Citizens' Run

Citizens' Run 2006 - A Snapshot

In the year 2006, Citizens' Run was held on the 10th of September. The run was flagged off at Lady Willingdon College of Education on Marina beach and concluded at the War Memorial. A good number of runners took part in the event and it proved to be a grand success.
The following members were the trustees of the Citizens’ Run and they formed the core committee that was in charge of organizing the event.

	Eric Prabhakar - Former Olympian and senior UNESCO official
	V.R. Devika - Culture and educational resource.
	S. Muthiah - Storyteller of our city
	Uma Narayanan - Welfare worker
	Ranvir Shah - Theatre person and cultural activist
	H.B.N. Shetty - IAS (Retd.) and long connected with education
	Ms. Malavika Sivakumar

The run would not have been possible but for the generous contributions from individuals and organizations committed to the cause of making a change. We would like to acknowledge the part played by the following corporate houses in supporting the event.

	Kasturi & Sons,
	India Pistons Ltd.,
	Brakes India Ltd.,
	Taj Coromandel Hotels Ltd.,
	Ramco Cements Ltd.,
	EID Parry Ltd.,
	Murugappa Group,
	Standard Chartered Bank,
	Indian Overseas Bank,
	Wheels India Ltd.,
	Ford India Ltd.

In addition, companies like Mahindra Ford and Foodworld, sponsored the t-shirts for children who took part in the run. Other notable contrutors were Nokia, the Round Table, AIESEC, and Young Indians (YI).

The non-government organizations that have been supported by the Citizens’ Run so far are organizations that work with the handicapped, the elderly, HIV Positive persons, suicide interventionists, and civic awareness groups. Those who stood to benefit from the run include:

	GNANA DEEPAM CHARITABLE TRUST
	POSITIVE WOMENS NETWORK
	RASA RAMANA SUNRITYA AALAYA TRUST
	VASANTHAM
	"NETHRA" WELFARE FOUNDATION OF THE BLIND
	SNEHA FOUNDATION TRUST
	INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR CRIME PREVENTION AND VICTIM CARE
	SRI POORNA MAHAMERU TRUST
	Friends of the Beach
	Probus Club of Madras
	Sri Balagurukulam Educational Soceity
	ARUWE
	Friends of Police
	Corporation Schools
	Anjugam Education Trust Kameshwaran
	Anbagam
	Mrs.Sitalakshmi Raghavan Memorial Social and Charitable Trust
	Karunaiyilla Trust for Mentally Handicapped
	ICDS Noon Meal centre
	GANDHI PEACE FOUNDATION
	SOCIETY FOR EDUCATIONAL & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
	MAITHRI EDUCATIONAL & CHARITABLE TRUST
	SAMARPANA
	SEVA CHAKKARA ORPHANAGE
	EXNORA VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE
	ANBU KARANGAL CHARITABLE TRUST
	SELVI MEMORIAL ILLAM SOCIETY
	YMCA College of Physical Education
	Social Welfare Centre for Weaker Sections
	Spastics Support Society
	International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care
	Foster School
	Udavum Ullangal Illam
	Ramamoorthy Education and Rehabilitation Trust
	Sri Arunodayam
	Suyam Charitable Trust/SIRAGU MONTESSORI SCHOOL
	The Doraiswamy Charitable and Educational Trust
	SAGAYAM HOME
	PCVC

The annual event of the Citizens’ Run attracts many runners from different walks of life. Some of the distinguished runners who make up the who's who of chennai were a part of the 2006 event. They include tennis stars Ramanathan and Ramesh Krishnan, The Amritrajs, film personalities Revathi, Suhasini Mani Ratnam, danseuse Anita Ratnam, Yasmin Akbar, Anand Natarajan, J.B. Joseph, A. Rajan, R. Gnanasekaran, chess king Vishwananthan Anand, P.T. Usha, Srikkanth, Lakshmi Ratan, V. Gopalakrishnan, former olympian V. Bhaskaran and a host of other enthusiasts.

To catch a glimpse of the spirit of the 2006 event that turned out to be a roaring success check out the photo gallery.