PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSION 500 Runners (L to R) Ian Robinson, Wilza Prado and George Fletcher(back), along with Cathy Lang and Andrea Ferrando(front) participate in Marathon Miami 2011.

Mission 500, a strictly non-profit organization partnering with World Vision and dedicated to serving the needs of children and communities in crisis, responded to Haiti’s needs by raising another $24,250 for ongoing relief efforts. This adds to the $26 000 raised in 2010, for a total of over $50,000.

The fundraising effort centered on the ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon held in Miami in January where runners and their friends and family from the security industry in south Florida participated in the event along with 21,116 other runner from 79 countries and all 50 states.

“I was happy to run for the cause and enjoyed my first half marathon,” reported Juan Cubides of IMS. “Relief efforts in Haiti are critical and as we all know, this is a very long-term reconstruction effort. I was told it would take 1000 trucks working 365 days a year almost five years to clear all the debris”

The 20 runners and fundraisers of the Mission 500 team were part of a larger World Vision team of more than 300 who combined to raise more than $85,000 with the effort. To mark the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, World Vision president Richard Stearns also honored key corporate and community leaders in Miami who have been critical to the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti, including Mission 500.

 “This is a marathon, not a sprint — and Mission 500 is a key partner in helping us run this marathon,” said World Vision President Richard Stearns. “Today, we applaud our corporate donors who show the unflagging commitment it will take to see this process through.” 

World Vision has worked for more than 30 years in Haiti, and is committed to ongoing quake response efforts in the upcoming year including building additional transitional shelters, providing livelihood and job opportunities, and focusing on the unique needs of children.

Anyone wishing to support relief for Haiti and the Mission 500 running team can still donate by visiting http://twv.convio.net/goto/mission500team.

Mission 500’s next industry initiative is a 5K charity run at ISC West in Las Vegas on April 7, 2011. This first of a kind event at an ISC Expo was conceived to engage new corporate sponsors as well as individuals within the industry. Alarm.com, Altronix Corporation, Axis, Bolide, DMP, Deister Electronics, HID Global, Honeywell, LRG Marketing Communications, Panasonic, Pelco and Safety Technology International Inc. are sponsors. More details at www.security5K.com or you can register to walk or run at www.firstgiving.com/mission500.