Sichuan Quake Relief

Chengdu Sports Aid (CSA) is group of volunteers, Chinese and foreign, based in Chengdu, seeking to relieve some of the hardships of the Sichuan earthquake victims, through community sports days and other fun events.

3rd annual CSA Half Marathon and 10km fun-run

Date: Sunday, May 16, 2010.

The event will be hosted by Tianfu Software Park in the south of Chengdu city.

For registration and more information, please email csafunrun@sichuan-quake-relief.org.

Information about up-coming CSA trips and events is listed on the SQR Events page.

If you are interested in volunteering for Chengdu Sports Aid, email csa@sichuan-quake-relief.org.

A brief history of CSA

The idea of Chengdu Sports Aid can be traced back to the very early days of the earthquake relief effort. SQR was making regular visits to quake-hit towns and villages, bringing not only emergency supplies, but also much-needed toys, games and sports equipment for displaced children whose usual means of release had been destroyed in the disaster.

Children’s Day on June 1, 2008 provided the backdrop for SQR to organise large-scale fun activities for children in three different quake-affected areas. Regular visits continued throughout the summer and the rest of the year, providing a distraction for children who have lost parents, friends and loved ones.

Early in 2009, with growing support from local sports groups, this philosophy was given a name, and Chengdu Sports Aid was born to promote regular volunteer-based sports days and fund-raising community events to supply the visited communities with sporting equipment. The CSA philosophy, not to mention the volunteers, formed an integral part of the SAME (Sport, Art, Music, English) Camps run by SQR during the summer of 2009, reaching over 4,000 children in seven weeks of activities.

Built and run on the goodwill and generosity of a dedicated group of volunteers, with SQR bringing up the logistical rear, the weekly visits of CSA provide valuable outreach opportunities for SQR to learn more of the problems that continue to affect those living in the earthquake zone, make new connections and friends, and show these communities that they have not been forgotten.

A small selection of the action that goes on during CSA trips

To find out more about a typical Chengdu Sports Aid trip, see blog entries in the CSA category.

What can you do to help?

• Donate money to fund Chengdu Sports Aid. To purchase a set of sports equipment for one community costs between 500 and 1000RMB. Some schools need table-tennis tables (between 800 and 1000 RMB), basketball hoops installed (between 800 and 1000 RMB), or even playing surfaces laid (SQR has funded one of these; it cost 12,000 RMB for a small area).
• Donate new sports equipment to Chengdu Sports Aid: email csa@sichuan-quake-relief.org.
• Volunteer to coach/organize sports and games every Sunday: email csa@sichuan-quake-relief.org.
• For more information, see the CSA-Volunteers Google Group.