Last year, our community showed what is possible when people move with purpose.

Through Run to Relocate, participants ran, walked, biked, and moved in support of job seekers living in refugee circumstances who are working toward jobs, skilled visas, and a safe future in Canada.

Our first campaign officially closed on August 31, 2025. Together, 85 donors gave 109 gifts and raised $15,087, enough to support three talented individuals to relocate to Canada alongside their families.

This year, we’re building on that momentum.

Our 2026 fundraising goal is $25,000, enough to support five talented people living as refugees to pursue a job-backed relocation opportunity to Canada.

Why Run to Relocate?

There are nearly 43 million people living as refugees around the world who have fled conflict or persecution. Many have skills needed by companies and communities across Canada.

Access to opportunity should depend on potential, but many job seekers in refugee circumstances are excluded from the job and skilled visa pathways that others can access. Some do not have the legal right to work where they are living displaced. Others face barriers related to documentation, immigration costs, travel, settlement, and the many steps between a job offer and a secure new beginning.

Run to Relocate helps remove some of those barriers by raising awareness and funds to reduce financial challenges that often stand in the way of relocation.

Last year’s campaign helped support three people displaced by conflict or persecution to obtain job offers and submit skilled visas to Canada, for them and their families – all because our community removed an otherwise prohibitive cost barrier. One of these stars is a nurse whose visa was recently approved. She’ll soon be relocating from a refugee situation in Ethiopia to contribute much-needed care with a long-term facility in St. John’s.

Often, the candidates we support go from earning very little or no income in displacement to skills-appropriate work in Canada, with an average salary of $41,000 and up to $110,000, with access to public healthcare, schools for their kids, and a pathway to permanent residence and citizenship. 

César, an Engineer displaced from Venezuela and now living in B.C., reflected on what a journey like this meant to him: “I can have a normal life. It’s just amazing. I don’t have that many words to describe this beautiful thing.”

What last year made possible

Run to Relocate began as a simple idea: Move together to support displaced talent.

The community made it something much bigger.

In 2025:

• 85 donors gave 109 gifts
• 13 donors gave more than once
• Gifts ranged from $20 to $5,000
• 43 donors added personal notes
• 7,809 km were logged, about the distance from Vancouver to Istanbul
• Every kilometre moved raised about $1.85
• 28 community members in Canada came together to power each newcomer family’s relocation
• All this made life-changing journeys possible for three talented individuals who will soon be leaving displacement for secure futures in Canada

We’re grateful to World Education Services for generous sponsorship, to Martin Basiri for the largest single gift, and to every supporter who donated, moved, shared, and cheered the campaign on.

How to take part this year

Run to Relocate 2026 is a community challenge to raise awareness and funds for talented people living in refugee situations globally.

You can run, walk, bike, hike, roll, work out, or choose your own movement goal. You can participate on your own, with family, with friends, or with a workplace team.

On June 20 – World Refugee Day – we’ll also host in-person gatherings in different cities for community members who want to move together.

You can also support the campaign by donating, starting a team, inviting others to join, or sharing why you’re moving.

This year’s goal

Our 2026 fundraising goal is $25,000.

Every gift helps open job and skilled visa opportunities for talented people living as refugees, so more people can use their skills, support their families, and rebuild their lives in safety.

Run to Relocate is about movement, across a trail, around a park, through a city, and towards a future where our displaced peers can access the same opportunities as talented people anywhere.

Last year, this community raised $15,087.

This year, let’s go further.

Join Run to Relocate 2026.

Candidates living in refugee circumstances and seeking a job in Canada can join TalentLift. Employers seeking global talent while engaging their team in something transformative can start hiring.