What a day: in a new record, the Albert Schweitzer elementary school in Albertshofen, Germany, has raised a whopping 5,650 euros at its charity run, which takes place every two years. Over the course of two hours, the 95 students ran around the soccer field. Each lap completed saw money donated for Mix for Kids, with family, friends and companies sponsoring the young runners.

The student council had previously decided that half of the proceeds from the sports day would go to Mix for Kids projects in India and the other half to projects in Albania. Mix for Kids got in touch with its local partners and asked which projects for disadvantaged children and teenagers were currently most in need of support.

In Vadodara, India, Mix for Kids’ partners suggested expanding the existing sports and meal program. As such, Mix for Kids financed jerseys and shorts for 50 children from the city’s poorest neighborhoods alongside soccer equipment, healthy and balanced meals for the players after training and entry fees for games and tournaments.

Over to Albania where children with and without disabilities are taught side by side at the Don Bosco School in Shkodra. However, the children with autism and ADHD, for example, do have additional needs. Mix for Kids will now fund an individual teaching assistant to provide extra support over a period of two years for a five-year-old girl with such a condition, as well as her school fees, as the girl’s parents are unable to afford this professional help.

Also on the itinerary at the school is cooking lessons, which the young people, often from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, make good use of to prepare themselves for working life. As the school currently lacks enough hotplates for its students, Mix for Kids is purchasing new kitchen equipment for the school.

“It’s impressive to see what is being done with the money raised by our students at sports day in order to help children and teenagers who might otherwise struggle to achieve regular school attendance,” explained a delighted Harald Schafferhans, head of the Albert Schweitzer elementary school in Albertshofen.