To the Moon and beyond! See how Sii Poland covered over 400 000 kilometers and what the “Space Challenge” was all about

Almost 1 400 people from Sii Poland took part in the “Space Challenge”, one of the projects of Passion Sponsorship Program 2022. The goal of the participants was to “reach” the Moon from Earth, i.e. to cover 384 399 km together. The competition took place in 4 categories: walking, running, cycling and rollerblading. In addition to promoting an active lifestyle and having fun together, the project had 2 most important objectives: to support people fighting for well-being through physical activity and to draw attention to the fact that we have only one planet Earth. Thanks to the great commitment and fierce competition of the participants, the team reached even further than the Moon – they covered 401 046 kilometers.

Space Challenge for the planet

The competition began on April 22 on International Earth Day – Sii Poland announced a great sports and ecological challenge for its employees and colleagues, in which everyone had the chance to feel the power of endorphins and do something for the planet, for others and for themselves and in addition – win cool prizes. The competition finished according to the plan on October 2 – throughout the warm season, participants chose a bicycle, rollerblades and their own legs as an alternative, ecological means of transport and an active form of leisure.

The challenge was attended by 1 398 participants with cycling being the most popular. Sii Poland’s team covered a total of over 5 741 km on rollerblades, over 45 282 km walking, over 55 125 km running and over 294 897 km on a bike!

Health, fun and rewards – Space Challenge for yourself

The biggest reward is that the participants, motivated by the competition and reaching the goal, maintained very high physical activity throughout the season. The winners covered an incredible number of kilometers: Marta Sienkiewicz, Junior Software Engineer from Sii Gdansk became a leader in rollerblading, covering over 1 596 km. The longest walking distance – over 2 164 km – belonged to Szymon Reszczyński, Test Development Engineer from Sii Cracow. In the running category, the first place was taken by Wojciech Rak, Software Engineer from Sii Rzeszow (covering over 1 529 km). In cycling, the highest positions were won by Adam Porębiak, Test Development Engineer and Rafał Kubić (known as VegeReggae), Software Engineer from Sii Lublin, completing nearly 8 000 and over 13 300 km.

In the challenge, Sii Poland awarded a total of over 420 awards: for the 3 best places in each category, for the best people in each category in each branch, and also for each participant who covered the minimum kilometers provided for in the regulations in a given category. In addition, the best branch was awarded: the most active (in terms of the number of employees) turned out to be Lublin! The average number of kilometers in all categories in total per each employee in Lublin was over 80 km, for which the branch received an award, which will be used to equip the office with selected sports equipment.

Space Challenge for others – Sii Poland supports those in need

As per the assumption of the project, as a reward for team covering over 390 000 km and reaching the Moon, Sii Poland was to support charity goals selected by its employees with a total of amount of PLN 20 000. It was an additional distinction for the participants of the competition: they could indicate the goal they would like to support – it was possible to submit people and organizations that care for their well-being as well as their pupils’, through sports activity. According to these rules, 11 objectives were qualified for further voting. All Sii Power People who voted until the end of October were entitled to vote. The amount of co-financing was divided between the 3 objectives that received the largest number of votes: PLN 10 000 and 2 times PLN 5 000.

Thanks to its employees, Sii Poland supported the following: Pola Matuszek, a girl fighting SMA and collecting funds for gene therapy under the care of Sie Pomaga Foundation (PLN 10 000), Przystanek Autyzm Foundation from Bialystok, which takes care of people with intellectual disabilities, also taking care of their physical development (PLN 5 000) and Michał Czujka, who has been suffering from a number of conditions since birth, remaining under the care of the Children’s Foundation “Zdążyć z Pomocą” (PLN 5 000).

The objective that received the most votes of support was submitted by Iza Burzyńska, Project Manager from Sii Cracow:

— The involvement of people in the Challenge surprised me tremendously! On the one hand, I am not surprised, because it is a great idea, an ambitious and imaginative goal, a joint journey of all of us. The total number of kilometers covered is impressive — I tried to make a contribution myself (1 168 km – 10th place in the classification!). I’m glad that I could participate in it, any place is good! Then the idea to submit a charity came spontaneously, although I have been following the story of little Pola for some time thanks to friends whom I respect, and who are promoting fundraising. Such an undertaking shows that everyone can do something good! It’s enough to want to make an effort! In this case, literally every little step mattered!

Przystanek Autyzm Foundation was submitted by Tomasz Jadczuk, IT Support Specialist from Sii Bialystok:

— As for the competition, it came to me as I went. I have a long-term struggle with obesity behind me. I learned about the Space Challenge in April after returning from my morning bike. I added myself to the appropriate groups on Strava and continued to do my own thing. Was it hard? I did not think about it. First, I was preparing for half marathons in Bialystok and Suwalki, and then for 35 km long Bizon Trail. I would be dishonest if I said that even this virtual rivalry did not drive me at all. I was very pleased to see myself week after week at the top of the running group. The victory in the running category in Bialystok is even more satisfying, because I had over a month’s break caused by a surgery in July. — Where did the idea for Przystanek Autyzm Foundation come from? I often meet Andrzej Szumowski and his son Jędrzej on the running paths in Bialystok. He is an extraordinary man and a wonderful father. He translated care for his own disabled son into work that already helps many people. I enjoy support for this Foundation much more than winning the running category in the branch. HYPE!

Support for Michał Czujka was submitted by Ada Knop, Events & Community Specialist from Sii Lodz, at the same time one of the project leaders:

— I had the pleasure of participating in the Space Challenge as one of the organizers of the event. Most of my energy spent on this Challenge is not related to the number of kilometers travelled, but to the number of reports transcribed, duplicate accounts deleted or records matched.  However, the final result of the campaign compensated for all inconveniences we encountered along the way. I am proud of this undertaking and full of admiration for every participant who has added even 1 km to our journey to the Moon! I consider the charity of our company and the possibility for participants to submit selected charity events to be something great! I think that supporting those in need when organizing this type of venture encourages employees to participate even more. After all, the real joy and reward of this Challenge is to help those in need, not an honorable place, sports clothing or other material rewards, although I know that this is also important in the competition!

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