of their homes, because there is a real social and health issue," continues Jean-François Dané.
The most important thing is the notion of pleasure, not the performance.
Everyone can run freely and independently.
This is why we proposed a minimum distance of 5 km, which is more accessible and less frightening at the start for those who have not done sport for a long time.
It is this population that we address first, not an Elite of running, for whom there are already many events and projects.
"
Laura, the student lawyer, had stopped running since moving to Paris two years ago.
“Running alone on the quays or around cars in pollution is not very motivating and pleasant,” explains the Bordelaise.
For the past year, we have been forced to stay locked up a lot.
Going back to sport was a necessity for me but I had to find the click to get back to it.
Thanks to this operation, I will be able to do myself good morally and physically by going out a little more from my home, discovering new places and sharing it with friends.
It is much more motivating than to run each in his corner.
And what's more, we don't just do it for ourselves, but for sick children.
It's even more satisfying as a feeling.
"
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Even if this is not the main purpose of the “Green Slam” challenge, many prizes (sports shops, osteopathic sessions, etc.) will be up for grabs thanks to the partners who have made a commitment to the two PE teachers.
But to remain in a certain coherence and give even more meaning to this half-sporting, half-charitable project, it is also workers from the ANRH (Association for the employment of people with disabilities) who are responsible for making the T-shirts offered to joggers as soon as they have run in at least five parks.
“Everything is linked, concludes Jean-François Dané.
Running for children in difficulty or with disabilities, that makes sense.
The Parisian Parks, it speaks to everyone and it gives visibility.
At the start, we did not want to have too high targets in terms of participants but we hope to reach as many Parisians as possible thanks to social networks.
And even with confinement, it's a good time to go out for a run and do sport again!
»You just need to check that the Parks in which you are running are within a radius of 10 km from your home.
To participate.
Subscribe to the Facebook or
page
“Green Chelem” then register by making a donation (minimum height of 5 euros) on the
Leetchi kitty which will be donated to the “Petites Bosses”
.
