How does sport support team building and Unum's values?

Unum has cared for the health and well-being of its employees for years, and it is also involved in charity work. That's why in 2022 it launched an internal initiative called "U na sportowo" (roughly "U goes sporty"), which has taken place every year since, combining physical activity with support for people in need.

Shared goals, great motivation

"U na sportowo" is an initiative where everyone can find something for themselves, whatever their fitness level or favourite type of activity. Unum employees can walk, run, cycle or work out, and their effort is converted into points that together help reach the set charity goal.

From the very beginning, the initiative was promoted strongly inside the company. The coordinators sent out announcements, reminded people to log their activities and gradually built up the excitement!

From time to time we shared the results and achievements of the challenge in a special Friday newsletter. And for those who prefer watching to reading, we prepared visual summaries.

Thanks to this, interest in the game kept growing, more participants joined, and in the end we could celebrate participation close to 80% of all employees. That's a huge success!

For 60 days, Unum employees compete individually and in teams. Team competition in particular gets participants moving!

During the initiative you often hear participants analysing the rankings: "Look, this department is in first place now, but we can still overtake them!" And thanks to the challenge, people from Warsaw and Szczecin can run together, even though they are many kilometres apart!

That's exactly the point of the game: for employees to get to know each other and come together around a shared goal.

A very important part of the challenge is the charity goal. Supporting people in need, especially the youngest, matters a lot to Unum. That's why every year the funds raised go to the beneficiaries of different foundations:

- 2022: Fundacja Gajusz

- 2023 and 2024: Fundacja Marka Kamińskiego (the Marek Kamiński Foundation)
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The record results are described on the Unum Foundation website (in Polish).

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"Marsz Mocy": a weekend full of positive energy

Since 2023, a key part of "U na sportowo" has been the special "Marsz Mocy - po siłę i sprawczość!" (a "Power March" for strength and agency), held in June. It's a special weekend initiative during which all walking, running and cycling activities score double points, which helps reach the charity goal faster.

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Results: sport, team building and real help

In the 2024 edition, participants covered a total of 49,029 km, which funded workshops for 30 children from the Powiatowe Centrum Pomocy Rodzinie (County Family Support Centre) in Żyrardów. Thanks to their commitment, PLN 15,000 was raised to support young people from difficult backgrounds.
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"U na sportowo" is more than a sports challenge. It's a joint effort that connects people, brings teams together and gives a passion for sport even more meaning.

The challenge helped Unum employees build a habit of moving every day. They kept taking part even during the summer holidays.

What made the coordinators happiest was that people really got into collecting activity: they got off the tram one stop early, parked a few spaces further away or swapped public transport for a bike.

Physical activity, commitment and real help: these are the values that drive Unum!

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