Heart-shaped run raises funds and awareness for Organ Donation Foundation South Africa

Pirates Road Running Club welcomed community members who joined them in a virtual 5km run/walk between 6 and 14 March in honour of Nathan Bewsher and to raise funds for the Organ Donation Foundation of South Africa (ODF).

Thirteen-year-old Nathan tragically lost his life in June last year when he tripped and fell during a morning run. He was taken to Milpark Hospital after being resuscitated but never regained consciousness.

Pirates Road Running vice-chair Gerry Greyling said, “Nathan’s parents, Warren and Cathy Bewsher, made the decision to donate his organs and, as a result, made a difference to the lives of four other people.

“During the week surrounding what would have been Nathan’s 14th birthday, Pirates Road Running encouraged everyone to run or walk a special heart-shaped route to raise awareness about becoming organ donors.”

Greyling said a very small percentage of South Africa’s population are registered organ donors and discussing your desire to become an organ donor with your family is an important part of this process.

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Greyling explained why Pirates decided to host the run. “Nathan was a regular at our runs supporting his dad and long-time member Warren. So when Warren and Cathy Bewsher approached us with the idea of running the route we created last year in aid of the ODF, we knew this was something we wanted to help with.

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“At Pirates, our members become like a family and out of this something good can come from the tragic event.”

The run has so far attracted more than 600 participants and raised more than R100 000, thanks to generous sponsors, donations and friends of the Bewsher family.

Support the cause by donating as little as R50 by visiting entrytickets.net/Nathan

To find out more about organ donation, visit www.odf.org.za