Over the past year, a few of our colleagues have taken the initiative in organizing fun and sportive activities. As MeeMaken, we are proud of them and we want to continue encouraging such initiatives. After all, such activities are not only fun, they also boost your vitality, and that’s important!

Vitality is the mental and physical well-being of an individual, , which creates energy to live, literally. Having a high vitality is equivalent to a healthy body and a strong mind. Supporting and enhancing your vitality is a lot simpler than you think. Perhaps you’ve already unconsciously contributed to your vitality by, for example, participating in fun sports activities or contributing to a good cause. Or maybe you’ve noticed some of these activities happening in your environment, without realizing that they benefit your vitality? Read more about two of our colleagues who have taken the initiative to maintain their own vitality and that of their colleagues!

Sporting for a good cause

Anyone familiar with Alpe d’HuZes knows that it’s a tough sporting challenge to participate in. During Alpe d’HuZes, participants cycle, walk, or run up to 6 times on the Bourg d’Oisans mountain to raise money for KWF Dutch Cancer Society. This is a climb of 14.5 kilometers with 21 bends and a finish line at 1860 meters altitude!

Next year, for the first time, a MeeMaken cycling team will participate in this climb, thanks to the idea of our Eager.one colleague Jauke van den Brink. Jauke mentions that he was inspired to participate in Alpe d’HuZes by his brother, who has participated multiple times before. The reason he wanted to involve his colleagues is that, according to him, it’s more enjoyable to share this experience with a group of people. “The enjoyment of doing this with a group is definitely a big motivation. Additionally, MeeMaken also contributes to the foundation “Weg met Kanker”, so I thought: MeeMaken might be interested in this too,” says Jauke. And he was right. After pitching his idea to Eelko May, Technical Partner within MeeMaken, the planning began!

Five colleagues have now joined Jauke in the MeeMaken cycling team, and donations are flowing in. When asked if he would take the initiative to organize something like this again, Jauke says Yes. “There is a lot more possible than you might think, and MeeMaken can also contribute to your idea. I hope other people will see that too, that you can organize something like this. In any case, for a good cause.”

Gooaaal!

Do you remember last year’s MeeMaken Energize Event? Were you able to showcase your amazing table football skills during the table football event? You have our KenzFigee colleague Stefan Popa to thank for that! Stefan came up with the idea to add table football as an activity to the event. And this initiative didn’t come out of nowhere. Table football tournaments have been present within KenzFigee for a while. Stefan noticed that many of his direct colleagues were interested in a table football tournament. That’s why he decided to turn their ideas into reality.

For him too, the enjoyment of doing this with a group of people is a major reason to take this initiative. “I like to bring people together and, besides working, have some fun in the workplace,” he says. It didn’t stop at just one tournament: the table football players now regularly play against each other. The reason the tournament eventually grew into a part of the Energize Event is because Stefan thought it would be fun to play against colleagues from outside KenzFigee. ‘’Playing with people from other companies made the game even more interesting because you don’t know most of them, and you get the chance to meet them!”

After the Energize Event, Stefan didn’t sit still. In addition to a table football team, he has now also formed a basketball team. Stefan encourages his colleagues to take a shot and carry out their ideas as well. “I think any kind of initiative can be successful if you just try. This is something anyone can do.”

As you can see, contributing to your vitality can come in various forms and sizes. Our colleagues did it with a game of table football, basketball, or with a bigger challenge like participating in Alpe d’HuZes. It can also be achieved by taking a walk during breaks, cycling to work, or finally doing something with that fun, sporty idea you’ve had for a while! The new year is almost here, and that means brand new resolutions for 2024. Will you tackle your vitality next year?