On the bright Sunday morning of 23rd October 2016, a beautiful sunrise over Sukhna lake inspired citizens of the TriCity area and the ISB community to participate in a fundraising marathon Joyathon, organised by the students of the Indian School of Business (ISB). In its third year since conception, the marathon this time saw huge participation with over 500 runners running for joy!
An initiative of the Net Impact Club at ISB, Joyathon was conceptualised to create awareness about ‘Daan Utsav’, the festival of giving. The aim of the marathon is to encourage the residents of the Tricity to become more socially responsible and give back to the society in whatever way possible. The proceeds from this year’s marathon were used to support the Chandigarh Spinal Rehab Centre to help them build their facility for spinal chord injury rehabilitation.
Runners both young and old, experienced and beginners, came together to run alongside participants from the Chandigarh Spinal Rehab Centre for one of the 3 - 7 - 12 km categories. It was inspiring to see the spirit and determination in all of the participants as they completed their distances around the serene lake. With Mr Balbir Singh, MLA of Mohali inaugurating the ceremony and Chandigarh Runners group participating in large numbers, the marathon managed to raise over INR 1.5 lakhs in donations.
It’s the sense of achievement at the end of a challenge that pushes a runner to run, but it is the added satisfaction of having contributed to a noble cause that makes Joyathon special for participants. Growing in scale each year, we hope that Joyathon continues to bring together the residents of tricity, making ISB a uniter for many years to come.