Consistent long-distance runner for decades. Jennifer Garner Marks 53rd Birthday with Goal to Run 67 Miles for Charity: ‘I Feel Compelled to Do Something’
On Friday, April 18, Garner, who marked her 53rd birthday on April 17, shared a video on Instagram of her walking and running along a beach. She explained that she is working with Save the Children to help raise awareness to provide “ready-to-eat therapeutic food” to those in need by walking or running one mile a day over the next 67 days.
“I had an idea. If one of my kids when they were little was hungry going to bed they could always manipulate me into letting them have a little snack,” Garner — who shares Violet, 19, Seraphina, 16, and Samuel, 13, with ex Ben Affleck — said in the video.
“I just couldn’t bear the thought of my kids going to bed hungry, so knowing that 16,000 kids on this planet are at risk of dying of preventable causes right now because of hunger, I don’t know, it’s like keeping me up at night. So I had an idea.”
Garner explained that the “thing these kids need to bring them back into health and give them a chance at life is ready-to-use therapeutic food.”
“It’s a paste, it’s got a lot of peanuts in it and it’s a game-changer. It’s completely life-saving. And six weeks can bring a child from malnutrition back on track to be healthy. It costs $67 to save the life of a child, so I’m going to run for those kids.”
In the video, the 13 Going on 30 actress encouraged followers to take on the same challenge by walking, running, biking or rowing, and donate “not just to Save the Children but to any organization that’s feeding kids. That would mean a lot to me. Also, it’s my birthday.”