It has always been important for Turku Free Zone Company to be involved in supporting entities and organizations that needs support. One important target has been Team Rynkeby, which with its own activities is involved in collecting funds and supporting children with cancer and their relatives.
The funds are collected as corporate sponsor donations of different sizes, from eight different teams in Finland and they are donated in full to the AAMU Finnish Children’s Cancer Foundation, which supports children’s cancer research, and to Sylva Ry, which supports the families of children who are ill.
The CEO of Turku Free Zone Company, Stefan Lindström, has been part of the Team Rynkeby Turku team himself for two years, collecting funds and cycling from Turku to Paris, which is the culmination of every Rynkeby year.
Team Rynkeby started in 2002 in Denmark and in 2013 the first team from Finland participated. Each cyclist is responsible for his own expenses; such as the bike, equipment and the trip to Paris.
“I had heard a bit about Team Rynkeby before and in 2018 I decided that now would be the right time to apply. Fortunately luck was on my side and I was part of the 2019 team. It’s a great feeling when more than 40 people of different ages and backgrounds gather for the first time, and in less than a year they should form a united team that will cycle from Turku to Paris approx. 1450 km of travel per week”.
The year is mainly structured in such a way that in the fall the largest funds are collected through corporate sponsors, and in the spring, one of the important fundraising events is the school run, where the children collect money, mostly from relatives, per lap run.
The cyclists training starts in October, three times a week, where two of the exercizes are indoor cycling and one is muscle strength training. In addition to this, every second Saturday we go for a 3-4 hour brisk walk. In April, the outdoor cycling season begins. The goal is that everyone has cycled at least 2,500 km before the trip to Paris.
“2019 was a great year in every way, because it was my first time and I didn’t know what to expect. The journey to Paris was the icing on the cake and the sun was shining gently on us throughout the whole trip. That year, Finnish teams collected the largest sum ever, a little over one million euros.”
”Back then I had already decided that I definitely wanted to experience this again someday and 2024 was the right year. The year was equally unforgettable, as once again I made more than 40 new friends and got to experience everything all over again. Of course, I knew what was coming, but still the welding together as a new team and working together is something unique. It is the reason why so many participates in this project year after year.”
“The collected funds did not quite reach the same result as in 2019, due to the prevailing economic situation in Finland, but more than 700,000 euros were still collected from all the teams in Finland.”
”If the weather gods were on our side in 2019, you can say that 2024 was completely different. The winter was long in Finland and during April we often had temperature readings of +2-6 degrees during cycling exercises. The same applied to our trip from Turku to Paris. We had only one sunny day on the road on the whole trip. Rainy weather conditions really pushed the whole team to the test, both mentally and physically. Still, afterwards, you can remember all those moments with warmth and with the greatest feelings. The moment when you arrive in Paris to the base of the Eiffel Tower with your team, as well as at the end of the season gala, at the beginning of September, when the collection amount was revealed and handed over to those most in need, are the ones that give a whole new dimension to life.”
”I can wholeheartedly recommend this experience to everyone.”
