From the archives · Caracas · June 13, 2008
Every kilometer became a reason to smile: Román EL RO joined Gold’s Gym’s solidarity challenge
A treadmill, a public challenge and a shared conviction: when determination is organized around a cause, every step can create tangible support.
The challenge in numbers
CARACAS, VENEZUELA — June 13, 2008. At Gold’s Gym’s Bazar Bolívar location, Venezuelan singer and humanitarian advocate Román EL RO transformed hours of physical endurance into a visible call for solidarity. The event invited participants to accumulate distance on a treadmill under a simple formula displayed at the venue: every kilometer completed would become a Bs.F. 100 contribution to a health and social-inclusion cause.
Román’s sustained participation placed an artist’s discipline at the center of the campaign. As staff tracked the activity and visitors gathered around the platform, the treadmill became more than exercise equipment—it became the stage for a public demonstration that personal effort can move a community.
“Kilometers for Smiles”: movement with a purpose
Campaign signage identified the initiative as Ganando kilómetros por sonrisas—“Earning kilometers for smiles.” The message connected healthy living with shared responsibility: exercise generated attention, distance created a measurable contribution and public participation amplified the mission.
Photographs from the event show Román on the treadmill, organizers monitoring the challenge and members of the media documenting the activity. His interview with Televen helped carry the message beyond the gym floor and invited a wider audience to understand the cause behind the effort.
A documented result
The archival record concludes with the presentation of a symbolic check for Bs.F. 10,000 to Fundación Sanitas Venezuela. The amount and beneficiary are clearly visible in the event photographs, dated in Caracas on June 13, 2008. Gold’s Gym also presented personalized recognition to Román Díaz, known artistically as Román EL RO, for his participation.
This distinction matters. Fundación Corazones por la Vida preserves the story as part of its founder’s long humanitarian trajectory, while recognizing that the documented beneficiary of this specific campaign was Fundación Sanitas Venezuela. Honoring the historical record is an essential part of responsible nonprofit storytelling.
Commit
Román EL RO accepts the physical challenge and lends his public voice to the campaign.
Move
Distance accumulated on the treadmill is converted into support, kilometer by kilometer.
Amplify
Media coverage and on-site participation extend the cause beyond the gym.
Deliver
A Bs.F. 10,000 symbolic check is presented to Fundación Sanitas Venezuela.
Archive gallery
Endurance, visibility and accountability
Why this story still matters
A culture of service is built one action at a time.
Long before today’s medical missions, humanitarian kitchens and emergency operations, acts like this helped establish a model that Fundación Corazones por la Vida continues to defend: combine visibility with purpose, convert participation into measurable help and work alongside organizations committed to human dignity.
This report was reconstructed from the foundation’s photographic archive. The event date, venue, contribution formula, amount and beneficiary were verified directly from visible campaign signage, the Gold’s Gym recognition and the ceremonial check. No unsupported duration or individual kilometer total has been added.
Keep the movement going
