Team Rynkeby
Cycling for a good cause
The Eckes-Granini Group has been supporting Team Rynkeby, the international charity cycling initiative, as its partner and main sponsor since 2016. Within the context of the initiative, amateur cyclists push the pedals for a good cause, and collect donations for critically ill children and their families every year. The project is now one of the biggest non-professional charity cycling events in the world.
THE IDEA BEHIND TEAM RYNKEBY
The idea was born in Rynkeby, Denmark: in 2002, eleven riders headed for France to witness the final stage of the Tour de France and collect donations along the way. They took in 5,000 euros, which were then donated to the children’s cancer ward of the University Clinic in Odense.
“Do something good for yourself and your health and do the same for others – namely children with cancer and their families – while spending some quality time with other people.” Motivated by this principle, numerous employees of the Eckes-Granini Group join with “outsiders” and celebrities in pushing the pedals to collect donations. Following weeks of intensive training, the teams embark on the arduous 1,400-kilometre journey to the finish line on the Champs-Élysées.
MILLIONS IN DONATIONS FOR CRITICALLY ILL CHILDREN
Team Rynkeby raises money for non-profit organizations, research institutions and healthcare services that care for young patients with life-threatening diseases and their families. The project is supported and developed by the participants and has achieved impressive success: Since its foundation in 2002, 85 million euros have already been donated.
INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT ON COURSE FOR GROWTH
Since Team Rynkeby was founded, the number of participating teams and countries has been growing steadily. On board for Paris in 2022: 2,026 cyclists in 62 local teams from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium. Among them were 55 Eckes-Granini employees. A total of 538 supporters actively assisted the teams on the course. A new record in more ways than one, because the participants succeeded in raising 10.4 million euros for seriously ill children, the second-highest amount in the history of Team Rynkeby.
The Eckes-Granini Group has been a partner and main sponsor of the initiative since the acquisition of the fruit-juice producer Rynkeby Foods A/S in 2016. Our Group bears a large share of the expenses incurred for the project infrastructure, while the riders cover their own costs. This ensures that the full amount of all donations goes to the good cause.
TOGETHER FOR A GOOD CAUSE
Rynkeby expresses its thanks to participants and sponsors of Team Rynkeby for their support and their contributions to the Childhood Cancer Foundation in an emotional communication campaign that clearly underscores the factors that motivate all teams to push the pedals on behalf of critically ill children and their families year after year.
