Recently, 681 participants ran a total of 5,311 laps, 550 meters each, around Marienhöhe Academy’s campus in Darmstadt, Germany.

The donation totaled over US$46,000 (44,000 euros) and even exceeded the sponsors' pledges. On February 18, 2025, the official donation handover to the recipients, Darmstädter Tafel, ADRA Germany, and a school in Siem Reap, Cambodia, took place. 

Support for Christian Partner School in Ukraine

The donation amount was divided between three social projects.

One of them, as in previous years, was an aid project in Lviv (Lemberg), in western Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, a Christian partner school of Marienhöhe Academy developed into a refuge for Ukrainian internally displaced persons.

This year's donations will be used to support refugee parents and their children, both materially and socio-psychologically. The aid organization, ADRA Deutschland, is leading this project and working closely and professionally with its local partners from ADRA Ukraine.

Energy Supply for School in Cambodia

A school in Siem Reap, Cambodia, is also benefiting from the donations collected during the sponsored run.

Marienhöhe students have supported this school for several generations. This year's donations will increase the efficiency of the photovoltaic system installed on the school building in Cambodia in 2021.

Air Heater for the Darmstadt Tafel

At the regional level, the Darmstadt Tafel food bank was pleased to receive a portion of the funds raised. This will enable the food bank to purchase a much-needed new air heater for its kitchen so that it can prepare hot meals.

The sponsored run at Marienhöhe has been held annually since 2011 and is organized by the teachers of the sports department.

The Marienhöhe School Center in Darmstadt

The Marienhöhe School Center, located in Darmstadt, founded in 1924 as the "Seminar Marienhöhe," has been a state-recognized high school since 1950. The secondary school followed in 1993, and the elementary school in 2010. Marienhöhe, which is run as a non-profit association, is an institution of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany, has a boarding school on campus, and is certified as a "health-promoting school" and a "school for climate protection". This school year, the Marienhöhe Academy is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a variety of school activities and extracurricular events.

The original article was published on the Adventist Press Service German website.