By NAN Sports Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Oct. 30, 2015: A five-member team of runners will compete in this weekend’s TCS New York City Marathon to help their native country of Haiti thanks to actor Sean Penn and his J/P Haitian Relief Organization.
The team, including three men – Astrel Clovis, 43, Pétrus Césarion, 31, and Jean Macksony, 27 – and two women, Bertine Lainé, 31 and Carline Lamour, 21, are running as part of the J/P HRO team. It is their second year in the race and they are being trained by seven-time U.S. National Champion and two-time Olympian, Alan Culpepper.
The Haitian team’s participation is made possible through sponsorship of “The Long Run for Haiti” campaign on the fundraising platform CrowdRise which raised over $267,000. The top athletes will be joined by a cohort of J/P HRO runners comprised of Penn supporters including actress Teri Hatcher.
The TCS New York City Marathon will take place on Sunday, November 2, 2014.
“We are thrilled and feel very fortunate to have Teri Hatcher and Adriana Henao join our Haitian runners, as well as Alan Culpepper to lead our talented team to success at this year’s marathon,” said Sean Penn, Founder and CEO of J/P HRO. “By starting a J/P HRO tradition of competing in one of the world’s premier sporting events, we hope it underscores the true essence of Haitian perseverance and inspires others to join us in supporting the rebuilding of Haiti.”
On the heels of the tragic earthquake of 2010, J/P HRO mobilized a rapid and effective response to save lives and to manage the Pétionville Camp, which swelled to nearly 60,000 displaced earthquake survivors. J/P HRO quickly expanded its services in step with the needs on the ground, working to revitalize local Haitian communities through focused programs including: camp and relocation management, medical clinics, education, community development, livelihoods, engineering, rubble removal and construction.
For more information on J/P HRO’s work in Haiti, visit www.jphro.org.
