Pretoria, South Africa – At the end of 2022, six Mercedes-Benz Van markets from around the world set out on a joint mission to ‘walk’ from Canada to New Zealand over the course of one month. The ambitious goal meant reaching over 72 million steps in 31 days, equalling over 225,000 steps per person. Whilst the challenge meant boosting health and wellness amongst the team members, the key purpose behind the initiative was to support a good cause, with each market committing a donation per step walked to their chosen charitable foundation.
Over the course of the challenge, Mercedes-Benz Vans South Africa walked a total of 9,102,588 steps. The South African team dedicated R1.00 per 100 steps walked to Laureus Sport for Good South Africa, donating R 91,025.00 at the end of the challenge. Laureus Sport for Good South Africa has a mission to use the power of sport as a tool for social change, which complemented the purpose behind the initiative.
The walk for charity also provided an opportunity for some friendly competition between the Mercedes-Benz Van international markets, and it was dubbed internally as the Battle of the Van Markets. Each country competed to try to reach their target step count first. At the end of the challenge, the markets took 34 days to surpass their goal, finishing the challenge with 74,205,356 steps in the bag. Canada was the winning market, reaching their goal first and ahead of the time limit.
Speaking about the challenge, Nadia Trimmel, the President of Mercedes-Benz Vans SA, says, “At Mercedes-Benz Vans, we are continuously striving to create the world’s most desirable vans and services. As part of this goal, we are guided by social sustainability and we are always seeking ways in which to support our community. Laureus Sport for Good South Africa is a foundation close to our heart at Mercedes-Benz SA, and we hope that this contribution will further support their mission of using sports-related community projects to make the world a better place.”
Trimmel continues, “Another one of our guiding principles at Mercedes-Benz Vans is to be driven by a highly qualified and motivated team. Our team is the basis of our success and, therefore, we strive to create a work environment that is conducive to productivity as well as health and balance. Through this walking challenge, not only were we contributing to something bigger than ourselves, but it was also remarkable to see the positive results within the team. The team banded together to reach the goal and, as a result, the health, wellness and fitness amongst our team noticeably improved. We look forward to keeping up our increased activity in 2023. We trust that by being the best versions of ourselves, we will best be able to embrace our customers in all that we do throughout this year.”
