Paddling with the Olympic champion: Children with leukemia in a boat with Christian Gille
04.07.2012 20:44
Christian Gille is an Olympic champion, multiple world and European canoe racing champion and ambassador for the José Carreras Leukemia Foundation. On Sunday, July 8, 2012, he will give ten children aged 6 to 14 with leukemia who are on the mend a carefree and exciting day of paddling in Leipzig.
“This day should just be about the children and having fun on the water.” Christian Gille, Olympic champion and multiple world and European champion in canoe racing, is looking forward to his day together with children aged between 6 and 14 who suffer from leukemia. On July 8, 2012, the canoeist invites ten children who are on the mend to go on a paddling tour through Leipzig. The event is free for children. In the event of rain, paddling will be postponed to Saturday, July 14, 2012.
Christian Gille: Ambassador of the José Carreras Leukemia Foundation
“It will certainly be a nice shared experience for ten people to paddle on the canal through Leipzig and forget the strains of the illness for a few hours,” says Christian Gille, who has been an ambassador for the José Carreras Leukemia Foundation since 2009. When the canoeist talks about leukemia, he knows what he is talking about: Shortly before the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, his partner lost the battle against the insidious disease. “The sudden death of my long-time friend and boat partner Thomas Zereske devastated me. I won Olympic gold for him. Since then, I have dealt intensively with the topic of leukemia and would like to do everything I can to continue to raise awareness of this topic.”
Traveling together in the 10-seat Canadian
After dry training and a tour of the boathouse, the children climb into the 10-seater canoe with Christian Gille and paddle around 8 km on the Karl Heine Canal through “Little Paris”. The safety of the children is ensured with life jackets and a dinghy. After the sporting event, the children and their families can have a barbecue on the barbecue area of the canoe boat house and end this special experience with lunch and a happy get-together with Christian Gille. Donations to the José Carreras Leukemia Foundation are welcome.
Background information José Carreras Leukemia Foundation
In 1987, José Carreras learned of his diagnosis with leukemia. Out of gratitude for his own healing, he founded the German José Carreras Leukemia Foundation in 1995. To date, the foundation has financed almost 900 projects aimed at building research and treatment facilities, researching leukemia and its cure, and the work of self-help groups and parent initiatives. The German José Carreras Leukemia Foundation eV is the holder of the DZI donation seal, the seal of quality in the German donation system. With the support of many celebrities, the José Carreras Gala is the most successful fundraising gala on German television in the long term. The 18th José Carreras Gala will be broadcast live on Erste from Leipzig on Thursday, December 13, 2012.
For more information about the José Carreras Leukemia Foundation, visit www.carreras-stiftung.de.