VNG, a tech company, raised more than VND6billion (US$258,566) from its UpRace community run for three social organisations. — Photo courtesy of the company

VNG, a technology company, raised more than VND6 billion (US$258,566) from its UpRace community run for Newborns Vietnam, GreenViet and Vietseeds, according to a company press release issued on Friday.

Rather than racing in person, runners record their runs with a mobile application from UpRace that VNG launched in August.

The app measures the cumulative distance, with each validated kilometre fetching donations of at least VND1,000 from sponsoring companies.

The UpRace attracted more than 32,000 runners throughout the country. They ran a total of nearly 2 million kilometres.

The three organisations will use the raised funds of VND6 billion to help reduce the rate of neonatal mortality, plant one million of trees in Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang, and present scholarships to poor students.

The company hopes that runners will use the app to organise races for their company or groups. — VNS