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“Megamarsch” for a good cause

bekuplast team raises 1,460 euros at the “Megamarsch” in Hamburg.

Handing over donations from left to right: Tabea Bloemendal and Lea Faske from the Louisa residential group, Steffen Lüken, Jens van Münster, Dirk Wortelen from the Schatzinsel intensive care residential group of the ev. hospital association, Christian Bloemendal, Jörg Kampherbeek and Guido Deters
Training in wintry temperatures
The bekuplast team with their certificates after the ‘mega march’

The "Megamarsch Hamburg" is one of the largest long-distance walks in Germany. The aim is to cover a distance of 100 kilometres in 24 hours. The idea to take part in the run came spontaneously to the five-strong team of Christian Bloemendal, Guido Deters, Jens van Münster, Jörg Kampherbeek and Steffen Lüken. "At first, it was just a beer at the Christmas party," says Jörg Kampherbeek, explaining the origins of the charity run. With the registration on New Year's Eve, the participation was sealed and the group began its preparations. "It occurred to me that we could not only tackle the Megamarsch as a sporting challenge, but also run for a good cause at the same time," reports Christian Bloemendal, who asked his joint employer bekuplast to support the event. "We were very happy to support our employees' charity run and they chose two great educational projects from the region to donate to," says Stephanie Weggebakker, partner at bekuplast GmbH.

After training hikes in wintry temperatures, the group quickly realised that 100 km in 24 hours is a very ambitious goal that pushes even experienced hikers to their limits. "We decided to give it our best shot, even if we didn't manage the 100 kilometres. We focussed on the experience and, of course, the goal of raising as much money as possible," reports Christian Bloemendal. On 5 April, the team set off from Finkenwerder in fantastic weather conditions. The "Megamarsch Hamburg", in which around 1,800 hiking enthusiasts take part, leads around Hamburg's green ring road. "The route and the atmosphere were unique," says Jörg Kampherbeek, describing the run. However, despite good preparation, the five hikers had to abandon the march after 50 and 64 kilometres respectively due to injury. With a total of 292 kilometres walked, the group raised an impressive total of 1,460 euros.

The donation will now benefit two facilities. The Louisa trauma education residential group is a facility for traumatised children who cannot live and be cared for by their parents. The donation was used to buy a trampoline for the children at the centre. Two new football goals were purchased for the Schatzinsel intensive care residential group run by the Evangelischer Krankenhausverein e. V. in Neuenhaus. The Schatzinsel residential group looks after children who can no longer be cared for at home due to a serious physical illness or after an accident.

"Even though we didn't quite reach our personal goal, we are very happy that we were able to raise such a large sum for the children at these facilities," Christian Bloemendal summarised the donation positively.

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