Business News

Xeikon employees run for charity

Wednesday 07. May 2014 - Many Xeikon employees enjoy group activities during lunch breaks, such as walking, yoga, table tennis or jogging. In this sporty atmosphere, the idea arose to participate in the 'Antwerp 10 Miles', a yearly jogging event well known in Flanders, Belgium. The group soon decided to not only participate but to run for a good cause. Xeikon's management promptly agreed to sponsor the runners per mile jogged.

The charity chosen to help was KOK, Kind, Ouders en Kanker (Child, Parents and Cancer) – which aims to help cancer patients attending the pediatric oncology department at the hospital UZ Brussels. KOK provides a range of general toys, play equipment, arts and craft materials, therapeutic toys such as hand puppets and books, as well as games activities that the patient’s family can also take part in.
Wim Maes, CEO of Xeikon, comments: “Xeikon employees are extremely committed to helping customers and this philosophy goes beyond their daily job to the wider world outside. When the management heard about this spontaneous initiative we were delighted to step in with sponsorship. The charity was not chosen by chance as the son of one of our employees has been diagnosed with cancer. Other employees wanted to show their support and when they heard about the great help that their colleague had been given by KOK it was the obvious charity to choose.”
In total, 44 Xeikon employees participated in the event, each person running a distance ranging from 5 km as a minimum to the full 42km of a marathon, making a combined distance of over 570 km. Many more colleagues provided encouragement along the route from the sidelines.