Keeping an eye on health with “As One Against Cancer”
One in eight women in Germany comes down with breast cancer during her lifetime (cf. German Cancer Society). Behind every disease there is a personal fate. This topic is also taken up at the DHL Hub Leipzig.
In December 2019, the „As One Against Cancer“ campaign was launched by Mia Friedrich, a pilot at DHL Air, and her colleague Jennifer Platt, a project manager at DHL. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness about cancer prevention and to give people thought-provoking impulses. "If we can accomplish to save the life of even one person, for example by detecting the disease early, we will have achieved our goal. That's what motivated us to launch this campaign," Mia tells us. Today, the entire DHL world knows the campaign. This has grown steadily over the years and DHL colleagues implement various campaigns with the aim of drawing attention to the issue. For example, five of DHL's Boeing 757 aircraft were painted with the international symbol for the fight against breast cancer of the pink ribbon. With these planes, Mia herself flew to numerous countries throughout Europe. Since 2020, there has also been a run in which DHL employees throughout Europe can participate.
Many colleagues from the DHL hub in Leipzig also put on their running shoes. Among them Lea Peters. She has been part of the Human Resources team for over six years. When a friend of hers was diagnosed with breast cancer, it was a shock moment for Lea. "Of course, I wanted to be there for my friend, support her and respond to her needs," Lea explains. So she talked with her friend no longer about which pair of shoes to buy, but which wig fits better with the outfit. "Even as a family member, you start to look at the world differently and new perspectives develop. "
Especially because of her friend's stroke of fate, Lea finds it all the better that her employer is raising awareness of breast cancer with the "As One Against Cancer" campaign. "I think it's a great thing to get a message out there collectively through the run to raise awareness for disease prevention," Lea emphasizes.
This is also confirmed by Simone Thomas, who has been working in the customs clearance team since 2017. Simone herself had been diagnosed with precancerous cervical cancer. "There have been cases of cancer in my family, too. Whether as a patient or as a relative - something like that naturally takes a lot out of you and is difficult to deal with. Only at this moment you usually start to deal with the topic of cancer and prevention," Simone reports.
Although she could not participate in the run herself for health reasons, she found other ways to contribute. To help the homeless, especially during the winter season, Simone crochets winter items, such as sweaters or hats. When she brings the clothes to the homeless, Simone tries to make people aware of cancer prevention. Through her own experiences, the topic is very close to her heart. That's why it's all the more important for her to educate needy people who are not sufficiently aware of the issue: "You should always keep the health of yourself and those around you in mind, and that's exactly what DHL creates for me with the „As One Against Cancer“ campaign. "
In total, DHL colleagues throughout Europe covered a proud 18,777 kilometers in this year's run. To honor this outstanding achievement, the ENM management converted each kilometer into 0. 50 euros. The rounded-up amount of 10,000 euros was donated to the National Cancer Institute of Urkaine (NIR). NIR takes on the cause of caring for all aspects related to cancer. This includes information, prevention, screening, treatment and research. - Jona Angermann