The 15th Children’s Walk took place on June 14. Roche employees supported the good cause on this day around the globe.

Since 2003, more than 220,000 Roche employees have been participating in the Children’s Walk that is held annually across the whole world. With the donations collected, children in need were able to be supported in substantially improving their living conditions in the areas of education, nutrition, basic medical development and social development. The Roche Children’s Walk unmistakably stands for the commitment of our staff in all corners of the globe – last year alone, Roche staff took part in this event at 142 Roche locations in 70 countries and with tremendous success: since that time, the money donated helped to build schools, support classrooms and orphan centers, as well as enabling access to food and clean drinking water in the developing countries of Malawi, Ethiopia, Nepal and the Philippines.

Participation was successful again this year, too. Here in Germany, the starting shots were fired at noon at the Penzberg and Mannheim plants, among others, triggered by the executive board and works council. Under this year’s motto ″Every Step Counts,″ employees were able to make their own personal contribution by running, walking and jogging. The course for staff in Mannheim took them three kilometers through the entire plant. Employees from Penzberg started in front of their casino building and ran for four kilometers through the adjacent woods. At the finish line, light refreshments and even more games and fun were waiting for the hard-working runners. Besides athletic contributions, individual donations could also be made, with which, among other things, projects were supported of the organizations Association for the Aid of Children and Teenagers with Psychological Problems e.V. (″Vereinigung zur Hilfe für psychisch kranke Kinder und Jugendliche e.V.″) in Freiburg, German Leukemia Research Aid (″Deutsche Leukämie-Forschungshilfe″), Initiative for Children with Cancer (″Aktion für krebskranke Kinder″) in Mannheim and Early Start into Life e.V. (″Frühstart ins Leben e.V.″) in Munich. As every year, the management doubled the employee donations collected in Germany.

The organizers hope for just as much great success and engagement over the years ahead, too.