Athlete Alex Dumbravă wants to break a world record to help 20 children

Romanian endurance athlete Alex Dumbravă is embarking today, July 10th, on a Guinness World Record adventure: he will solo row across the Black Sea. He will depart from Mangalia and reach Batumi, Georgia, after rowing 1200 km in 20 days. However, breaking the world record is not Alex’s only motivation; his wish is to help a minimum of 20 children receive approximately 200 speech therapy sessions. These sessions would assist the beneficiary children with speech impairments in society and contribute to improving their academic performance.

Alex, who already holds a world record for crossing the Black Sea in an extended crew, has registered his sporting challenge on the Galantom platform. Alongside the Zi de Bine Association, he encourages everyone who wishes to support him to donate for every kilometer rowed and for each day spent at sea, in order to give children with speech impairments a good start in life.

“When you’re at sea, you have time to think about many things, and lately, I’ve been thinking about how lucky I am. Lucky to have the life I have, to be healthy, and to be able to do what I love. So, I chose to cross the Black Sea for the less fortunate, and I hope that those who support me or feel connected to the cause will donate so that 20 children with speech difficulties can receive help and integrate more easily into society. We will break a record and do good together,” stated Alex Dumbravă.

According to the Educational Resources Center, there are 400,000 children in Romania with speech disorders. However, in reality, there are not enough speech therapists for each child to receive an evaluation, which increases the actual number significantly. Speech problems have a significant impact on children, ranging from bullying by other children to school dropout and social interaction anxiety. Speech therapy can help manage emotions and provide a good start in life for children with such issues.

“We increasingly see that sports and physical activity have not only a personal impact on health but also that sports challenges can become a catalyst for generating change around us. We are pleased to offer an easy and convenient tool through the Galantom platform for athletes like Alex, who want to turn their sporting challenge into a story of generosity and hope,” added Gabriel Solomon, co-founder of the Galantom platform.

Through the Galantom platform, people can become fundraisers for causes they believe in by participating in a sports event or undertaking an individual challenge. Among those who have chosen to do so are Andrei Roșu, a marathon runner and organizer of the Transmaraton, Vlad Pop, a marathon runner and triathlon champion, Cosmin Stan, a Pro TV journalist, and Omid Ghannadi, an architect and interior designer. Over the past two years, sports challenges have raised 1.93 million lei, representing 23% of the total amount donated on the platform.