Au Pairs Participate and Volunteer at the NYC Marathon

Over 50,000 runners, 12,000 volunteers, and 400 official charity partners, participated in the NYC Marathon on November 3, 2019. AuPairCare was proud to cheer on Eric and Adrien, two AuPairCare NYC au pairs from France that ran in the race, and over 60 local AuPairCare au pairs sponsored by the Department of State that volunteered at the event. The au pairs started their day at the Summit NJ train station at 9:30am where they took the subway line up to their posts on the Upper East Side. After registering and receiving their official volunteer uniforms, the au pairs split up between Mile Marker 18 and 19, and prepared for their runners to arrive.

Once underway, the au pairs distributed water to hundreds of thirsty runners, swept the streets for the discarded cups and cheered on the runners. Au pair Tatiana from Brazil stated, “My friends and I really enjoyed the experience of volunteering at the marathon. We really liked collaborating and seeing runners from hundreds of different nationalities giving their best to reach a big goal. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.” Au Pair Nellie from Sweden said, "Volunteering at the NYC Marathon was an amazing experience! To cheer on all of the committed runners and be a part of helping them on their journey was an honor. It will be a memory for life!"

In addition to the volunteers, there were two AuPairCare au pairs that ran the marathon. Eric T., an au pair from France, decided to participate after his host dad suggested running the NYC Marathon as a way to meet people and have a new experience. About the training, Eric said, “It wasn't easy, especially in winter with the snow and cold, but my host family was always there to support me and challenge me. It helped me to push through.”

Adrien, the other au pair runner was introduced to running by his host mom. She told him about the NYC Marathon, and they started training together for it. A month later, Adrien got into the American Heart Association Team for Heart & Stroke. With the support of his host mom, they raised $3,200 for the cause.

The au pair runners and volunteers that participated in the NYC Marathon had an incredible experience that not only was a great opportunity to bond with each other over a good cause, but also integrated them into their local community.

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