Nearly 600 ERBUD Group employees in three countries got on bicycles at the same time and covered a total of more than 25,000 kilometers. Each kilometer was worth PLN 6, equaling about PLN 150,000 in total, which will be provided entirely to the ERBUD Foundation’s account.
Toruń, Rzeszów, Łódź, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kraków and Poznań. In Germany, Oberhausen and Bitterfeld and, for the first time, Antwerp. Between the two cities, more than 600 ERBUD Group employees connected via video conference on the first Saturday in September. Everyone was welcomed by Czesław Lang – the legend of Polish cycling. When the ceremonial pistol shot rang out, everyone set off on the routes developed by Kuźnia Triathlonu specialists. The loops varied in length, but the principle of the tour was simple: ride as much as you can, every kilometer counts. Safety above all else not only on the construction site.
The largest group turned up at the start in Ostaszewo, near Toruń – almost 160 people who rode a total of 7,032 kilometers. Among them there was Robert Małecki, the author of the “Urwisko” (Cliff) detective story, set in the MOD21 modular facility factory. In Warsaw, meanwhile, Krzysztof Fechner, the ultra cyclist, presented the President of the ERBUD Foundation with his own bicycle, so that the funds from its auction would contribute to the foundation’s account.
The main motivation behind the cyclists was to help the ERBUD Foundation’s orphanage children in care – for each kilometer ridden by an employee, the company contributed PLN 6 to the Foundation's account. In total, more than three hundred employees rode 25,142 kilometers, which translated into PLN 150,852.
– In the first edition as many as 100 people, in the second edition already 300, and this one exceeded our wildest expectations and as many as 600 people went on the routes! It's amazing, I'm glad that this bike rally is becoming our tradition, it has already become part of ERBUD's calendar and is growing every year – said Lucyna Grzeszczak, the President of the Foundation at the start. – Everyone who got on a bike and racked up even a symbolic one kilometer is a hero – she added.
– I am very touched that such a large group of employees, and at the same time my three daughters and my wife rode as part of a charity rally that would support the Foundation named after my dad and the founder of ERBUD. Let's work, build, earn, but let's also remember the children who were less fortunate in life – said Dariusz Grzeszczak, the President of ERBUD, at the summary of the event, joining the participants from the Rzeszów branch.
Thanks to contributions from companies and branches, the ERBUD Foundation will be able to continue its programs, including funding tutoring (about 1,000 hours a year), psychotherapy (800 hours) and special actions – in November it will organize another edition of the “Gracze Roku” (Players of the Year) sports competition. In 2023, more than 120 children from orphanages from all over Poland participated therein. A total of 300 children from 15 partner facilities are already under its care.