Foundations Teacher to Participate in the 7 Emirates Run for Charity
Shawn McraeWhen was the last time that you did something that you thought was impossible? What have you done lately that would benefit someone other than yourself? Worried about how long it took to answer? Let’s change that!
Shawn McRae, English Faculty in the Foundations department at DWC, has tried to ask herself questions such as these for quite some time. As a teenager, she volunteered in the Keywanettes club in her high school, and she later served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco and participated in various volunteer organizations and activities while living in South Korea. As an avid runner and traveler, she has used her time abroad to raise money for the betterment of the local communities in which she has been part. In 2005, she ran the Walt Disney World Marathon to raise money for the American Stroke Association, and in 2011 she joined two friends in the Rickshaw Run. This 3,500km excursion allowed competitors to drive a tuk-tuk for two weeks from Cochin to Shillong, India in order to raise money for International Rescue Corps and Social Change and Development.
Shawn realizes the importance of participating in community events/activities and has decided that her next adventure will benefit the local community in which she is currently living. From November 21 until December 2, Shawn will be joining a group of other endurance runners in the second edition of the 7 Emirates Run. The run will begin in Abu Dhabi and finish in Dubai on the 43rd UAE National Day. Money raised from the charity run will go towards the Al Jalila Foundation and will be used to pay for life-changing surgery and postoperative medical support for children who suffer from deformities or amputation in the UAE.
The Desert Dames is a team relay comprised of seven women who live and work in the UAE. Over the course of twelve days, the women will run through the seven emirates, completing a group total of 575km. Shawn will personally run on November 21, November 27, and December 2. The team would like to raise at least 54,000aed and are dedicating their part of the run to a young woman named Suha. DWC realizes the importance of the event and has agreed to sponsor Shawn, but we need even more help to reach their goal. The team will be hosting a Bento Box Fundraiser on Wednesday, November 19 at KANPAI Japanese/Asian Fusion Restaurant & Lounge at Souk Al Bahar, Dubai Mall. Guests who attend the fundraiser will pay 99aed for a bento box and one drink; all proceeds from the event will go towards the Al Jalila Foundation.
The event is under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and is endorsed by the Dubai Sports Council. Since the event strives to make a difference in people’s lives, it falls under one of the tenants of the HCT, which encourages faculty to participate in community events/activities with students and increase student participation. Shawn would like to take this one step further and invite both students and faculty to run either the full or partial course on any individual day. Even if you are not fond of running, you can come out and support the runners as they traverse across the emirates.
If you would like to support the Desert Dames as they complete the 7 Emirates Run, please log onto the event website to receive more information about how to make a donation and register for the runs: www.7emiratesrun.com. Registration for the run closes at midnight on Saturday, November 15. To RSVP for the fundraiser, please contact Shawn smcrae@hct.ac.ae by Monday, November 17.
