The Global Roche Employee Children's Walk
The Global Roche Employee Children's Walk, a world-wide event to raise money for vulnerable children, is commemorated annually on June 16th, the International Day of the African Child.
The Children's Walk was launched in 2003 as a pilot program with 1,300 employees representing three Roche participating locations. It has since grown to more than 12,000 Roche employee participants from 94 Roche sites world-wide. On a global level, more than $1.1 million dollars has been raised to provide food, clothing and education to children in Malawi who have lost one or both parents to AIDS. In addition, many local sites also donate to charities in their communities which serve children in need.
At Roche in Nutley, employee participants ask their colleagues, friends and family members to sponsor them in the 5K Walk, and the total amount of monies collected is matched dollar-for-dollar by Roche. Half of the funds raised support the programs in Malawi and the other half is donated to the New Jersey AIDS Partnership to:
• Support agencies that deliver services to New Jersey children orphaned by AIDS and their families and/or second caregivers.
• Increase the health literacy and empowerment of poor, primarily minority women of child-bearing age who are living with HIV.
• Recruit and train high-risk adolescents and young adults as peer Outreach Workers to provide HIV/AIDS awareness and risk-reduction education to their peers.