From the office to the construction site: colleagues from Altrad Services Benelux turned out in droves for The Pink Walk

Why did Altrad's colleagues take part in The Pink Walk?  

Anja: “Unfortunately, I lost my grandparents to cancer. Based on that experience, I started selling plants for Kom op tegen Kanker 31 years ago. Then, in 2020, I was diagnosed with breast cancer myself. During my treatment, I learned about the various initiatives of Pink Ribbon while I was in the hospital. That’s how I The Pink Walk . I suggested to Altrad Services that we participate as a company, and they responded enthusiastically right away. This is now the third time we have participated in the walk. The registration fee is paid by the company so that we can encourage as many people as possible to participate."

This time, there were 127 participants. Is The Pink Walk growing The Pink Walk popularity within your company?  

Eija: "Absolutely! We've noticed that The Pink Walk is becoming The Pink Walk popular within our organization. In the past, only the offices took part, but now we're seeing it catching on at various construction sites too. Even in the Netherlands, there are already enthusiastic colleagues joining in. Altrad Services is a company that operates across the country, and we can see that this project is bringing us all together."

“Altrad Services is a company that operates across the country, and we see this project as something that brings us together.”

Anja: "And that's really what I wanted to achieve. Unfortunately, anyone can be affected by breast cancer, women, but also men. That's why it's so important to raise awareness in the workplace as well."

How do you get your colleagues to go walking?  

Anja: “Through a small working group made up of colleagues from the HR and Wellness teams, we’re trying to get as many people as possible to sign up. We then encourage them to take a short walk during their lunch break. At each location, a specific day is also set aside for a group walk.”

And was there an internal competition as part of that?  

Eija: "That's right, to give our colleagues extra motivation, we started two internal competitions. Every week, an email is sent out with a new assignment. For example, there was a prize for the team that took the most steps. That was won by Team East, a team that was active at one of our sites. They received a voucher for breakfast."

Anja: "We also had a photo challenge. Every week, all our employees receive a new assignment by email. For example, we asked our colleagues to photograph something pink that they came across on a walk, or we challenged them to depict the Pink Ribbon. The Miles for Smiles team took first place and won breakfast at the office."

That sounds fantastic! How do you look back on this participation?  

Eija: " Proud! It was remarkable how quickly and how much response there was to this edition. Both from individuals and from teams. We really noticed that there was a strong sense of solidarity within the company and that everyone was motivated to walk as much as possible for charity."

“We can conclude that this was a very successful event. And we’re proud of that.”

Anja: “In the end, we also raised €768 with Altrad Services. Without even promoting it, our colleagues raised a significant amount for Pink Ribbon. So we can conclude that this was a very successful edition. Three years ago, we started with 85 participants, last year 61 participants, and this year 127 participants. Pinktober is supported both at the office and on construction sites in Belgium and the Netherlands, and we are proud of that."