Looking back, what comes to mind about the fall of 2020? That’s right, the vacation did not fall into the proverbial water, but fell victim to this unspeakable pandemic, which also forced the cancellation of numerous events at EK due to its incalculable health risks. For example, the charity runs of our Runners team! “But no season without us, now creativity is called for,” thought captain Nicole Richter – and bang, the new EK Team Challenge was born: Connect to Collect!
The idea: to set up something in-house – contactless, of course. Each for himself – but all together for one big goal: We run, walk, cycle, swim – and every kilometer covered is rewarded with one euro to a charity account. Just ‘Connect to Collect’! Who pays for it? Well, that’s where the management at EK likes to get involved … “Agreed!” said Ralf M. Kronenberg to the suggestion and immediately added the target: 1867 kilometers – analogous to the year EK was founded. And he also has a suggestion as to who we could help with the proceeds: the Förderkreis KIPKEL e. V. in Haan. “The members of this association do a great job day after day in providing preventive care for children of mentally ill parents. We at EK should support this to the best of our ability!”.
Mileage for a good cause
No sooner said than done. Nicole Richter and Justine Duda, who were chosen to be responsible for the organizational side of things, successfully ensured that the EK ‘Connect to Collect’ campaign was a well-rounded event and thus a good thing. Consequently, a total donation of 1,867 EUR could be handed over to the KIPKEL-Förderkreis at the end of the campaign. The performance of the participants, by the way, was terrific: each individual completed an average of 57 kilometers on the clock – and despite the bad weather during the campaign period, some of them came to work every day by bike or borrowed the neighbor’s dog for a kilometer-long walk. For this and for much more commitment, to all who were there, a heartfelt ‘thank you’ – and on top of that, instead of a gold medal, there’s our EK gold honey.