We wanted to give LeasePlannners one common goal to work towards, and if it’s for a good cause, that’s even better.”
Over six months in 2021, LeasePlan employees ran 238,900 miles — the distance from Earth to the moon.
And they raised $10,000 USD for mental health charities while doing it.
“Mental health has been an ongoing topic for us since COVID began,” says Tanya Pakhuta, head of internal communications at LeasePlan. “That’s why we wanted to engage our employees in some sort of physical and mental activity.”
A program that supports mental health for employees while raising money for mental health charities was just what they were looking for. But with more than 8,000 employees across 29 countries, LeasePlan knew that organizing LeasePlan Runs to the Moon could be a challenge.
“We were looking for a platform that would let us do LeasePlan Runs to the Moon on a global level, and create a community for employees where they can track their progress and the progress of their colleagues all over the world,” says Tanya. “We wanted to give LeasePlannners one common goal to work towards, and if it’s for a good cause, that’s even better.”
Charity Miles made all of that possible. So in January 2021, the team started running.
Tanya and her team had expected it to take a full year to run to the moon. But LeasePlan employees gave it their all and hit their goal in less than six months!
“Engagement was high,” says Deandra Inez, an intern on the internal communications team at the time. “People were sharing their photos and running tips on our community channel, and it quickly became the place for them to interact with each other across countries. LeasePlanners really enjoyed the initiative.”
To keep everyone motivated, the team held a different challenge every month. “One of the first challenges was to take the best photo of a view during your run. People would vote for the best photograph,” says Tanya. Other challenges were for the best runner’s snack or the top running song. They also celebrated the top three Moon Runners every month.
LeasePlan Runs to the Moon brought employees together. Tanya remembers people in the Amsterdam corporate office connecting with people in Spain or Greece through the photos they shared.
“There was also a group of people in Spain who like to cycle outside of work,” says Deandra. “It was so nice to see colleagues getting together, especially during Covid times.”
“Most people were working from home at the time,” adds Tanya. “That’s again why the challenge was very important to us. It brought people together, at least virtually, over a common goal.”
Congratulations to the LeasePlan team for getting all the way to the moon in such a short time, and for such a great cause!