On 20th May 2021, the Board of Directors of the Decathlon Foundation met (in video!) to validate seven new projects presented by our Decathlonians teammates.
It was an emotional day where the members could listen to employees from very different regions who had never before presented projects to the Foundation:
- Aminata’s project, a teammates in the Decathlon store in St Dié, which will allow young people followed by the local mission to be supported in their reintegration through sport
Aminata: “I am particularly sensitive to the project because I myself used the services of the local mission when I was a young person leaving school. Their support and help has enabled me to enter working life with confidence. The fact that they want to integrate sport and the notion of health into their training will bring rigour, discipline and a sense of effort that is necessary in their future working and personal life.”
- The first project in the Netherlands at the Arnhem shop by Niek, Mario, Patryk, Floris and Remon. The project aims to provide bicycles to young people in the neighbourhood who are in a precarious social situation.
Niek, running department manager at Decathlon Arnhem: “I’m not going to tell you that I’m involved in this project because I grew up in poverty, I was lucky. We were not rich, but we had enough. Enough to go to a good school, enough to eat healthy, enough to go on holiday and enough to do sports. I am involved in this project because I am grateful for the opportunities I had as a child, and my personal motivation is to give these opportunities to children who are less fortunate. During my internship at the municipality of Arnhem, I saw the sad stories of their poverty, and because of my deep connection to my hometown of Arnhem, I am more than happy that, through this project, we can make a (small) difference for these children.”
- A project that is once again part of the Foundation’s Sport & Health dynamic with the Nantes University Hospital. Camille and Marie from Decathlon Treillières are running a project for patients hospitalised in the haematology department (blood diseases). The project aims to improve the well-being of patients through physical activities, in particular with connected bicycles installed directly in the hospital.
Marie, Fitness department manager: “For me, sport is a way of getting away from it all, of forgetting the constraints of everyday life and of recharging one’s batteries so as to move forward with one’s projects! It is also a way of surpassing oneself, whether individually or collectively. The research carried out within the framework of the HéMA’VELO project contributes to show that sport allows all this. This objective therefore motivates me and immediately made me want to invest in this direction with the actors of this project, whether in the context of my job as a fitness department manager or in my personal time. I set myself the goal of making cycling routes (alone or with teammates – during team highlights) that patients enjoy and make available to them thanks to Kinomap technology.”
- Iza, Marlena, Patryk and Marta’s Polish project to promote sport in schools in their region of Rumia to combat childhood obesity.
Patryk, teammate at Decathlon Gdansk: “As a former professional athlete, I know very well the benefits a child gets from physical activity.
A child’s regular exercise strengthens and toughens his body considerably. (…) And through learning perseverance and humility, which is always present in sport, the child develops a sense of self-worth. That’s why I want to share the passion of sport with other children and parents!
- The project of the northern Decathlonians Maxime, Marie, Valentin and Nicolas who will accompany the young people of Sport Dans la Ville (an association for the integration of young people through sport) with cycling trips in the region
Maxime, Supply Decathlon Cross project manager: “My family and school environment were the vectors of success in my studies and in my professional integration. Through my encounters in sport (football, badminton), I was able to see that not everyone had been so lucky… This is what motivates me to set up projects with sport in the city, to help young people and give them confidence in their projects. The bicycle is a symbol of freedom and simplicity! This is what allowed me to go on my first holiday with friends in high school! I’m looking forward to sharing this experience of travelling by bike with young people.”
- An exceptional donation linked to the pandemic crisis to enable 7,500 people from families in precarious situations to go on holiday with VVF and practice sport
Congratulations to all the teams for your commitment, what a pride to be your teammates at Decathlon: See you on 21st June for new projects…
The Foundation’s team
3 June 2021
