November 27th, 2024
Tohum Suns Ran in the 46th Istanbul Marathon Sponsored by Türkiye İş Bankası to Support the Education Scholarships of 15 Students!
The 46th Istanbul Marathon, the world’s only intercontinental marathon, took place on Sunday, November 3rd, sponsored by Türkiye İş Bankası. For the past 12 years, Tohum Autism Foundation has been enabling children with autism to access education through charity runs with its dedicated volunteer runners. This year, the Foundation once again participated in the marathon under its campaign “Be a Tohum Sun.”
Unlike in previous years, this time students from Tohum’s Educational Institutions—Selin, Cem, and Mert—also joined the marathon for the first time. They launched their own fundraising campaigns to support education scholarships for other children and youth with autism, becoming a meaningful part of this movement of kindness.
The Fundraising Campaign Continues Until November 20
The Foundation launched the “Be a Tohum Sun” campaign with a fundraising goal of 3 million TL to cover one year of educational expenses for 15 students with autism. So far, the campaign has raised over 2 million TL, securing full-year scholarships for 10 students. With continued support, the aim is to fund the remaining 5 students, and the campaign will remain open until November 20.
26 Organizations Took Steps for the Education of Children with Autism
Volunteer running teams from 26 leading institutions in Türkiye joined the marathon in support of autism education. These included:
Akbank RedRunners, Arthur D. Little, Barbaros Leo Volunteers, Berko İlaç, Biofarma İlaç, COOKSHOP, Deloitte Türkiye, ETİ, Fronius, Gap Inc. Türkiye, GOOİNN, Henkel, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, İş GYO, Kültür Koleji, MetLife, NART Sigorta, Nobel İlaç, Otokoç Otomotiv, Philips, ROIPUBLIC, Sanko Holding, SATO, Setur, Sevinç Schools, and Titanic Hotel.
A Message of Gratitude and a Call to Action
Burçak Karakaya, General Manager of Tohum Autism Foundation, expressed heartfelt thanks to all the organizations, individual runners, and donors who supported the campaign:
“For the past 21 years, we have continuously emphasized that the only known solution for autism is early diagnosis followed by intensive, continuous education. Thanks to this year’s marathon, we’ve raised enough to fund the education of 10 children with autism for one year. To reach our goal for this year, we invite everyone to support the remaining 5 students by contributing to the campaigns of our Tohum Suns—Selin, Cem, and Mert—by November 20.”
