Marathon 2008
The fourth Puttinu 60 hour football marathon was held between Friday the 25th and Sunday the 27th of April 2008 at the Marsa Sports Complex in collaboration with the KMS. The families, sponsors, volunteers, the media and all those who helped in any way made the 4th Football Marathon such a huge success. The sum raised during this marathon was €233,000 (LM100,000) and a garage was also donated by a generous couple. Without any doubt what we found most impressive was that a part of this sum was donated by children taking part in the football matches. It was really great to see these children doing their part to raise money to help other children like themselves.
Apart from the football matches which involved about 500 teams, there was animation throughout the day, as well as evening entertainment- singing and dancing- with the participation of several well-known personalities. His grace Archbishop Mons. Paul Cremona, the Prime Minister Dr. Laurence Gonzi and the acting-leader of the opposition Dr. Charles Mangion all attended this event and were very glad to meet our families. Various parliamentarians also attended the activities and actively participated in the football matches.
The live transmission on all local TV channels on Saturday 25th aided this fundraising event. The success of this marathon was also due to the hard work of the staff at Rainbow and many other volunteers. However it would not have been possible without the generosity of many sponsors who helped us in various ways as well as the invaluable coverage and support that was given by individual journalists and presenters, and newspapers, radio and TV stations.
Our latest project was the acquisition of 3 apartments within walking distance of Royal Marsden Hospital in the UK. With this marathon we started on the way to paying off these apartments which are considered to be the property of all Maltese citizens to help those families whose children are unfortunately suffering from cancer and need to go abroad for part or all of their treatment. At least they will not need to worry about where they will be staying and can focus better on the needs of their sick child.
Marathon 2007
The third Puttinu 60 hour football marathon was held between Friday the 20th and Sunday the 22nd of April 2007 at the Marsa Sports Complex in collaboration with the Kunsill Malti ghall-isports. The opening Mass was celebrated by His Grace the Archbishop Paul Cremona O.P. Mrs. Catherine Gonzi made the opening address.
The main aim of the marathon was to raise cancer awareness in a positive context. Also Puttinu was working on the acquisition of property within walking distance of Royal Marsden Hospital in the UK. Throughout the 2006 and 2007 Puttinu Cares rented two apartments which housed four families however it was seen as more feasible to secure our own property. Therefore to this purpose we launched this fund-raising campaign and hoped that through the support and generosity of kind benefactors, within a short while this goal could be reached.
As in previous years, the marathon hosted around 500 teams which included members of parliament, the Kalamita Match, the Hermann Bonaci Team, Where’s Everybody, Zoo, and teams from Tista Tkun Int and Net TV. Apart from the football matches, there was animation throughout the day, as well as evening entertainment- singing and dancing- with the participation of several well-known personalities.
Without any doubt the highlight of this event was the participation of Gian Luigi Buffon on Sunday afternoon and played a game with parents and children. This wonderful experience remained etched in the memory of our children and their families.
Entertainment was provided by Ira Losco, Mike Spiteri, Gawdenz, Glen Vella, She 2’s, Ali and Lis, Fabrizio Faniello, Hooligan and Hector Bruno. The marathon included various sports such as basketball, rugby, judo, cycling, go-karting and BMX shows. Other events include demonstrations of remote-controlled cars and by the Malta Police Dog Section.
This was the first time where the marathon was transmitted live on education 22 on Saturday 21st and it helped to draw the crowds and to raise funds. The success of this marathon was also due to the hard work of the staff at Wonderland (nowadays Rainbow Ward) and many other volunteers. However it would not have been possible without the generosity of many sponsors who helped us in various ways as well as the invaluable coverage and support that was given by individual journalists and presenters, and newspapers, radio and TV stations
This marathon which was highly successful was organized by The Puttinu Cares Children’s Cancer Support Group and the sum of Lm70, 000 (€ 163, 100) was raised.
Marathon 2006
The Puttinu Cares Children’s Cancer Support Group, which has been formed to ease the problems that young cancer patients and their families have to face, organized the second edition of a 60hour football marathon. This event was held at the Marsa Sports Ground starting the 31st March at 10am and ending on 2nd April 2006 at 10 pm.
Football matches were organized by the participants themselves by choosing the opposing team and around 400 teams consisting of 5-a-side or 7-a-side teams took part.
This was a non-competitive, fun event and the main objective was to bring together as many youngsters and adults as possible, to participate in a sporting event and at the same time to create an awareness of the needs of young cancer patients. Participants from various sectors were encouraged to take part including schools, football nurseries, companies and government entities.
The persons involved in this marathon are all working on a purely voluntary basis and they are being supported by the Ministry of Education and the Kunsill Nazzjonali Ghallisport, Cottonera. There are no targets to be met and donations were strictly voluntary. The total sum collected during this marathon added up to Lm9,000 (€ 20, 970)
Marathon 2005
The first football marathon in aid of Puttinu Cares was held at the Marsa Sports Grounds on the 29th, 30th, and 31st March 2005. The idea originated when Mr. Ray Cuschieri made a suggestion to Mr. Rennie Zerafa (a nurse working at the paediatric oncology ward and the founder of the Puttinu Cares) to organize a marathon that will be the exclusive main event of the support group. Being football crazy, Mr. Zerafa decided that it would be ideal to organize a 60hour football marathon in which around 300 teams from different clubs and nurseries took part. A large number of local singers and entertainers have also offered their services voluntarily. This marathon was organised in collaboration with the Kunsill Malti ghall-Isports. They made the marathon possible by providing all of the Marsa Sports Grounds facilities. The main volunteer helpers involved in the setting up of the marathon were Geraldine Sciberras who was the secretary till 2009 and the present secretary Linzia Bajjada. Also Noel Borg a.k.a Mannarinu, Julian, Peter and the Franciscan youth of Gifra Hamrun worked hard to make this first marathon a success.
The aim of this marathon mainly focused on increasing the awareness on Puttinu Cares and through generous donation Lm4, 500 (€10, 485) were raised.
