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| Mercedes-Benz's sports charity event "Give 'N Race" poster / Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz |
By Kim Jae-heun
German carmaker Mercedes-Benz has donated 5.05 billion won ($3.98 million) to local communities over the past five years through its "Mercedes-Benz Give" sports campaign.
"Give 'N Race," is another sports campaign program that has gained popularity among participants as it promotes people's health while they help those in need. Mercedes-Benz opened the registration for the 9th Give 'N Race Virtual Run on April 26 and all tickets went sold out in 10 minutes. Last year's Give 'N Race, which took place in Busan, was also fully booked just 15 minutes after the application form went live, attracting 10,000 participants.
Mercedes-Benz is the first imported car brand to start such a charity event in 2017, intending to help vulnerable children and teenagers. It has held Give 'N Race eight times as of October last year and a total of 77,000 people have joined the donation drive event, collecting 4.1 billion won.
During the pandemic, the carmaker held a virtual race to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The donations, including sports campaign participation fees, are used for education and medical expenses for youngsters through the Kids & Future Foundation.
Last year's donation from Give 'N Race was spent on medical expenses to treat children who suffered severe burns, heart problems and rare diseases.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz started the "Give 'N Dream" scholarship project in 2020 to support promising young athletes in Korea. The carmaker donated a total of 150 million won to 50 young athletes on May 24.
Give 'N Dream donates a maximum of 3 million won per person per year and awards scholarships to a total of 50 recipients in various sports such as soccer, baseball, taekwondo and badminton.
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