Some donate their money. Others donate their time. Rich Hoeg donated his time and sweat by raising money for CTEF through running a marathon. Inspired by his father’s belief in education, Rich believed that education is the key foundation to anyone’s success. As a corporate manager focused on technical education and engineering information services, he had the opportunity to visit China for the first time last summer and was moved by China’s dedication to learning. Two months later, fate led Rich to meet Dongjin Cai, the former CIO of CTEF. Thus began his journey to run for rebuilding a school in China this summer.

For more than three months, Rich trained incessantly to run the 26.2-mile marathon in his local city. Driven entirely by his own personal belief, toiling through sweat and fatigue, Rich raised $6,725 for the Yanlao Primary School in Jaiyou, located in Guangxi Province. In 4 hours and 11 minutes, Rich finished the marathon in June this year and CTEF deployed the donations he raised to build a school for 35 children in Jiayou.

The marathon was only the beginning of Rich’s journey in China’s education. In September, Rich and his wife, Molly, along with CTEF’s president, Dennis, traveled to Guangxi to visit the school and personally delivered the books they collected to the school children. The trip for them was challenging due to delayed flights, and the six-hour ride between the airport and the town where they arrived after mid night. However, the next day when visiting the schools, they were received with warm welcome from local officials and ecstatic children.