Another 300,000 kilometres covered within the frame of 
the “Bet on Exercise” campaign Kompania Piwowarska’s employees train and help others

Covering 300,000 kilometres, which is over 1,600 km per day and on average 800 km per person – that’s this year’s result of the “Bet on Exercise” campaign that involved 375 employees of Kompania Piwowarska. However, this impressive distance, achieved in only six months, was not the main goal here. While running, walking and cycling, the employees raised funds for a sports wheelchair for Mr Artur Ciesielski, protégé of the Poland Business Run foundation.

Everyone knows that movement equals health. And what if by taking good care of your health you could help others? That is exactly what the employees of Kompania Piwowarska have been successfully doing for years. As part of the “Bet on Exercise” campaign, they exchange kilometres covered during physical activity into financial support for people in need. Recently, the campaign meter has recorded another 300,00 kilometres, which represents the distance KP’s athletes covered between March and September on their bicycles as well as during walks and runs. Thanks to group effort, it was possible to achieve the most important goal, which was buying a special sports wheelchair for Mr Artur Ciesielski, protégé of the Poland Business Run foundation. “Despite the accident that left me disabled, I have never given up physical activity. For me sport is a form of rehabilitation and at the same time a chance to integrate with other people, overcome social barriers. I have recently started training basketball at the IKS Poznan sport club. A new wheelchair will allow me to give my best at our training sessions, which I cannot imagine my life without” – says Artur.

Four times around America or 27,000 training sessions

In order to reach this year’s distance of 300,000 kilometres, which translates into four laps around North America – from Alaska to the boarder with Mexico, 375 employees of Kompania Piwowarska completed 27,000 training sessions. In total, they have spent almost 24,000 active hours, which is nearly 1,000 days. During that time they have burnt 11.6 m calories. If they wanted to make up for that energy loss, they could get away with eating 33,000 doughnuts. Health and fitness constitute only two benefits they mention when talking about their engagement in the campaign. “Our activity within “Bet on Exercise” is related to two wheels, meaning bicycles. We do our best to stay active and encourage our children to do the same. For us sport is not just about exercise. Above all, it is a great way to integrate whole families and have a nice time together in the natural environment, as opposed to being lazy in front of a TV or a computer screen. And if on top of that we can help others by covering kilometres, it is an additional driving force to make the effort! Families, get on your bikes!” – says Małgorzata Walędzińska-Półtorak, Sustainable Development Programme Manager at Kompania Piwowarska.

Mass levy

What added fuel to the atmosphere and kept motivating the participants to train from the very beginning of the campaign was the possibility of competing against others as well as breaking personal records. “I have been running for a while now. It relaxes me. When I got a chance to take part in a fundraiser for Mr Artur, I decided to add my own kilometres to the mix. The results of other participants and our cross team competition kept motivating me to go out and train. It turned out that since I decided to “bet on exercise”, it has been my record-breaking summer when it comes to the number of kilometres I covered” – says Ewa Otwinowska, who ran and cycled 1,318 km for herself and Mr Artur. The absolute record holder of this year’s edition is Anna Adamska from the Dojlidy Brewery, who covered as many as 9,862 km on her bike.

Helping force

This year marked yet another edition of „Bet on Exercise”, a programme that promotes physical activity among the employees of Kompania Piwowarska and at the same time supports the CSR strategy executed by the company. Between 2014 and 2015, it was conducted under the name “Bet on the Bike”, but one year later it was expanded with running and walking. In 2014, the cyclists from Kompania Piwowarska covered almost 60,000 km and thus contributed to planting 3,000 trees in the Knyszyn Forest. The distance covered on bikes and by foot during the three following editions amounted to 570,000 kilometres and allowed to donate PLN 75,000 to the Blind People’s Club “RAZEM” in Poznań, “DUET” Club operating under the wing of the BRAJLÓWKA Foundation and “Pro Sanus” Association in Białystok.

“Bet on Exercise” is not the only charity campaign the employees of Kompania Piwowarska get involved in. Last year, 1,774 of them completed 4,449 hours of work aimed at helping others within the frame of 18 different volunteering projects. One of them was the “Noble Box” (Szlachetna Paczka) that allowed 1,287 volunteers from Kompania Piwowarska to join forces with their friends and families in order to prepare 1,105 Christmas parcels for families in need.