Charity runner Artiwara "Toon" Kongmalai has seen donations skyrocketing beyond 900 million baht after he and his team braved the cold weather to the warm welcome of Lampang people on Wednesday.
The Bodyslam singer was joined by actor Somchai "Tao" Khemklat as he ran through Muang district, passing its downtown where a large crowd waited to cheer him up and donate money to his fundraising campaign to help 11 state hospitals.
Toon achieved his donation target of 700 million baht last week when he reached Chai Nat.
Yet the donations kept rolling in as the rocker was approaching the finishing line in the northernmost province of Chiang Rai.
On Wednesday noon, the proceeds stood at 905 million baht, with no sign of slowing down, according to Kaokonlakao webpage, which has almost real-time updates of the donations.
Calling his charity run "Kaokonlakao," or "step by step" in Thai, Toon began his south-north journey on Nov 1, running from Songkhla's Betong district to Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district. He intends to have each footstep inspire people to jointly help the hospitals.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha admitted during his meeting with Toon in Bangkok early this month the government was facing budget constraints in financing hospitals and applauded the rocker's run as a booster of his morale.
Toon's team planned to complete the Wednesday's run in Lampang's Ngao district, making another 74.9 km in this leg. So far he has run more than 1,951 km.
The singer has already gone through 18 of the planned 20 provinces. Phayao will be his next stop before reaching Chiang Rai on Christmas Day.
