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Fact Sheet

ELLIE’S RUN FOR AFRICA IS MORE THAN JUST A 5K RACE.
It’s a local opportunity to walk alongside the next generation of African children by raising funds to support their education. From Nashville to Nairobi. You can make a difference. 

Ellie’s Run for Africa (ERFA) was founded in 2004 thanks to the dream of one child in Nashville, TN – 10-year-old Ellie Ambrose.  Ellie was moved to act after seeing photos of children living in the slums of Africa.  To date, her dream has raised more than $300,000 and helped thousands of children attend school.

PARTNERING FOR EDUCATION, SHARING HOPE
Ellie’s Run for Africa raises funds for schools in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. The conditions are desperate.

 In the middle of a modern city, one can walk out of a pleasant hotel right into a slum, in which residents live in extreme poverty, earning approximately $1.00 per day. 2009 Census data shows that over half of Nairobi’s population lives in slums, which account for only 5% of the city’s area. The drastic difference between the “haves” and “have-nots,” is upsetting and difficult to understand, but the wealth and infrastructure also make Nairobi uniquely qualified to support and sustain real, permanent change.

The kids have HOPE – hope that, through education, they can journey out of the slum to a stronger future.

Ellie’s Run for Africa partners with those children in their hope.  In seven years, we have:

  • Funded construction costs for the New Dawn Academy – a secondary school literally made of shipping containers, stacked on one on top of the other, and serving 160 children a year.  We have also contributed a significant amount to operating costs, including $50,000 from 2011 race proceeds.
  • Provided finances for construction and operational support for the Emmanuel Vocational School, an 8-classroom training center that teaches adolescents trades like welding and sewing, which later become marketable skills and primary sources of income.
  • Helped approximately 400 children a year attend primary school by providing uniforms, books, and shoes, in addition to funding for building construction and maintenance.
  • Provided additional funds to support clinics and orphan homes in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.

All funds are donated through African Leadership, the Brentwood, Tennessee-based 501 c3 charity from which Ellie first heard about Africa.  African Leadership, an ECFA certified organization (www.ecfa.org), trains local African pastors and church leaders in 19 countries, and funds relief and development projects in their communities.  Learn more at www.africanleadershipinc.org.

YOUR LOCAL OPPORTUNITY: MAY 19, 2012 RACE DETAILS
In 2012, Ellie’s Run for Africa is dreaming bigger than ever! More than 1,000 participants will attend the 8th annual run and family fun day on May 19, 2012 in DOWNTOWN Nashville, Tennessee. More details are coming soon!