Sean Penn’s Charity Helping Haitian Runners

Three men and two women will run the NYC Marathon.

According to an article in the Galveston Daily News, five Haitian runners are headed to this year’s ING New York City Marathon thanks to the help from actor Sean Penn’s charity, J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO).

The five runners (three men and two women) are to be selected based on the results of the Port-au-Prince Half Marathon that took place last Sunday.

Ron Baldwin, who serves as the director of J/P HRO, indicated that the sponsorship decision was due to an Associated Press report about struggling Haitian runner Astrel Clovis.

Clovis is an aspiring elite who has faced numerous obstacles due to the massive earthquake that struck the impoverished Caribbean nation three years ago.

“It’s an inspiring story,” says Baldwin of Clovis’ story. “After the earthquake, he’s running. He’s self-training, and has no support. We decided `let’s give that guy a chance.’ And it grew from there to build a whole team.”