Gütersloh, 08/29/2024

‘Fit for Work’: €10,000 For SOS Children’s Villages

This year’s fitness challenge “Fit for Work” was once again a complete success: 3,067 participating Bertelsmann employees at 251 locations around the world covered a total of 1.5 million kilometers, thereby achieving the target, which was set high at 1.4 million kilometers this year, two days before the end of the challenge. As promised, Bertelsmann will donate €10,000 to the SOS Children’s Villages charity organization for this commitment.

The fitness challenge “Fit for Work” once again demonstrated how much energy and commitment Bertelsmann employees have. Together, 3,067 participants from numerous countries covered a distance of 1.5 million kilometers, improving their own health and contributing to the protection of the environment. As a result, Bertelsmann will donate €10,000 to the SOS Children’s Villages charity organization, as previously announced.

Suspense was in the air right up to the last meter: just two days before the end of the challenge, the target of 1.4 million kilometers, which was set high this year, was achieved. “This impressive achievement shows just how motivated our employees were to take part in the ‘Fit for Work’ challenge,” said Bertelsmann’s Chief Human Resources Officer Immanuel Hermreck. “‘Fit for Work’ is a wonderful opportunity to try out how we can integrate more exercise into our daily life, whether on foot or bicycle, by running or swimming. I am proud that our employees achieved the target of 1.4 million kilometers. They not only improved their own health and the SOS Children’s Villages but also supported our planet because many distances were covered actively instead of by car as part of this campaign.” The new “Fit for Work” app, which more than 70 percent of the participants used, made recording the kilometers easier than ever before.

Participants from around the world

Whether in Australia, Brazil, Poland, Finland, Canada, or China, Bertelsmann colleagues took part in “Fit for Work” at 251 locations around the world and formed teams within their companies. In total, 220 teams consisting of up to six colleagues were created. The team names were as creative as the participants: “The Green Light Rollers”, “The running Penguin”, “Adrenaline Junkies”.

In the ranking of the corporate divisions, Arvato landed in first place with 609 active participants and 344,129 kilometers covered, followed by Riverty (370 participants, 212,172 kilometers), and RTL Group (352 participants, 218,939 kilometers). In the company ranking, Arvato Systems in Gütersloh had the most participants with 137 colleagues and was the company covering the longest distance with 95,225 kilometers. Penguin Random House in New York was at the start with 135 colleagues and collected a total of 32,086 kilometers.