YMCA Open Doors is hosting the virtual fun-run to help people experiencing disadvantage access YMCA programs and services. All money raised will go towards subsiding the costs of YMCA programs and services for people in the community who need it the most.

YMCA Victoria Grants and Philanthropy manager Liam Cavanagh said the money raised will help people in "so many" ways.

"The YMCA Open Doors fund allows people experiencing disadvantage to still live a bit more of a normal life," he said.

"Essentially, the Open Doors program is for people who are for whatever reason experiencing hardship in their life and can't afford access to community programs or membership.

"The Open Doors program sometimes helps with memberships or it could be simply funding swimming lessons or a mental health program.

"The fund will help people in so many different ways, depending on the need.

"As you can imagine, it has been pretty hard to fundraise during lockdown with the centers being closed.

"This fundraiser has been pulled together as an opportunity to bring everyone together and try to raise money in a virtual way."

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Cavanagh said the fundraiser was a good chance to get active.

"It is a really cool opportunity to have a bit of fun and get active and get out the house and go for a run," he said.

"The fun-run can be a kick-starter to help people get off the couch and be more active within the community.

"Motivation is certainly down for a lot of people in lockdown, so this is a nice little event to have something to look forward to and hopefully we can all train towards (5km) whether it is running or walking."

Cavanagh, who has returned to the club after playing for the Box Hill Hawks in the VFL and coaching Coburg's inaugural Women's side, was grateful the Ararat Football Netball Club has supported the initiative.

"Being involved with Ararat Football Club it was really cool to get their support for the event and share it amongst their network," he said.

"The timing is good as we are on the verge of pre-season starting again soon."

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The date of the fun-run is October 30-31 and there are plenty of great prizes to be won.

"We would love to see people building towards that in the next couple of weeks, building towards that 5km," he said.

"There are some pretty cool prizes to be won too, I am sure there will be some people pushing to get a personal best and win some stuff from the run as well.

"On the day you basically go for a run or a walk in your local neighbourhood, no matter where we are in Australia we can all go for a run."

First Prize : Win a brand new MyZone MZ-Switchfit Heart Rate Monitor, a family pass to Melbourne Zoo and the first ever YMCA Virtual Fun-Run Trophy - handmade by the YMCA rebuild program.

Second Prize :

2 x family passes to the Melbourne Zoo + YMCA Merchandise Pack

Third Place :

1 x family pass to the Melbourne Zoo

Sign-up to the virtual fun-run: https://app.myvrace.com/en/challenges/details/21-10-ymcaopendoors

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