Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 98, September 2017 | Page 7

MORE READER RESPONSE: RECYCLING OLD MEDALS medals for ‘bravery’ really mean a lot to the little patients, and they are very grateful.” You can contact the hospital on 021 658 5243 or e-mail admin@ focha.co.za if you have any medals you’d also like to donate. – Kim Boshoff, Cape Town In the July edition, Ian Bratt wrote a letter asking for suggestions what to do with boxes of medals he’s earned through many years of running. Last month we published a few responses suggesting the medals be given to the CHOC Foundation so that they can be given to kids fighting cancer as rewards for bravery in their ongoing treatment. Below are a few more of the many letters we received on this topic. MEDALS FOR THE KIDS IN PRETORIA MEDALS FOR THE KIDS IN THE KAROO My wife and I are teachers living in a small Karoo town called Touwsrivier, and have been runners for nearly 20 years. Over the years we have received so many medals at races and didn’t know what to do with them, so we decided to hold our own ‘park runs’ and fun runs at our school, and hand these old medals out to the kids. We also received old medals from discontinued races from clubs like Bellville AC. Many of these kids come from a very poor background and need something to keep them busy and healthy, and focused on their school work. We can see how much these barefoot, rural kids enjoy running, and how proud they are of their medals, which are like a Two Oceans or Comrades medal to them. And by doing this, we hope that they will continue running and that it will become part of their daily routine. We’re just sorry we are so far away that we can’t come and collect more medals. – Bennie and Elsje du Plessis, Touwsrivier MEDALS FOR THE KIDS IN CAPE TOWN I have always given our old medals to my Gran, as she volunteers at The Red Cross Children’s Hospital, and the kids love receiving medals. – Jill Swart, Cape Town In your recent mags there were letters about the donation of old medals. I know that chap that wrote the original letter is based in Johannesburg, but in Cape Town you can donate to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. The medals are used to encourage the patients, and they are handed out after surgery or some difficult or painful procedure. According to David Stephens, Executive Director at Friends of the Children’s Hospital, “These Although I’m in my 50s and just started running, I’m already gathering medals that are becoming clutter. My daughter- in-law is a doctor in the Emergency Department at the Netcare Unitas Hospital in Centurion, where someone started a project to collect old medals to hand out to children coming into the ED and being brave. She says their little faces just light up, and it’s a good way to calm them down and win their trust and cooperation. Most of my medals now go to her. If you like the idea and would like to support it, I’m happy to collect them and package them for the hospital. – Madeleine Zwaneveld, Pretoria MEDALS FOR THE KIDS IN JOBURG I’m responding to the comment of Ian Brett in the July 2017 edition about not knowing what to do with unwanted medals. I work in the medical field, specifically at state hospitals, and have spent some time in the paediatrics department. In certain hospitals I have seen doctors use old race medals as ‘bravery medals’ for the children who have to undergo procedures. This small gesture makes the children feel brave and often helps them to be more cooperative, allowing procedures to happen more smoothly. I am aware of two Johannesburg hospitals who have used this in their paediatric department, Helen Joseph Hospital and Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, and I am sure this would be useful in all paediatric settings. I hope this will give people a better idea of what do with their old medals. – Magz de la Kethulle de Ryhove, Johannesburg I just love that so many runners wrote in on this topic, once again showing how caring the running community is. And I am sure many of us have boxes of medals stuck away in a cupboard that could be put to good use in this way. – Ed. Write and WIN Each month the writer of our winning letter wins a pair of new running shoes, with various brands supporting this initiative and subject to availability. The Editor will select his favourite letter each month, contact the winner to get sizing and delivery details, and then the shoes or a voucher will be dispatched to the winner. So, get writing that letter today – add a high resolution photo or two if you can – and mail it to [email protected]. 7